Trip reports

Report on Indoor Meeting - A Solway Gem

Wigeon - RSPB Images

Tuesday, 10 November 2009

Those of us who had already visited Mersehead on Local Group fieldtrips would agree with David's description of the Reserve as a 4-star visitor attraction, with a wide variety of habitats. In particular the inter-tidal salt flats attract many thousands of Barnacle Geese from Svarlbard to winter on the Solway, and we learnt that a satellite-tagging exercise on some of these birds is done in conjunction with WWT Caerlaverock, details of which can be followed via the WWT website. Large numbers of Pink-footed Geese from Iceland had recently arrived (the biggest recorded flock of 2400), these preferring to roost on the freshwater wetlands.
Good numbers of Whooper Swans, and about 2% of NW Europe's population of both Teal and Pintail, together with about a thousand Wigeon had also arrived. About 1% of Britain's winter population of Shoveler (about 150) are to be found here as well. As if this wasn't sufficient reason to persuade us all to Mersehead in the very near future, we learnt that Starlings had also arrived in very large numbers, estimated at about 18,000 a few days before, compared with a mere 6000 the previous year, suggesting that a starling spectacle might also be a highlight of a visit to Mersehead in the winter.
David has been much involved with the recent conversion of a farmhouse on the reserve to an education centre, which doubles as an accommodation block for residential volunteers. This has involved seeking funds from a variety of sources, the outcome being a superb resource for people of all ages to learn about wildlife, and it was heartening to hear that the Sulwath Centre has been fully booked since it opened last May.
Land management also plays an important part in the work of Mersehead, with arable rotation of the farmland areas, to include plenty of hedgerow cover and seedy areas for farmland birds as Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, Linnet, Tree Sparrow and Twite. Three hundred pairs of skylark bred on the reserve in 2009, with a flock of as many as 2500 winter feeding, showing an immediate impact in terms of conservation of declining species.
Breeding pairs of Lapwing, Dunlin and Redshank have increased significantly due to better grass management, and five hectares of reed-beds have attracted Reed Warbler, Water Rail and Lesser Whitethroat.
Water management involves the construction of sluices and ditches, the latter being made wader-friendly by re-profiling the sides. This is hoped to assist waders such as Little Ringed Plover, Little Stint, Spotted Redshank and Wood Sandpiper.
New visitors to Mersehead in 2009 have included Bittern, Willow Tit, Redpoll, Turtle Dove and Avocet. A Little Egret bred on the reserve for the first time in 2009 and a Spoonbill also bred for the first time in 300 years. Several new butterflies and dragonflies have been recorded, together with badgers, otters, red squirrel and noctule bats. The reintroduced natterjack toads are doing well in the dune areas.
Brian Moorhead expressed the Group's appreciation of a full and very interesting talk, and promised that a fieldtrip to Mersehead would occur in the not-too-distant future.
Denise Morphet