See the Essex coast come alive this October! click here

Get ready for a wildlife spectacle on your doorstep as thousands of brent geese fly in to Essex this autumn to spend their winter in the Thames Estuary.

From Saturday 4 – Thursday 23 October, the RSPB will be setting up its annual viewpoint in Leigh-on-Sea, where visitors can catch the spectacular sight of thousands of these wonderful geese feeding on the mudflats or taking to the air.

Each year the geese return from their breeding grounds in Siberia to come and feast on the eelgrass found on the saltmarsh along the Essex coast.

The Essex coast is one of only a few places in the UK to see such huge numbers of brent geese, so-called because of their charcoal black colour; the name brent is derived from an old Norse word meaning ‘burnt’.

Fiona Hazelton, Community Project Manager said, ‘Saltmarsh such as that found on the Essex coast is one of the most biologically productive habitats on the planet, even rivalling tropical rainforests. It also works as a natural sea defence, absorbing the force of the sea and reducing risk to people as well as birds.’

To watch the geese, visit the RSPB viewpoint on Victoria Wharf, Leigh-on-Sea, near the beach and public toilets. It is open everyday between 10 am – 4 pm from Saturday 4 – Thursday 23 October. Friendly RSPB staff and volunteers will be present with telescopes and binoculars available for use.

To find out more about the viewpoint at Leigh-on-Sea and the work of the RSPB go to http://www.rspb.org.uk/ or phone 01268 559158.

Images:

Adult and 3 juvenile brent geese at Leigh - David Lee

Scope of plans for Wallasea Island revealed

Plans for Britain’s biggest coastal wetland restoration are set to take a step forward this autumn.

The Wallasea Island ‘Wild Coast Project’ will see three-quarters of this island in south Essex restored by the RSPB to saltmarsh, creeks and mudflats, building a haven for wildlife and a wonderful place for people to connect with the Essex coastal landscape.

The RSPB has just given its developing ideas for the project to Essex County Council in a new ‘Scoping Study’. This sets out the scope of the Society’s plans, giving the County Council and other regulators, including Rochford District Council, the Environment Agency and Natural England, the chance to raise points and check the project meets their needs.

For the RSPB, this gives a welcome opportunity to develop the detail of the scheme and confirm that it follows best practice, before submitting a planning application later this year.

RSPB Wallasea Island project manager Mark Dixon said: "At a time when the east coast is under siege from rising sea levels and our wildlife is on the move in response to climate change, it’s great that we have a once in a generation opportunity actually to put some of our coastline back on a really big scale."

Key points of the proposal include:

• A landscape-scale wetland restoration, including managed realignment of the sea walls


• Intensive studies to confirm no adverse impacts elsewhere on the Crouch and Roach estuaries


• Proposals to raise land levels ahead of wetland creation by bringing in high quality, pollution-free material by ship. Sources for this are under investigation.

The RSPB hopes to start the wetland creation project within three years, with completion at least 10 years away, the timescale reflecting the size and complexity of the project and the extensive consultations needed.

• More information or to make a donation towards the Wallasea Wild Coast project: www.rspb.org.uk/wallasea

Notes:

• The RSPB scheme is called the Wallasea Island Wild Coast Project. It will lead to the creation of new wildlife habitats including 133 hectares of mudflats, 202 hectares of saltmarsh, 44 hectares of shallow saline lagoons and 72 hectares of coastal grazing marsh.


• About eight miles of coastal walks and cycle routes will also be created as part of the project.


• Wallasea is close to Ashingdon, where, in the Battle of Ashingdon in 1016, King Canute’s Viking armies defeated the English king, Edmund Ironside. Remains of trenches in the nearby parish of Canewdon are thought to indicate the site of Canute’s pre-battle camp.


• What birds can be expected? The knot, Calidris canutus, a wading bird which will use Wallasea, has a Latin name after King Canute. Other returning species will include avocet, dunlin, redshank and lapwing. In winter, Wallasea will attract large flocks of brent geese, wigeon and curlew. Saltmarshes and other inter-tidal estuary land currently supports two million wildfowl and wading birds in the UK in winter. The new reserve could lure several new species to Essex, including spoonbills, Kentish plovers (absent from the UK for 50 years), and black-winged stilts, which have only bred in Britain three times.


• Saltwater fish including bass, herring and flounder are likely use the wetland as a nursery. Plants such as samphire, sea lavender and sea aster are expected to thrive.


• Saltmarsh is the zone between land and saltwater. Its range of species can rival the diversity of rainforests because daily tidal surges bring in nutrients and because of the mixture of creeks, exposed mud and specialist plants.


• Because of development and sea level rise, saltmarshes and mudflats are disappearing at a rate of 100 hectares each year. The government has set a combined target for the recreation of saltmarshes and mudflats, of 3,600 hectares (8,895 acres) by 2015.


• One cubic metre of mud contains enough worms and insects to match the calorie content of 16 Mars Bars. Mud and plants absorb pesticides and other pollutants.


• Most of Wallasea is farmland. There are few houses on the island and even fewer roads.

Rare bird visits the Thames

One of Europe’s most threatened migratory songbirds has been spotted at the RSPB’s Rainham Marshes nature reserve to the east of London.

The aquatic warbler is a rare UK visitor, occasionally dropping in on its unusual migration route between Eastern Europe and West Africa. These small brown and black birds are difficult to spot, but a volunteer at the reserve confirmed the sighting today in a reedbed near the RSPB Visitor Centre. It’s the third time since records began that an aquatic warbler has been spotted at Rainham Marshes. The last time was in August 2004.

Aquatic warblers don’t spend much time in the UK so there’s not much that can be done to help them here. Instead, the RSPB has invested time, energy and money in supporting our International colleagues in conserving and enhancing the species’ strongholds, particularly in Poland.

Scientists recently made a major breakthrough in efforts to save aquatic warblers. No one knew where the birds spent their winters and they’re too small to tag electronically. Samples of feathers were analysed and scientists were able to measure isotopes from winter feather growth to narrow the global search for their winter breeding grounds. This allowed researchers to focus their efforts on western Africa and the secret breeding grounds in Senegal were discovered.

“Knowing where these birds live enables us to get our hands dirty conserving and improving the land aquatic warblers need to survive”, said RSPB London spokesman Tim Webb. “Working with our International partners we can now ensure there’s enough food and land for them to breed. Ensuring wild-places like Rainham Marshes are kept in good condition also provides crucial stop-off points, not just for aquatic warblers but for a great many migratory species.”

“News of this birds arrival has spread fast but its appearance means more than just an opportunity to see a rare and globally threatened wild bird near London”, said Tim. “It’s a reminder that wildlife knows no frontiers and that our actions have implications beyond our front door-steps”.

If you would like to visit RSPB Rainham Marshes, it is open every day offering easily accessible nature trails, an adventure play area, gift shop, and a café with fantastic views of both the reserve and River Thames. Entry is free for RSPB members and for residents of Havering and Thurrock. For more information please call 01708 899840 or visit www.rspb.org.uk/rainham.

Image

Aquatic warbler - Mike Lane (rspb-images.com)