IF you want to enjoy wildlife and need some guidance you should join your local Wildlife Trust.

Over the next few months I will be visiting some of the Trust's Reserves which are spread around the old county of Lancashire. The Trust is based at the Barn in Bamber Bridge and details are as follows: telephone 01772 324129; email lancswt@cix.co.uk; website www.wildlifetrust.org/lancashire

Mere Sands Wood

ON a cool spring morning I met Dominic Rigby, the reserves manager for South Lancashire at Mere Sands Wood (pictured above).

A coot was incubating a clutch of eggs and despite the stiff breeze bird song was all around us.

The reserve has been developed from a series of sand quarries which operated in the 1970s. These have been converted into Lakes and a Nationally reserve for wildlife. All the footpaths and hides around the reserve are wheelchair friendly. There are three trails running from the car park.

The Blue Trail takes about 45 minutes and passes through four hides and lots of time can be spent enjoying the wildlife.

The White Trail is especially suitable for wheelchairs and is around 1.5 miles and has one hide and a viewing platform. The Meadow Walk only takes about 10 minutes but lots of time should be spent enjoying the wildlife. The Visitors Centre is well appointed and contains a lot of relevant information. It is easy to reach via the M6 and on to Rufford.

The Wildlife Trust, Mere Sands Wood, Holmeswood Road, Rufford, Lancashire L40 1TG. Tel. 01704 821809.

Gull at its best in spring

MID-SPRING is the time to see the black headed gull at its best. In its breeding plumage the species does indeed have a chocolate coloured (not really black) head while in winter plumage the head is mostly white.

The best way to distinguish the species throughout the year is by its red legs and bill.

At one time it was suggested that the name be changed to red-legged gull.

Thankfully this was resisted because we have had far too many name changes in our birds than seems sensible to me.

This is our commonest gull and, thankfully, it is less aggressive than the larger gull species. It nests in colonies the size of which vary but there are several on our local moorlands.

Breeding: Usually two or three eggs are laid and it takes up to three weeks for them to incubate. These days careful scientific research has shown that birds are more affected by temperature than was once thought. The egg incubation period therefore can vary depending upon the spring temperature.

Life cycle: The black headed is only a small gull and is only 14 inches (33cms) in length. Its food is very varied and it will taker scraps as well as worms and insects. It follows working farmers especially during ploughing.

All species of gull frequent rubbish dumps and landfill sites and as such they can be a health hazard for us.

Rather than blaming the gulls we need to control our waste sites rather better than we do at present.

Future legislation needs to bear all these facts firmly in mind.