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Latest wildlife sightings – April 2022

We’re full of the joys of spring, and wildlife is too. Migratory birds are arriving, dragonflies are emerging and the weather is finally brightening up.

It’s a great time to get outdoors and visit our nature reserves. You never know, you could spot some of this wonderful wildlife. Here are the latest wildlife sightings from our nature reserves in Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside.

Brockholes

We can always rely on the in focus team to update us with brilliant bird sightings from their shop in The Lookout hide, and April was no exception. Nestled at the edge of Number One Pit, the hide is a great vantage point which yielded whimbrel, garganey, common scoter and the first swift of the year. Why not drop in and see for yourself?

Elsewhere on the reserve, newly arrived warblers treated visitors to a whole chorus of song, with grasshopper, sedge and reed warblers all chiming in. Excitingly, the first common tern of the year arrived back at the nature reserve, which means it’s time to get our tern rafts back out. A huge thank you to everyone who donated to our tern raft appeal last year – your generosity helped us buy the materials to build two new rafts, bringing our total to five.

Vernal mining bee excavating a burrow at Mere Sands Wood (https://youtu.be/UyyXQGD-dqQ)

© Danny Myers

Mere Sands Wood

Chiffchaffs sung spring into Mere Sands Wood last month, as wild garlic scented the woodland floor and lesser celandines coated the woods with bright yellow stars. Visitors regularly spotted alder leaf beetles on their walks, which doesn’t seem that exciting these days, but would have been back in 2004. These tiny, shiny beetles were considered extinct in the UK up until that time, when they were rediscovered right here in the North West.

Our Reserve Officer, Danny, spotted this gorgeous vernal mining bee (also known as the early mining bee), burrowing into one of the south-facing embankments at Mere Sands Wood. This bee wakes up between late March and early May to nest in burrows dug into sandy ground – a great example of the importance of bare ground to invertebrates.

Cross Hill Quarry

Volunteers spotted one of Cross Hill Quarry’s star plant species in April: moschatel, also known as ‘town hall clock’. It gets its nickname from the unusual arrangement of its flower-head, but that isn’t the only fun fact about this plant. Moschatel flowers smell like rotting food to attract flies, which then pollinate the plant. It also lowers its fruits to the ground so that ants and snails can feed on them, and spread the seeds.

A lapwing chick hiding amongst dew-covered grass

Lapwing chick by Margaret Holland

Little Woolden Moss

It’s always important to stick to the footpaths and keep your dog on a lead at Little Woolden Moss nature reserve in Irlam – there is a delicate ecosystem and delicate restoration work that could be easily upset by rogue boots and paws. In spring and summer, this is even more important, as breeding birds will be nesting, tucked away on the ground, right across the nature reserve. Last month, we spotted the first lapwing chicks and there will be countless more as the season rolls on.

Our volunteers were also thrilled to see sphagnum moss beginning to carpet some of the larger bog pools last month. Peatland restoration is a lengthy process, but when you see the reserve starting to look so healthy and full of life again, it’s all worth it.

Heysham Nature Reserve

There was new life everywhere at Heysham Nature Reserve in April. Large red damselflies basked on nearby leaves, mallards swam around the ponds and orange-tip butterflies fed from dandelions. The green woodpecker that has been calling recently was heard yaffling again, this time from the wooded area just south of the bottom car park.

A red kite flying against a backdrop of autumn trees

Red kite by Andy Rouse/2020VISION

Lunt Meadows

Lucky visitors were thrilled to spot a red kite flying over Lunt Meadows in April. These magnificent birds were once persecuted to extinction in the UK and Scotland, with just a few breeding pairs clinging on in Wales. Now, thanks to an incredible reintroduction project, they have bounced back in the most remarkable way. Though a fairly common sight in Yorkshire, red kites still haven’t regained a foothold in our patch, so it was wonderful to spot one over our reserve.

Other April wildlife sightings at Lunt Meadows included:

  • Skylark
  • Barn owl
  • Grey partridge
  • Oystercatcher
  • Gadwall
  • Great white egret

Middleton Nature Reserve

Talk about a butterfly boom – last month at Middleton Nature Reserve our visitors spotted:

  • Small tortoiseshell
  • Green-veined white
  • Orange-tip
  • Speckled wood
  • Brimstone
  • Holly blue
  • Peacock

The air was full of warbler song from Cetti’s, sedge and willow warblers; chiffchaffs and blackcaps; and lesser and common whitethroats. Plus, there was a little surprise on the No Swimming Pond… a female common scoter! This lovely sea duck probably dropped in for a rest while it was on overnight passage.

What will you spot at our nature reserves this month? Let us know on social media using the buttons below.

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