The Harrier
Newsletter of the Barton-on-Humber Area Group
On-line Edition No. 3
CONTENTS
pp2/ EVENTS CALENDAR
p3/5 WARDEN'S REPORT p5 GIBRALTAR POINT REPORT Pp6/7 FILEY BRIG REPORT
DearReaders
IhopeyouareenjoyingthehewOn-LineHarrier.Theabilitytoseethe excellentphotographsincolourissomethingpeoplehavewantedforalong time.
Inthenexteditionyouwillbeabletofindmoreevents.Here'shopingfor goodweatherfortheoutdoorrambles.
Don'tforget,ifyouhaveanythingyouwouldliketocontribute,photos, sightingsandsoon,justemailmeonsandijohn43@gmail.com.
SATURDAY FIELD TRIPS
Meet at Ness End Farm ready for a 9am departure. Car sharing can be arranged. Full day trips – bring a packed lunch – return time about 3.00-4.00pm. Half-day trips – return time about noon to 1.00pm unless stated. You will need boots or wellies, warm clothing and waterproofs (especially in winter). It is advisable to contact the Trip Leader ahead of the event. If there are any health concerns that we should know about please contact the leader prior to the trip.
Directions:
To get to Ness End Farm from Barton-upon-Humber, travel west along Far Ings Road, go past the brown signs for Far Ings visitor centre and past the turning for the hotel. The road narrows and after 300 yards Ness Farm car park is on your right (satnav post code DN18 5RG).
Far Ings sunset
Photo courtesy of Gordon Griffiths
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EVENTS PROGRAMME TO APRIL 2023
3 Dec 2022 9:00 am Half Day Cleethorpes/T etney Marshes
Annual trip to look for winter waders and Snow Buntings along The Humber coast.
21 Jan 2023 1:00 pm Half Day South Ferriby and Bonby Birdwatching on the Humber bank at South Ferriby followed by a visit to Bonby looking for birds of prey.
18 Feb 2023 9:00 am Full Day Top Hill Low Tophill Low is an active Yorkshire Water treatment works built in 1959. It formally opened as a nature reserve in 1993 and features 12 hides spread across a 300 acre site that flanks the river Hull. £3.50 parking fee
18 March 2023
9:00 am Full Day Potteric Carr Potteric Carr is an area of lowlying land to the south east of Doncaster which forms the floodplain of the River Torne. The site is fabulous for birdwatching with marsh and water birds being particularly numerous. £4.50 fee for non-members of the YWT.
22 April 2023 9:00 am Half Day Messingham Sand Quarry
The reserve has been created by the excavation of sand, which has left a series of lagoons. There is a small area of heath. Woodland, grassland and marsh add to variety of habitats.
Vernon Chapman 01652 660957 07939 347373
Vernon Chapman 01652 660957 07939 347373
Vernon Chapman 01652 660957 07939 347373
Alex Cawley 07722 555302
Maureen Douglass 01469 530143
INDOOR MEETINGS
(Wednesdays except where shown)
Date Title of talk Speaker
Friday 2 December Christmas Social at Ness End – Including a quiz by Simon
18 January My Wildlife Year Ruth Taylor (Outer Humber & Coast Assistant Warden) 15 February Gardening for Wildlife Leanne Smart 15 March Wildlife of the Tees Valley Geoff Lee
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REPORTS
WARDEN'S REPORT Nov 2022
My last Harrier report attempted to bring you all up to speed with the successes of the Bittern work of the last few years. This time I’m going to look at some of the other exciting things happening at Far Ings.
WILLOW EMERALD Chalcolestes viridis
Willow Emerald Damselfly is a recent colonist. Until very recently it had only been reliably recorded in the UK on 2 occasions, in 1979 and 1992. A single individual was then recorded in Suffolk during 2007, followed in 2009 by a sudden boom of 400 records of the species from this same general area (SE Suffolk/NE Essex). Since then, it has expanded rapidly northward and was first recorded at Far Ings in 2019. We cannot claim any particular credit for their arrival here, but for the last six years we have been managing parts of the reserve with them very much in mind, and I believe the success of that work has allowed the population here to flourish. They spend much of their time in the trees. At Far Ings that includes willow, alder, elder and hawthorn. They lay their eggs into the bark of willow or alder, which is why for the last six years we have been bringing lots of our willows, particularly around the north end of the Ness End car park area and the New Pits, into short-rotation coppice. The idea is to provide lots of young growth willow next to water to increase egg laying opportunities. Additionally, we have transplanted lots of alder saplings into the same areas, again to improve the habitat for this species.
And it seems to be working. In 2022 we found lots of egg scarring on willows, indicating successful breeding, and the population seems to be thriving. This summer I counted a minimum of 46 adults within 100m of Ness End Farm, on the same day as 20+ were counted by the Barton Reed bed dipping platforms. The Barton Reed bed individuals were mostly in aspen. They have spread right across the reserve now so we intend to attempt a full survey in 2023 if anyone is interested in joining in.
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Willow Emerald egg scars (Simon Wellock)
SEA ASTER MINING BEE Colletes halophilus
The Sea Aster mining bee is a rare bee associated with the margins of salt marshes and other coastal habitats. It has a restricted UK distribution, with particularly strong populations found on the East Anglian coast and Thames Estuary area. Unfortunately, development pressure and rising sea levels associated with climate change are threatening this vulnerable species, although in recent years there has been a strong northwards shift including several colonies around the Humber. It was first discovered at Far Ings in 2021 on the foreshore just east of the Old Cement Works, and seen again in good numbers in 2022. We intend to attempt a full survey in 2023 if anyone is interested in helping out, and are exploring a number of options for improving the habitat for nesting colonies.
MEADOW RESTORATION
Our work to restore Ness Meadow to a species-rich grassland rather than a silage field is ongoing, and includes cutting for hay, aftermath grazing with our Hebridean sheep, green haying and spreading of seed (especially Yellow Rattle).
In 2020 we brought in a few small bales of species-rich hay from the freshwater marsh field at Gibraltar Point NNR. These were spread on areas where we had strimmed down to bare earth to try improve the chances of germination, and much to our surprise, the species that came through strongest in 2021 was Adder’s-tongue, a rare species in the county. In 2021 we found 98 individuals in two plots, in 2022 we found an incredible 589! What an amazing success. And it seems to be working. In 2022 we found lots of egg scarring on willows, indicating successful breeding, and the population seems to be thriving. This summer I counted a minimum of 46 adults within 100m of Ness End Farm, on the same day as 20+ were counted by the Barton Reed-bed dipping platforms. The Barton Reed-bed individuals were mostly in aspen. They have spread right across the reserve now so we intend to attempt a full survey in 2023 if anyone is interested in joining in.
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The extreme drought made it very difficult to assess the ongoing change in the meadows across the reserve resulting from our work. That said, we did record two species that have only been seen once before – Betony and Salad Burnet – and species such as Yellow Wort, Kidney Vetch and Devil’s-bit Scabious
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Adder’s-tongue (Simon Wellock)
Sea Aster Mining Bee (Simon Wellock)
had good years. Generally, the orchids faired OK, but the new colony of Southern Marsh Orchids in North Meadow was a bit of a surprise. In an area with no previous records we found one individual in 2021. This year there were 156!!!
The extreme drought made it very difficult to assess the ongoing change in the meadows across the reserve resulting from our work. That said, we did record two species that have only been seen once before – Betony and Salad Burnet – and species such as Yellow Wort, Kidney Vetch and Devil’s-bit Scabious had good years. Generally, the orchids faired OK, but the new colony of Southern Marsh Orchids in North Meadow was a bit of a surprise. In an area with no previous records we found one individual in 2021. This year there were 156!!!
- Simon Wellock, LWT South Humber Warden
TRIP REPORTS
Gibraltar Point
In mid-September the Barton Area Group had our monthly group outing. Twelve of us visited Gibraltar Point National Nature Reserve, which was the Trusts' first reserve back in 1948. The 1,100 acre site is a dynamic stretch of unspoilt coastline south of Skegness and has a sandy and muddy seashore, sand dunes, salt-marsh and freshwater marsh with ponds and lagoons. In the height of migration over 100 bird species can be seen in a single day.
We arrived around 11am and it was a lovely sunny day although a little windy. Initially the group parked at the new visitor centre and headed across the old salt-marsh towards the sea. It’s been thirty years since I have visited the reserve and it was still as wild as ever, but many of the footpaths have been upgraded to allow greater accessibility. As we walked across the marsh groups of Pink Footed Geese were seen overhead coming in off the North Sea. The dunes were surprisingly quiet, but when we reached the sea the views over The Wash were
amazing. A few waders were seen on the shoreline and in the distance Gannets were seen moving along the coast.
Lunch was at the sheltered picnic area nearby and I took the time to go up on the roof of the visitor centre which has magnificent views across the reserve. In the afternoon we headed up to the Tennyson Sands pools. On these sheltered pools were hundreds of waders and wildfowl, the highlights being Pintails and Black-Tailed Godwits. A Marsh Harrier also made a brief appearance. Our final stop of the day was at Mill Hill which had arguably the best views of the day across The Wash to the Layer Cake cliffs of Hunstanton. In The Wash hundreds of Seals were gathered on small temporary islands created by the receding tide.
We didn’t quite make 100 bird species today: in the end we saw 43, but it was a great day out in nature on a wild and beautiful reserve.
- Andrea Cawley
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15 October 2022 - Visit to Filey Brig
We were fortunate to have a bright sunny day and an easy drive down to Filey. On arrival our group of 11 sauntered down the slope to the beach, hearing a Goldcrest and Long-tailed tits on the way. Reaching the bottom, we were just in time to see a charm of Goldfinches fly in and settle on the branches of a small tree. In the bright sun they sparkled, endorsing their name. A Stonechat sat on a branch of a spindly tree nearby.
As we walked towards the park leading to the Brig, we noticed the mud/sand slides that had changed the appearance of the cliffs since our last visit. Rock Pipits moved about the stones near the base of the cliffs, Crows, Jackdaws, and Herring Gulls flew over. At one point we stopped to watch and photograph a Kestrel hovering above the grassy slope of the cliff. Despite the strong wind it was stationary for several minutes, wings outstretched, eyes focussed on the grass, then it moved a few feet further along and repeated the static pose.
The nearer we got to the Brig, the more we became aware of the strong wind. On the Brig itself it was gale force but the wind brought in a flock of Redwings, early arrivals from the North. The force of the wind made holding binoculars steady nigh on impossible but we could clearly see Oystercatchers and a lone Ringed Plover on the rocks and an immature Gannet flew over the sea. A line of Cormorants and a Great Black-backed Gull resting on the bay side of the Brig were silhouetted against the bright sky. Walking back we saw a Pied Wagtail investigating the rock pools and seaweed.
After lunch we moved to Filey Dams but the dry weather had left the pools with very little water, resulting in a scarcity of birds, just a few Moorhens and Mallards, a Teal and a Little Grebe. Moving on to Thornwick Bay the story was the same, only a Snipe to add to our list.
The Warden here was going round searching for and picking up dead birds, the devastating consequences of bird flu. Despite this end to our day we had enjoyed the scenery, the sunshine, and the company of friends. The total bird species was 41, less than usual but in the circumstances not to be sneezed at.
- Andrea Cawley, -Photo Alex Cawley
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