Winter highlights at Sandscale Haws

In November listen out for over-head honking of the pink footed geese flying in their V-formations after long journeys from Greenland and Iceland – coming to our warmer climes to overwinter. Sometimes their formations trail across the sky in beaded lines of birds – hundreds of them in one skein and often 10 or more skeins in the sky at one time.

Winter waders arrive to feed on the edge of the tide and migrant ducks arrive on the newly flooded wet meadows putting on quite a spectacle for keen birders. The cold air signals to most of our infamous amphibians to hibernate and natterjack toads and newts all look to find place to crawl behind – underneath the boardwalks and burrowing into the dunes.

Migratory birds

Looking for a warmer winter venue than their regular colder climes, migratory birds start to come in to roost in the Duddon estuary, enjoying milder conditions and a ready supply of food but their long flights. Sometimes spending thousands of miles in flight leaves them exhausted, and a rest at Sandscale helps to restore their energy. Seeing them scuttling across the sands and feeding around the tides can be quite mesmerising from afar.

Fascinating fungi

Sandscale is a National Nature Reserve and one of the factors making it so special is the presence of more than 300 different kinds of fungi. These all make an appearance in the autumn season so look out for the odd parasol popping up in the sand dunes or spot the odd colourful wax cap.

Natterjack toads

Europe’s noisiest amphibians, natterjacks breed in around 20 of the 40 natural and man-made pools at Sandscale. On quiet spring nights, you can hear a loud croak up to two miles away – this is the sound of the male natterjacks singing together to attract females.

Natterjack toads have developed to breed in warmer water and temporary pools. These often dry out in the summer, though, so it’s a race against time for their spawn to hatch and for the tadpoles to become adults.

How to see them

Natterjacks are smaller than common toads and have a yellow stripe along their back. Their spawn is also very different; seen at the bottom of shallow pools, it looks like a string of small black pearls. Natterjacks spend the winter months hidden away, hibernating in burrows within the dunes.

Look out for natterjacks in April and May; they can be seen at dusk in the viewing pools near the car park at Sandscale.

Common frogs

The common frogs at Sandscale breed much earlier in the year than the natterjacks, and will happily spawn in any pools they can find – from puddles to huge pools on the wet meadow. Their spawn can be laid as early as January if the weather is mild enough.

Newts

Living alongside the toads and frogs at Sandscale are three different kinds of newt: the smooth newt, the palmate newt and the great crested newt.

Smooth and great crested newts can be seen across the nature reserve and, like all amphibians, head for pools to breed come springtime. Both of these newts prefer deeper pools but will happily use shallow pools, and they'll lay their individual eggs near pond plants – very different to toads and frogs.

Palmates are the smallest of the newts, though they look similar to the smooth variety. They prefer breeding in shallower pools, so you'll often see them in the natterjack viewing pools near the car park.

How to see newts' eggs

Unlike toads and frogs, newts lay individual white eggs. To protect these from the sun’s UV rays, the newt wraps them in leaves from around the edge of the pool. If you look carefully around some of the pool edges, you'll see leaves that have been folded over where the newts have been busy.