Well we've been rather excited about the presence of a couple of spoonbills here over the last couple of days. They were at Griesdale hide yesterday and on the saltmarsh today. These strange looking, egret-like birds have one of those fantastic names that describes exactly what they look like. Their bills just look like an enormous spoon! One of them is ringed, so we are in the process of discovering its origin. If you spot it, look our for the rings on both it's legs, it has a red ring over a white ring over a blue ring on its right leg, and a red ring over a yellow ring over a green ring on its left leg. The yellow ring also has what we call a 'flag' which is an extra bit that sticks off the ring and it has the number on it.
This stunning photo of 3 spoonbills (copyright Mike Malpass) was taken here a few years ago, so these aren't the ones that were here this week, but it shows you just how spectacular (or should that be spatular) those incredible bills are!
From time to time you may come across birds on the reserve with colour and/or metal rings on their legs, and if you manage to positively identify the order and colours of the rings, or take a picture of a ringed bird, it is great if you can let us know in the centre, then we can find out where they have come from. Birds of all kinds are rung as youngsters and it helps bird recorders to know where they have come from, where they go, and how long they live. Even if you come across a dead bird that it is ringed, it is really useful for us to know the details of where you found it and when. For any ringed birds you may come across in your garden or when you are generally out and about you can also report them on the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) website - www.bto.org.uk
Elsewhere on the reserve, the marsh harriers are continuing to put on a good display. We have 3 females all being attended to by one male (that'll keep him busy!) and then a very young pair have been seen 'playing' at collecting nesting material, but not really knowing what to do when they've gathered it. The young male is one that has been with us all winter (this is the first winter we've had over-wintering marsh harriers). He's got quite a ragged appearance to his wings. The young female however, has only arrived recently. They have been flying round together like loves young dream!
The garganeys are still showing up very well around the reserve from Lilian's and Lower hides. It's fantastic to see these lovely little ducks, who visit us just for the summer before returning to Africa for the winter. We have also got a number of other visitors from that part of the world. As you walk around the reserve you will notice the cries of the swifts as they zoom overhead and the long streamer-like tails of the swallows as they fly round catching insects.
The warblers are another fanstastic group of birds that visit us at this time of year. Both whitethroat and lesser whitethroat have been heard on the path to the Allen and Eric Morecambe hides. Although both birds (as their name suggests) have a whitethroat, they are different in the rest of their appearance . The lesser whitethroat has a grey/brown body as opposed to the whitethroat's body which has rusty chestnut edges to it's wings which make it's body look that colour when it's not in flight. They both have a grey head, but the lesser whitethroat has a darker colour to it's cheek.
Also out on the saltmarsh today we have had reports of whinchats which is exciting as they are another stunning summer visitor from central and southern africa that have only just started to arrive.
As the weather has been a bit warmer today, butterflies decided that it was worth a venture out too, with both a bright yellow brimstone and a speckled wood being spotted.