Egg Watching

After the excitement of Easter and the lovely extended weekend, you would have thought that egg related activities would be finished for the year...far from it! Many bird species have already finished nest building and their breeding season is well underway. This includes the very special avocet, a ground nesting bird found in coastal lagoons along the east and south coast of Britain.

In fact, the avocet has been assigned Amber Status in the UK, therefore any nesting site is extremely important for their conservation and to maintain or increase population size. One such nesting site which is particularly important in the area local to me is on the lagoon at Two Tree Island, Leigh-on-Sea. Due to past incidences of egg thieves on this site, the Essex Wildlife Trust has set up an event called the Avocet Egg Watch which invites volunteers to visit the site during allocated periods to ensure the lagoon is being watched for as long as possible 24/7 during the avocet breeding months.

Yesterday afternoon, it was my turn to conduct a watch at the lagoon and, although I did not see any avocets on this occasion, there were plenty of nesting birds to keep an eye on including black headed gulls and oyster catchers as well as other birds which were not necessarily nesting such as bar tailed godwits and Canada geese. 

Last year, avocets were seen on the site but did not nest here so hopefully we may see some a little later in the breeding season. I also have additional watches to carry out in the following weeks so I'll keep the blog updated on any developments as they occur. 

 Lagoon on Two tree Island which is the nesting site of many birds

Black headed gull on nest

Oyster catchers 

Canada goose poking its head above the vegetation

UPDATE 29.04.2014 - I have been informed that other volunteers have seen some avocets on the site but it is unclear as of yet whether they will breed of are just visiting to feed. More updates will follow after subsequent visits.

UPDATE 30.04.2014 - Unfortunately, due to the lack of avocets on the island (only some seem to be passing through) the egg watch has been cancelled for this year. However the dedication shown by volunteers has shown that people do care about wildlife crimes are willing to give up their time to protect our bird species which is very encouraging.

So it begins...

I haven't posted on the blog in a little while as I've been ill, in the height of summer as well! Unfortunately this meant I could not help out at the Blue House farm open day which I mentioned in my last blog. I was completely gutted that I couldn't be there as I was really looking forward to it, but I was told that it was very successful in raising funds for the Wildlife Trust so that is a result.

The big news for this week is that we started a big project at the farm, putting up fox proof fencing around the bird nesting sites after receiving the funding needed from the trust. With 2km of fencing to put up in total, it will be no small task and it is predicted to go on for around 3 month. The protection it will provide for breeding birds such as the avocet will be invaluable. I will be going back to uni before it is finished but I will try to keep the blog updated with pictures and progress reports as the project develops.

Open Day Prep.

Back with the voluntary group today at Blue House Farm after what seems like ages (I think it was about two weeks) and the task was to prepare for the coming open day on 5th August. This involved a lot of tidying and neatening up of tracks, stairs and bird hides. We also had to set up some temporary fencing and a canvas for various activities and an exciting little moment for me holding my first slow worm.

I'm still at the stage of my ecological career where every little thing (like finding a slow worm) is exciting to me, I just hope I'm still this enthusiastic in the years ahead. 

I'll be helping out at the open day as well, so more details to come.

Water Vole Survey

At Blue House Farm again today for the water vole survey, it was a very productive day and we managed to get the whole area surveyed. We were counting latrines but it was also interesting to take note of other signs of activity such as feeding sites, burrows and tunnels in the reed. The last ditch surveyed was particularly active with 29 latrines found, that was more than we had found all day! Despite the water logged wellies, I learnt a lot from Nick (the warden) and I'll keep an eye out from now on for the signs of water vole activity on my regular walks with the dog.

Fixing Fences at North Fambridge

Since I am home for the summer (home being sunny Essex) I have joined a voluntary group at Blue House Farm. This is an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) in North Fambridge, South Essex which is run by the Essex Wildlife Trust. The site is mostly grass and marsh land which borders part of the River Crouch .

Yesterday was my first day volunteering with them, our task being to repair the barbed wire fence which runs around one of the furthest fields from the farm house. We got on well, replacing about 2/3 of the fence around the field, so hopefully the local farmer can introduce some cows some time this week to begin grazing. During the day, I learnt about several new pieces of equipment used in repairing fences as well as working on my skills with a hammer!

Next week we will be conducting surveys on the water vole population in the area so keep and eye out then for the results.