The avocets are arriving... and birdsong is increasing
LONGER days and a subtle shift in the light whenever the sun breaks through are a reminder that the seasons are changing again.
Even in these most difficult of times, nature’s clock keeps ticking on with species stirring after a particularly dark winter.
More birdsong is obvious now – Dunnocks, Song Thrushes and Great Tits are getting louder around our homes, and one of our earliest spring migrants is due any day now as the column goes to press.
The Avocet is an elegant ‘summer’ visitor, but folk are often surprised at how many of these piebald wading birds, made famous as the RSPB’s logo, choose to breed and raise young in Sefton each year.
The first birds tend to arrive from southern wintering grounds (most spend the colder months in coastal France or the south coast of England) in mid-February.
If you live in Southport, the RSPB reserve at Marshside is the best place to search for them – the first flocks invariably huddle together on Rimmer’s Marsh here, as if regretting the wisdom of heading north so early in the year.
They appear truly miserable, as out of place as an escaped Budgerigar.
When the temperature climbs they become more animated, carving out territories at the reserve and chasing off allcomers that stray too close to their turf.
As any reference to milder winters and drier springs in this column guarantees a ‘Beast from the East’-type cold snap and torrential rain, I’ll let the Avocets decide when to move on with the mating game...
I do wonder if they will prospect at Queen’s Jubilee Nature Trail in Birkdale this year, as scrub clearance by the Gems In The Dunes project in partnership with Sefton Council has made the site much more attractive to them (as well as Natterjack Toads and Sand Lizards).
Avocets have dropped into the site before, but never tarried.
Human disturbance would probably prevent any chance of breeding success – a reminder that as more of us take our exercise on the coast, an increase in visitors, dog walkers, joggers etc inevitably puts more pressure on a fragile and priceless dune landscape.
We all have a responsibility to respect and protect the coast – please take litter home, pick up and remove dog fouling and do not disturb wildlife.
If restrictions prevent you taking your exercise at these sites, don’t worry, the next few weeks will bring other early signs of spring across the borough.
Two harbingers that you can find anywhere in suitable conditions from Bootle to Crossens are the dazzling Coltsfoot and the tiny, ubiquitous, but quite charming Common Whitlow Grass.
Coltsfoot, with its chromium yellow flowers on a scaly grey stem, are often the first spring blooms and can be found on any disturbed ground.
It is a sight for sore eyes, and takes its name not from its flowers, but from its large horse’s hoof-shaped leaves which appear after it blooms.
You can find Common Whitlow Grass almost anywhere from backyards to sand dunes, but its tiny white flowers, just millimetres in width justify the effort of crouching down to admire them.
When will they appear? Well, that all depends on the weather, and I’m not forecasting that any more...