When the clocks go back and bonfire night is over it always feels as if the winter has set in and Christmas is looming on the horizon but the remarkably mild weather has meant that I have barely broke out the winter coat yet! This time of year is always so special with thousands of wintering wildfowl and waders utilising the expansive mudflats and eelgrass beds to feed and rest after migrating from the high arctic. Vast aerial displays of Golden Plover and Knot can regularly be viewed and the chattering of hundreds of Light-bellied Brent Geese feeding close into the causeway is always an amazing sight.
It is a tricky time of year to get essential practical works
complete, fighting against the tides and the limited hours of daylight.
However, this hasn’t stopped us getting stuck in with some of our regular
volunteers as we commenced our practical task days again for the first time in
2 years. First up was clearing patches of Montbretia – a lovely garden plant
but has escaped and become established in some parts of the dunes. This forms a
monoculture and outcompetes native species resulting in it’s quick spread. We
have also been tackling areas of scrub regeneration which can take hold and
spread across the floristically diverse dune slacks around the Snook. We will
be holding several more task days in the run up to Christmas so if you would
like to volunteer please email andy.denton@naturalengland.org.uk
for more information.
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| Montbretia removal with volunteers |
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| Scrub Removal with volunteers |
Events have been held throughout the Autumn providing wildlife experiences and educating people about the NNR and about best practice for viewing wildlife. Our last event – Dawn chorus at Budle Bay was particularly memorable as thousands of Geese flew low right over our heads filling the air with their iconic ‘wink wink’ calls as the sun slowly rose above the horizon casting pink and orange hues across the sky. We will still be holding some pop-up events so keep your eyes peeled on our social media sites and blog website. We will also be putting together our full events programme for the 2022 season over the winter months. All events are free so please drop-by in and experience the amazing habitats and wildlife and learn more about the National Nature Reserve.
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| Dawn Chorus event at Budle Bay platform |
Natural England is now lead partner in an exciting new EU Life project called WADER, aiming to address some of the biggest environmental issues on the North Northumberland Coast. This project will give us extra resource to deliver our management plan and add value to the National Nature Reserve. For more information follow @LifeWader on Twitter. A website will also be up and running soon.
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