Monday 20-05-2024 - 15:36

 

 

On Tuesday 14th May, a group of us visited RSPB Leighton Moss to see what wildlife we could spot and to learn about the importance of this wetland habitat.

 

RSPB Leighton Moss is a large expanse of reedbed habitat, renowned for a range of uncommon or rare waterfowl, such as bitterns, bearded tits and marsh harriers.

We began with the skytower, a high viewpoint where you can see the entirety of the landscape. The sky was dotted with swifts, while occasional booms of a bittern echoed from the reedbeds below. In fact, throughout the entirety of the trip, we could hear bittern calls around us, but the sight of them was cryptic, until at last one appeared flying over the reedbeds. We felt very privileged to witness it, as bitterns are extremely rare due to habitat loss, historical hunting practices and declines in their primary food source: eels.

After the skytower, we walked over to Grisedale Hide, where at first, we spotted some Shoveler ducks dabbling around the water edges, followed by a Marsh Harrier, a formidable but majestic bird of prey. Marsh Harriers were hunted to extinction in the 19th century, but populations recovered from a single breeding pair in 1971!

Lastly, we witnessed a pair of Greylag Geese nesting, standing out with their distinctive orange beaks. Along the walk, we used ‘Merlin’, an app which identifies bird species by their sounds, and ended up hearing a sedge warbler!

Like the lovely staff who said they always leave with a spring in their step, as we headed home, we definitely felt the same way!

Full list of species we saw: Shoveler, Coot, Mallards with ducklings, Marsh Harrier. Greylag Goose, Cormorant, Little Egrets, Bittern, Heron, Swifts.