Birds know spring is coming, even if we humans don’t

Mar 25 2008 by Ruth O'Malley, Western Mail

THE stormy and unpredictable weather this month may have left you wondering what’s going on with the seasons.

But in spite of all the rain and gales, there are some obvious signs that spring is coming at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust National Wetland Centre Wales, Llanelli.

Blue tits, great tits and willow warblers are flitting from tree to tree and singing in the hedgerows, ready for nesting, and pussy willow is in full bloom throughout the 500-acre site.

Spring also means change on a larger scale. It is the time in Wales and across the UK when winter populations of wetland birds – ducks, geese, swans and waders – are due to migrate back to the north and east of Europe to their breeding grounds.

The Burry Inlet is a key part of the world for migratory species and wetland birds have spent the winter here at the centre, using the mud flats of the estuary to find food.

As spring arrives they will race against birds from other sites to find the best breeding spots in their summer breeding grounds.

As we approach the equinox, we expect it to be the trigger for a lot of these bird movements, but the changeable weather we have been experiencing over the past few weeks has been having an effect.

It has seemed to be holding back the departures and arrivals, almost like an airport!

Migrating thousands of miles, wetland birds use our wetlands to replenish their food stocks ready for their journey north.

WWT teams across the UK are currently researching migration with projects such as Top Goose!, following Greenland white-fronted geese, brent geese and barnacle geese as they make their epic journeys north to their summer breeding grounds in the arctic and compare how much fuel they need to complete them.

Only when we know how much fuel these birds use, will we know how vital it is to manage and protect their feeding grounds and help them adapt to a changing climate.

As they leave we begin to look out for the first influx of spring migrants such as sand martins and warblers. One of these is the Cetti’s warbler, which has been breeding on the site since 2003.

Everyone’s eyes are peeled and ears are cocked for their first appearance and sound of their song.

These birds are coming to find nesting sites for the summer months and will use reed beds and scrub areas which are characteristic of our own Millennium Wetlands at WWT National Wetland Centre Wales.

WWT National Wetland Centre Wales, Llanelli is open every day from 9.30am to 5pm and can be found two miles east of Llanelli off the A484 to Swansea.

Go online at www.wwt.org.uk/visit/llanelli/ to find out what’s on all year round at WWT National Wetland Centre Wales and the other eight centres.

Ruth O’Malley is marketing manager of the WWT National Wetland Centre Wales