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Map of Mersehead
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Rainbow over farmland next to Sulwath visitor centre, RSPB Mersehead reserveSkylark in song-flightNatterjack toad
View from hide at RSPB Mersehead nature reserveBlue-tailed damselfly resting on reedReed warbler singing in reedbed
Barnacle geese at Preston Merse, RSPB Mersehead nature reservePair of shelducks feeding on estuaryDrake pintail preening
Estuary of Southwick Water/Solway Firth at sunset, Mersehead RSPB reserveLarge flock of starlings congregating at duskTree sparrow feeding on seed

Wildlife awards

Mersehead is one of the best places for wildlife in the UK.

Top things to do in Spring

  1. All around the Wetland Trail, lapwings, snipe, curlews and redshanks perform their aerobatic displays
  2. Listen out for skylarks as they fill the air with song over the fields and merse, and natterjack toads call from coastal pools in a dusk-chorus
  3. Barnacle and pink-footed geese gather in huge flocks before departing for their northern breeding grounds

Top things to do in Summer

  1. This is the best time of year to see mammals on the reserve including otters, badgers, roe deer and bats
  2. The woodland and hedgerows are alive with warblers and buntings in song while barn owls and tawny owls hunt at dusk
  3. The plants of the shoreline and merse are in full flower, butterflies abound and dragonflies and damselflies hawk the ditches

Top things to do in Autumn

  1. Look to the skies as huge flocks of barnacle geese arrive on their Solway wintering grounds from Svalbard in late September and October - one of nature's great spectacles
  2. From the hides you can see thousands of dabbling ducks, such as teals, wigeons, pintails and shovelers on the shallow wetlands
  3. On the Coastal trail, feeding waders and shelducks follow the tide in and out on the sandflats and migrating waders rest and feed on the wetlands

Top things to do in Winter

  1. Mixed flocks of farmland birds, including tree sparrows and twites, feed in the cereal stubbles and wild bird cover
  2. On a cold winter's day, use our Visitor Centre to scan the skies for birds of prey, whilst enjoying a hot cup of Fairtrade coffee
  3. Be mesmerised by the swirling mass of starlings, as they perform their aerobatics before heading into their reedbed roost

What's on?

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Latest blog posts

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Your photos

  • From the beach looking back onto the reserve
  • Geese grazing
  • Geese flying
  • Another Beach Art entry - a beautiful butterfly!
  • Another contender for winner of our Beach Art Competition! Another great effort!!
  • Another Beach Art entry - scary spider
  • One of our Beach Art winning contenders!! What an amazing effort!!
  • One of our Beach Art entries - a FINtastic Fish :)

View more photos

Downloads

Map of Mersehead

Map of Mersehead

700Kb, PDF

Date: 1 December 2010

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WildSquare Bingo

WildSquare Bingo

2.8Mb, PDF

Date: 21 June 2010

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Other places to visit

Loch Ken, Ken-Dee Marshes, RSPB reserve

Ken-Dee Marshes

Wetland and woodland in the heart of Dumfries and Galloway

Panoramic view of wetland, RSPB Leighton Moss reserve

Leighton Moss

Relax and see some magical wildlife on a stroll through the reeds

Panorama from visitor centre, RSPB Sandwell Valley nature reserve

Sandwell Valley

An urban oasis where you can see and learn about birds and wildlife

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