Reserve Update

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The RSPB Maidstone Local Group - Reserve Update

Summary
More snow in February meant a resumption of supplementary feeding was necessary for the horses and sheep, whose heathland vegetation had once again disappeared under a white blanket. The sheep, normally so wary, soon learned to associate me with the provision of much-needed food and would come racing up, bleating, in sharp contrast to their normal behaviour, which is to retreat nervously in the opposite direction without uttering a sound. Fortunately for wildlife, this second wintry blast was nowhere near so severe, and most birds were probably better able to cope.

Animals and plants are sensitive to daylength so, now that the days do seem to be stretching out appreciably, it is good to see the dark green swords of bluebell leaves spearing their way up through the near-frozen ground, and to become aware of an increasing variety of birds tuning up for a spring season that could still be eight or more shivering weeks away. To my mind, the loveliest of all birdsong is the blackbird's, and around mid-February each year I can always expect to hear it again for the first time, its fluty notes a reminder that, though spring may not yet be here, winter is definitely losing its icy grip. Insect life is roused by longer days, too, and I saw my first few wood ants crawling sluggishly over the ground on 19th January, though it may be a while yet before I find inert masses of them sprawled over the tops of their nests. For that behaviour to be initiated we need a sunny day when you can really begin to feel a hint of returning warmth. The ants evidently detect it in the bowels of their nests, and emerge to sunbathe, their dark bodies quickly absorbing the sun's heat, the theory being that they then return to their nests, taking with them little packets of energy that will help to warm up the breeding chamber in preparation for the new season. A day later, on 20th January, I found a peacock butterfly sitting on a logpile, weakly fluttering its wings; had it been a sunny day I might have convinced myself that it had just emerged from hibernation, but on a dull day, and sitting atop a mass of logs that had been moved the previous day, a much more likely explanation is that the butterfly had chosen to hibernate in the dark recesses of the pile, not knowing that I would be shifting the logs later in the winter to sell as firewood. It therefore had a very rude awakening, leaving me to wonder whether it would have been able to return to its slumbers, or would have perished in the cold. Visitors may have noticed these stacks of wood around the reserve; with the advent of higher fuel prices and colder winters, all these logs are destined to be sold for firewood - birch and oak on open fires, spitting chestnut in wood stoves. We are lucky that the firewood market is once more in the ascendancy, as that means our woodland management is moving away from being a costly operation and towards becoming a profit-generator.

One result of the colder weather has been an influx of woodcock, hiding up on the woodland floor by day, then seeking out muddy areas after dark when they can probe for worms with their long bills. Normally they can rely on their wonderful cryptic plumage of brown streaks to protect them from predators as they crouch amongst the dead bracken, but, stripped of concealment by the snow, only their quick reflexes enable them to explode into flight before I so much as glimpse their round bodies against the whiteness.

Events
Details of our usual programme of walks can be found in local libraries and noticeboards, or check out the local RSPB Group's website at www.rspb.org.uk/groups/canterbury/events.
All walks start from the reserve car park, off the Rough Common Road.

Michael Walter
RSPB Site Manager
Blean Woods National Nature Reserve
Email: michael.walter@rspb.org.uk
Tel: 01227 455972

Major restoration work set to start
After three years of planning, surveying and consultation, we are due to start the first phase of restoration of the heathland and ancient woodland from mid January 2010.

The reserve will remain open but there will be some important temporary changes to access, including the closure of certain gateways and paths while the work takes place. Read on to find more.

Please bear with us - we will be doing what we can to keep disruption to visitors and local people to a minimum, and above all to keep people.

What is happening, why and when!
By mid-January 2010, the Environmental Impact Assessment process should be complete, allowing our restoration work to begin. It will start to recreate the mosaic of habitats that is likely to have been here for hundreds of years. Because much of the area had been turned into a conifer plantation in the 20th century, this is quite a big job, and will be phased over six winters. Here is the likely programme of work for this first winter period in 2010, how it may affect you, and what we are doing to minimise its impact.

Timing
Work is likely to run from mid January to the end of February 2010. Work will take place during daylight hours only.

What will happen?
This first phase is to clear an area of mainly young conifer trees on areas that were open until only a few years ago.The site archaeology will be marked up to protect it from damage. Contractors will remove the young conifers using a pick-up forest mulcher. The mulch will be removed from the site. The blocks of mature trees will be felled or thinned using forestry machinery and the timber lengths stored near to Gate 1. The timber will be taken away by lorry. It will go to the construction, planking or fencing industries. The tops of the trees will be used as woodfuel in the local Community College biomass boiler at Crowborough. The total area being restored in this first phase is about 22 hectares.

Why are we doing it?
This area of young pine is being restored to heathland, one of the rarest habitats in the world with some incredibly rare wildlife. Some of the areas of mature pine will regrow as broadleaved woodland.

What will it look like?
Whenever a conifer crop is removed, the immediate aftermath looks awful. The conifers have starved the ground of light so there are no plants, and just a layer of dead needles and twigs, cut stumps, and vehicle tracks. If you have not seen this before, you will wonder how it can possibly help wildlife!

But it does, the original heathland plant seeds buried in the soil start to germinate in the first year, and rare Wood Larks often move in quickly. By the second summer, the first heather plants may flower, and within a few years it should look glorious and the wide views to the High Weald landscape will be restored.

Changes to access
The unofficial pedestrian access from the lay-by just off the Bunny Lane crossroads will be closed.

Work will be happening in the reserve just inside here. This access will not reopen, so please use the main car park. Gate 1 will close to public access and parking - this will be the access for forestry vehicles. This will reopen as soon as work is complete. A number of paths will need to be closed while the restoration is taking place for your safety. Our apologies for any inconvenience while this happens. The car park will be open as normal. Given the very wet conditions recently, it is likely that there will be some damage to tracks in and around the restoration area, which we will repair.

Forestry traffic
We expect the timber extraction to create about 85 lorry-loads of timber, heading straight out to the A26. We apologise for any inconvenience this causes.

IMPORTANT: Your safety
All areas where work is taking place will be clearly cordoned off.
Please keep yourselves and your dogs out of these areas AT ALL TIMES while the cordons are in place.

Calling all dog walkers
The opening of the car park has brought a new flurry of dogs and their walkers. We continue to welcome responsible owners, but we do ask that dogs are under close control (including not letting them trouble other reserve visitors), and that dog mess is not left on the paths.

To help you we will be paying for a trial of dog bins to be installed at the entrances. We hope we can count on your support to clear up after your dog and keep the reserve a delight for all visitors. Thank you.

Wet woodland boardwalk is open
The boardwalk across the iron-stained pools of the wet woodland (the orange colour is natural!) past the Great Tussock Sedges is now open.

It gives visitors a walk through an area that is wet almost all year, giving you a close glimpse of this rare habitat without damaging it.

Decoy Pond springs back to life
The restoration of the Decoy Pond is well advanced. The badly damaged track at the head of the pond has been epaired, and the dam has been rebuilt, allowing the pond to refill to its former level.

Already, a Grey Wagtail has been enjoying the restored habitat, and we are hopeful there will be plenty of dragonflies this summer.

The plan is to keep the dam and the northern bank as refuge area for wildlife only, and improve access for people around the southern and eastern ends, where we will put in some benches.

The RSPB is grateful to all the many groups and individuals who have supported the purchase and development of Broadwater Warren in many different ways.

If you have any questions or concerns at any point, please contact
Caroline FitzGerald, Broadwater Warren Site Manager,
RSPB, Unit 10, Sham Farm Business Units, Eridge Green, Tunbridge Wells, TN3 9JA
01892 752 430 caroline.fitzgerald@rspb.org.uk or check out www.rspb.org.uk/broadwaterwarren

For general enquiries about the RSPB in the South East, please call 01273 775333

December 2009
It has been another interesting and busy year for Cliffe Pools - in the last 12 months we have opened the car park and made a number of other improvements, which represent a real step forward for the project. This is all the more welcome given last year's setbacks over funding and the lack of dredgings at the moment that are required to do some of the habitat restoration work. Already we are seeing an increase in visitors coming to enjoy the wonderful reserve. Thank you for all your support in 2009, and best wishes for Christmas and the New Year.

The new car park is open!
On a very sunny day in August, we held the Cliffe Pools Safari Fun Day and opened the new car park. We were delighted that well over 2000 visitors came and we also welcomed the Leader of the Medway Council, Cllr. Rodney Chambers, the Mayor of Medway, Councillor David Royle, and the Chairman of Cliffe and Cliffe Woods Parish Council, Ken Kentell, to formally open the car park. The RSPB laid on free activities for kids, ranging from safari trips and rainforest puppet shows to making kites and bird feeders.

We are still making improvements to the car park and this winter volunteers are helping us with its landscaping. We used the national event 'Tree O'clock' to kick-start this work. Tree O'clock was an attempt to plant as many trees as possible in a single hour across the UK. We contributed 1000 trees to the total, which got the car park planting off to good start. Work has also started on two winter-long projects: one is to remove invasive buddleia to allow plants more attractive to wildlife flourish and the second is to clear vegetation from some of the islands to make them more attractive to breeding birds.

Improving the experience for visitors
Since the opening, we have seen an increase in the number of people visiting the pools. New welcome signs have gone up in the car park, a spectacular panorama board on the Pinnacle and new interpretation panels overlooking Radar Pool and the Thames Viewpoint. Next year we will be upgrading the Pinnacle Viewpoint as well as creating a new one at the Flamingo Pool at one of the best places to see the flocks of wading birds that use the site. We are grateful for the funding from the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), The Douglas Glanfield Memorial Trust and the Bernard Sunley Charitable Foundation.

Finding out what our visitors think
In the New Year, if you visit you may be approached by one of our volunteers asking you to take part in a survey. This will help us find out what brings people to the pools and how their visit might be improved so we can use this to inform our future plans. We will also be doing similar surveys at Northward Hill and Riverside Country Park. If you have any queries about this please contact sarah.cooper@rspb.org.uk

Teething problems
Sadly the new fencing and gates required by the planning consent have been damaged by people using the car park for illegal motor biking and we will have to replace them with something more robust in the spring once we receive planning permission from Medway Council. If you would like to view the planning application online, go to http://planning.medway.gov.uk/dcwebpages/acolnetcgi.exe and put application number MC/2009/2166 into the Application Quick Search box.

The information board in the car park has a trail map to help guide visitors around the pools. Unfortunately this too has been damaged because someone is unhappy with the names of the pools we used on that map. We will be replacing the board but will have to use money that would otherwise go towards our conservation work here. The pools have an interesting history and each one over time has been known by a variety of names. Before the sign was installed, the RSPB worked with the local community to understand and record these names as well as decide which should be used for the map to guide visitors around the site. Inevitably choices had to be made but the other names have not been lost. We hope to include more information about them in the trail leaflet and the Friends of the North Kent Marshes will be producing a walks guide to the pools that will explain these names and the stories behind them. You can help us with this and in recording the wider history of Cliffe Pools by contacting the RSPB on 01634 222480 or emailing sarah.cooper@rspb.org.uk

You can also contact Friends of the North Kent Marshes either via Gill Moore gill@northkentmarshes or Joan Darwell joancliffemarsh@aol.com

Staffing news
Some of you may have met Damian Fleming, who was our Communications Officer from April to October. Damian brought great enthusiasm to the role but sadly for domestic reasons he moved on to join the World Wildlife Fund. We hope to fill this post in early 2010, but in the interim David James at Northward Hill is leading on events and communications ably helped by Janetta Foss, a volunteer. We recently welcomed Julian Nash to the North Kent Marshes team as our Sites Manager. Julian has operational management responsibility across our North Lent sites and brings a wealth of experience from his previous role at our Rainham Marshes nature reserve. In January, Paul Hyde, the Cliffe Pools Warden, will also be moving on to take up a position with Natural England after three years with us, but we recently recruited a new North Kent Assistant Warden, Andy Daw who you may see at Cliffe and other reserves.

Wildlife sightings
Cliffe Pools continues to attract an exciting array of wildlife visitors. Highlights included 13 clouded yellow butterflies on 6 August. Through autumn we saw ruff, green sandpiper, common sandpiper, knot, 30 whimbrels and grey plover. There was an impressive high tide roost at Cliffe Pools on 22^nd August, with 747 avocets, 174 ringed plovers, 78 grey plovers, curlew sandpiper, 42 black terns, 1 white-winged black tern, 36 common terns, 1 Sandwich tern, little stint and knot. The largest flock of avocets to occur at Cliffe Pools was 1034 on 10^th September, which is about two thirds of the Thames Estuary passage population. Recently the dunlins have started to arrive with flocks of up to 3000 on Flamingo. The highlight of December has been the arrival of four shore larks on Flamingo Pool.

Plans for 2010
We remain committed to the full restoration of the site's habitats but it looks as though getting enough river dredgings to do this is still some years away (we need these dredgings to create better habitats in the pools, which are currently too deep and with too few resting and nesting places). Whilst we are waiting there is still much we can do on a smaller scale to improve the site and make it more attractive to birds and other wildlife and this is what will occupy us over the next year or so.

One of our key aims is to get better control of the water levels and the flow between the pools. We will be installing two new sluices that will allow us to do this better, and we also hope to refurbish the old sluice at Cliffe Creek - we are currently working towards getting the statutory consents we need to do this. We also intend to create more islands for breeding birds and beaches at the pool edges.

Events
A full events programme is online at www.rspb.org.uk/events, or call the reserve for a free leaflet

Sarah Cooper
Cliffe Pools Project Manager
RSPB
South East England Regional Office
2nd Floor, Frederick House,
42 Frederick Place, Brighton. BN1 4EA

Bird News (November)
November was another great month for rarities. Many visitors enjoyed the continued presence of the glossy ibises, great white egret and cattle egret. Additional highlights included penduline tits, Mediterranean gull and goosander.

Two of the five glossy ibises, present since late September, are still with us. They have been observed mainly in the fields alongside the access track, just beyond Boulderwall Farm. The great white egret was seen regularly throughout the month, most often from Denge Marsh hide but occasionally from the Denge Marsh gate or the viewpoint overlooking Hooker's pits.

Bittern numbers increased throughout the month. At least one was seen on most days, three were seen on the 11^th, four on the 7^th and five on 30^th (two on Denge Marsh, two at the ARC pit and one near Boulderwall farm).

The cattle egret was seen at various places around the site but most frequently in the fields adjacent to the Dengemarsh road by Springfield Bridge.

Winter wildfowl numbers began to increase. The first Bewick's swans of the season came to roost at the ARC site from 2^nd to 6^th. Goldeneyes were seen almost daily on the ARC and Burrowes pits with a maximum of seven present on 22^nd.

A male goosander was seen on Burrowes pit from the 1^st to the 13^th and made a brief re-appearance on the 24^th. It came very close to the Visitor Centre and its peculiar method of feeding could be seen quite clearly with its head under the water and its feet paddling very fast so that it looked like a torpedo looking for a ship.

Eight common buzzards were seen flying over the ARC site on the 7^th and on the 8^th 12 marsh harriers were seen going to roost. Peregrines were a regular sight but only one merlin was recorded (on 16^th).

Waders were scarce this month but large flocks of golden plovers were seen on the 3^rd and 12^th. Three dunlin were seen on 1^st and 22^nd and snipe were seen on several occasions at the beginning of the month. Small numbers of black-tailed godwits appeared towards the end of the month and a single common sandpiper was seen on the 3^rd.

Two Mediterranean gulls were seen on Burrowes pit on the 5^th. The ARC site produced some unusual seabird sightings: a Caspian gull and a kittiwake were seen on the 14^th, a great skua was present on 25^th and a yellow-legged gull was seen on 29^th.

Three penduline tits were found near the Hanson-ARC hide on 16^th. At least one of these remained to the month's end and a new bird was seen on 27^th. They were seen mainly from the hide but also were observed feeding on the reed mace near the Willow trail viewpoint. They were heard on many occasions, but seeing them could be difficult. Even so, they are not a particularly shy bird and, when feeding, close up views were possible.

Single swallows were seen on 4^th and 12^th and there were three records of water pipit throughout the month. Large flocks of redwings and fieldfares passed through on 12^th and bramblings, siskins and redpolls were on the move on 17^th. A Dartford warbler was spotted on 21^st and a flock of 12 long-tailed tits was encountered along the Willow trail on 27^th.

Management News
We have now completed the project to enclose the rough grassy areas on each side of the path to Denge Marsh hide. This includes two new ditches along the bridleway and fencing from these ditches up both sides of the footpath and around the front of the hide. This will allow us to graze this whole area (from next spring onwards) more effectively with cattle and sheep to keep bramble growth in check and encourage a greater variety of flowering plants for bumblebees and other invertebrates.

The tern rafts that were deployed on Denge Marsh and Burrowes have been brought in for the winter and we will be reviewing their design and future use ready for next year's breeding season.

Bumblebee news
Many of you will know that Dungeness is at the forefront of an innovative project to bring an endangered bumblebee back home to England.

The short-haired bumblebee (Bombus subterraneus) was last found in England at Dungeness in 1988.

It is now extinct in this country but descendents from the English population are still found in New Zealand. Numbers of short-haired bumblebees were transported there in the late nineteenth century to pollinate crops to feed cattle. The bees established small populations on the South Island of New Zealand, but remain unprotected and under threat.

A century on, a small number of bees are to be transported back across the globe for the re-introduction scheme announced in June by Natural England, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust (BBCT), RSPB and Hymettus.

Dr Nikki Gammans, of BBCT, and a team of volunteers are now in New Zealand searching for bees and on 1^st December we received the good news that they have already found nine queens. You can follow the project's progress through Nikki's blog: www.bumblebeeconservation.org/nikkis_blog

Bittern safari
Saturday 12^th, 11 am - 1 pm
A handful of bitterns usually spend the winter at Dungeness - come along and help us find them!
Booking essential.

New Year birding
Saturday 2^nd, 11 am - 1 pm
Get your New Year's list off to a flying start in the company of one of our expert staff.
Booking essential.

Winter wildfowl guided walk
Sunday 17^th, 11 am - 1 pm
Dungeness is an excellent place to see wildfowl in the winter months.
Booking essential.

Bittern safari
Sunday 24^th, 11 am - 1 pm
A handful of bitterns usually spend the winter at Dungeness - come along and help us find them!
Booking essential.

For more information on any of the above events and booking please contact:
Visitor Centre Manager,
RSPB Dungeness
01797 320588

A frosting of fieldfares
Following on from this winter’s frost and snow, this bird hardly needs an introduction! A winter visitor from Scandinavia, the fieldfare arrives on our shores in a gregarious flock, ransacking our hedgerows for berries before roaming around the countryside picking insects from the ground in pasture fields. But this handsome bird has abandoned its usual habitat in favour of our gardens over the last month, taking advantage of any fruit bearing trees and shrubs as well as the extra treats we have been putting out for them and other garden visitors.

So many of you have been telling us of your sightings of fieldfare (along with its close relative, the redwing). It will be interesting to see how many are reported in this year’s Big Garden Birdwatch.

With the weather turning a little milder, we’re starting to see bigger groups of fieldfare feeding in the pasture fields around the reserve. If you’re lucky, you could see a flock of them through the ‘big bins’ in the visitor centre.

Headbangers Ball!
At this time of year, you could hear a strange mechanical drumming sound reverberating through the wooded areas on the reserve - a reassuring sign that spring is on its way. The ‘song’ of the great spotted woodpecker is an instrumental, made when the birds drum their bills repeatedly on a branch. Both males and females create this noise, making use of suitably rotten or hollow branches which act as a sounding board to the strikes of the woodpecker’s beak.

With all this headbanging, you’d think the woodpeckers would suffer from headaches, but they prove remarkably resilient! A pad of shock absorbing tissue between the base of the bill and the woodpecker’s skull neutralises the impact of the drumming. Research was once carried out in the hope that the woodpecker’s anatomy might provide clues for the better design of motorbike crash-helmets!

You could find great spotted woodpeckers anywhere on the reserve – but I find the best spots to be Hanger wood, just as you reach the hairpin bend on the way down towards Nettley’s Hide, amongst the big oaks in the car park and out on our heathland trail. They also put in frequent appearances on our courtyard bird feeders, enjoying the peanuts and suet!

And what about the other members of the family? The sparrow-sized lesser spotted woodpecker is seldom seen and therefore a rare treat – look out for one in the same areas as the great spot. Green woodpeckers are usually plentiful on the reserve but, being insect eaters, may have suffered more than most in this recent cold weather. Look out for these through the picture window in the visitor centre or on the bank in front of Hanger View.

What’s out and about this month?
At any time of the year, a very large white bird on the brooks, or in the air, is most likely to be a swan. More than that, except in this winter season, it is unlikely to be anything other than a mute swan. Now though, the issue can be clouded by the possible presence of another swan.

Our mute swan is a resident in this country and can be found almost wherever there is water, ranging from remote, untamed, wetlands to sheltered coastal waters and city parks. It is one of the heaviest flying birds, with a long, gracefully curved neck and orange and black bill. The mute swan is not as silent as the name might suggest being capable of making a variety of hissing and snorting sounds, especially when defending its territory or protecting young cygnets. More attractively to our ears, in flight the wings produce a whistling sound which serves to keep individuals in touch with other mute swans, in the same way as the contact notes made vocally by many other birds.

Here, at this time of the year, the bird with which it is most liable to be confused is the Bewick’s swan. This is a smaller bird with a shorter, straighter, neck and a black and yellow bill. Instead of the mute’s wing noises, the Bewick’s makes musical, bugling sounds. It breeds in the Russian arctic and spends the winter in northwest Europe and east Asia. In the UK, the greatest congregations winter around the River Severn and the Ouse Washes. A few, in variable annual numbers, venture further south to the Arun valley, and these sometimes roost at night on the water at the reserve. Up to 38 Bewick’s swans roosted here on some nights this winter, moving around the Arun Valley during the day, being seen on Amberley Wild Brooks and further south at Burpham.

The biking birder
Having battled the arctic temperatures and snowy conditions at the start of the year, special needs teacher Gary Prescott’s countrywide cycling tour of RSPB reserves saw him arriving at Pulborough Brooks last week.

Gary set off from RSPB Sandwell Valley, near Birmingham, on New Year’s Day. Despite struggling with the extreme weather conditions he has already managed to cycle round all the reserves in Kent and crossed into Sussex at the end of January.

Gary said: “The day I decided to complete this project to cycle to every single RSPB reserve was much like every other. I was commuting, and I’d rather have been birdwatching.

“The RSPB was there when I wandered lonely as a teenager, not realising that other people shared my obsession of watching birds. It is one of the main charities that I hope to raise money for through my trip.

Gary arrived at Pulborough Brooks covered with the tell-tale signs of Amberley mud covering his boots, bike and trousers ( I know this mud well, having been stuck in it on several occasions during survey work!) as he had cycled over the South Downs and through our Amberley Wild Brooks site before visiting Pulborough Brooks.

Eager to explore the nature reserve, Gary headed straight out onto our heathland trail keen to add crossbills to his bird list for the year – I’m glad to say they obliged! And no pit stop at Pulborough Brooks is complete without sampling something from our legendary range of cakes – in fact Gary pronounced our homemade bread and butter pudding the best he had tasted in years.

Gary is taking occasional days out from cycling to visit local schools. He wants to spread the message about the threat of climate change and encourage his young audiences to do their bit to help halt it. He has vowed to spend the whole of 2010 cycling approximately 5,000 miles to every one of the RSPB’s nature reserves to raise money for his beloved wildlife charity as well as Asthma UK and the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust. You can follow Gary’s progress and help him to raise money by visiting http://www.bikingbirder.co.uk

Wetland Bird Survey
Every month a group of staff and volunteers face an early start and meet up to count all the wetland bird species on RSPB and nearby land. This Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) is part of a national scheme to monitor populations of wetland species. For the January count in particular, conditions were very wet and getting wetter. I was helping with the count on the Amberley site where you could both see and hear water pouring over the river bank onto the already flooded ground. You couldn’t cover the usual route, just try and count as much as possible from the edge of the flood without getting your toes wet! The highlight this month was the group of 34 Bewick’s swans who flew in around 8 am, calling to one another, before settling down to feed and snooze on Amberley Wild Brooks. The appearance of a few diving ducks – pochard and tufted duck – and the low number of waders, tells you what the conditions have been like in the Arun Valley this month. Flood, followed by ice, followed by snow, followed by floods as it all thawed out!

Editor:Anna
RSPB Pulborough Brooks Nature Reserve,
Wiggonholt,
Pulborough,
West Sussex,
RH20 2EL
Telephone: 01798 875851
E-mail:pulboroughnewsletter@rspb.org.uk