Dungeness RSPB: an update

Lade - warm, dry and sunny, SW 3 - Its been a bit of a struggle to get motivated on the local patch these past few days as apart from a few passage Willow Warblers (including several through the garden), Whimbrels over calling and Sand Martins over the lakes there has been very little evidence of migration. On the water a brood of Tufted Ducks was the first of summer, along with several broods of  Great Crested Grebes. On Thursday evening 20 Mediterranean Gulls and 50 Sandwich Terns were on the beach at high tide; whilst we returned at 2300hrs to view the Perseid meteor shower from the boardwalk, and pretty spectacular it was too against the backdrop of Jupiter and Saturn in the southern sky.  

                                 Jersey Tigers are commonplace this month

A circuit of the bird reserve on Friday morning produced a Dunlin and Garganey of note on Burrowes, plus two Pintails and Wigeon amongst the throng of ducks on ARC. Across the site there was a steady passage of Sand Martins, at least four Great White Egrets, two juvenile and an adult Marsh Harrier and a flyover Greenshank. With bird song all but over and most warblers now moulting and preparing for  the long journey south the bushes were relatively quiet.

Dungeness RSPB Reserve - In pre-Covid times the staff at Dungeness RSPB would normally run regular evening meetings to update volunteers on progress across all aspects of reserve activity, including current and future developments at both Dungeness and Lydden Valley; although for obvious reasons these meetings have not been possible since March last year. Following a number of recent negative comments online and general discontent from some local birders (including me) and visitors about the situation at Dungeness I took it upon myself to speak to the reserve manager and seek out the facts as summarised below.

Hides - Probably the most contentious issue of all at the moment is the state of the hides with only Screen, Dennis`s and Christmas Dell hides currently open. Firth and Makepeace hides overlooking Burrowes pit have been condemned and will not reopen; Firth will be replaced by the Firth Lookout (which may have screening fitted to prevent it being a wind tunnel) while a new top-of-the range hide will eventually be erected in place of Makepeace; although funding will have to be applied for which may take a while. Down the line then, Burrowes should be viewable throughout from Dennis`s hide, the Visitors Centre (when it reopens without Covid restrictions), the replacement Makepeace and the two viewpoints at Firth and Scott. Dengemarsh and Hanson hides will reopen sometime in the near future once the access ramps have been replaced and overhanging trees have been cut back from the latter and when work on the replacement Willow Trail is complete.

Tern Rafts - All three tern rafts (two on Burrowes and one on ARC) are unlikely to be towed in for the winter due a combination of grounding and damage making them difficult to move, but staff are looking at covering them in situ to prevent the gulls/geese nesting before the terns arrive next May. Little can be done to deter the Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls nesting on the islands as they are Red Listed species.

Predator Control - This is a contentious subject and while it is legal to humanely control corvids the only predator control carried out on the reserve is on Foxes and Mink. The Badger is a legally protected species.

Access - There has been some comment on the reserve open hours. Until further notice the main gate will be open daily from 9am - 5pm for vehicular access to the main car park and toilets; this will be extended from 8am until sunset when interns return to site at Boulderwall farmhouse. The ARC car park will remain open throughout.

Visitor Centre - While the shop is open from 10am - 4pm Covid protocols remain in place and as such there are few activities planned for the rest of this year. However, this will be subject to an ongoing review and the hope is that things can returned to normal as soon as possible. 

Tree Sparrows - Numbers have declined/crashed across southern England and the Marsh of this popular species which ceased to breed at Boulderwall and elsewhere across the site in purpose built boxes three years ago. Due to harassment from dominant House Sparrows and the fact that numbers of Tree Sparrows were so low, staff were advised by ecologists to stop artificial feeding. There is some evidence to suggest that climate change may be one of the causes contributing to its decline as it is faring better further north.

These past 18 months have certainly been a difficult time for many of us, including the RSPB who have had to comply with the Covid restrictions that has affected not only their income stream in the Visitors Centre and shop, but also a loss of volunteers and work party activity throughout. This summer has been one of the wettest on record which has resulted in high water levels and a lack of wader habitat which has been frustrating for many (myself included) and exacerbated by restricted access to parts of the reserve. However, I hope the above details have cleared up a few misconceptions and I would like to thank Gareth the site manager for taking the time to have a chat and answer all my queries. Hopefully I`ve given an accurate account of our conversation, but if there are any errors (and I`m sure I`ll be told!) then I`m at fault.