Raptors on display over the merse

Short-eared owl and a pair of peregrines hunting top our list of exciting sightings this week

This week we have been visited by a short-eared owl, which although being hard work to find and track, has delighted onlookers from the saltcot merse observatory as it hunted in the gorse scrub to the east. Also on sunday, two peregrines were seen hunting together making passes at our beloved barnacle geese! Merlin keep popping up, as do kestrels, often hovering very close to the hides. A male hen harrier teased visitors today by sitting on a post at great distance on the merse for hours, refusing to show off with any aerial acrobatics. A ringtail was more obliging, flying quite close to avenue tower and teal pond hide.

We're seeing 70-80 whoopers usually present at our commentated talks. Many more ringed birds are welcomed, and it's been great to see some birds return after being absent for a couple of years, including several new families with 3 or 4 healthy cygnets. We have also spotted Methuselah, who has lost the colourful Darvic (the remaining metal ring reads ZZ6131) but is 25 years old now!

Our arriving redwings are now being joined by numbers of fieldfare, and treecreepers have been spiralling up the Sycamores down near avenue tower. Flocks of up to 40 linnet can be seen over the merse too.

A shelduck has taken to popping into the folly regularly this week, dwarfing the rest of the wildfowl on the pond. We saw 20 last weekend with the high tides of 10m pushing everything further inland than usual, and perhaps this individual liked the pond so much that it has decided to frequent it! The folly is still full of teal, wigeon, curlew, lapwing, barnacle geese and the whoopers jump over from the whooper pond at 4pm without fail. It's a popular photo opportunity from folly pond hide, catching them landing whilst lit up by the setting sun.

Finally, keep an eye an ear out for barn owls as you leave. Their piercing screech carries a long way, and they have been heard and seen around the visitor centre around 5pm several times this week. This is one of the bonuses of the clock change, as it now starts getting dark on the reserve around 4.30pm.

This week's high tide times are:

Mon 15/11 - 0930 2142
Tues 16/11 - 1015 2225
Wed 17/11 - 1052 2303
Thurs 18/10 - 1125 2337
Fri 19/11 - 1156
Sat 20/11 - 0010 1227
Sun 21/11 - 0043 1257

Photo credit: Alex Hillier

As well as this week's highlights, you are likely to see the following on the reserve:

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