25th of September: A focus on fungi

The majority of plants at Blakeney have long since swapped their colourful blooms for crispy seeds but by no means is there little to look at under your feet. There are many species of fungi which are specialist to this unique dune habitat and now is a great time to see them.

The colourful little chap that you may see on the dunes along the boardwalk path is the Dune Waxcap Hygrocybe conicoides. These crimson orange mushrooms have a frilly bonnet like cap and a waxy appearance. As its name suggests, the dune waxcap is mainly found on coastal sand dune systems and they are common to find here in Britain. Waxcaps are sensitive to fertilisers in the soil and so are known to indicate natural grasslands. They are also known to have a mutualistic relationship with mosses.

 Dune Waxcap

Another striking species you may come across whilst wandering about in the dunes is the Dune Stinkhorn Phallus hadriani. This majestic mushroom gets its name from the rather strong odour emitted by the cap which attracts insects. The slimy liquid which covers the cap is called gleba or spore slime. Insects attracted by the smell, get this slimy liquid on their feet and help to disperse the spores to new areas within the dunes.

Dune Stinkhorn

It’s not all about fungi though; we have had some handsome moths in our moth trap this week. This Black Rustic Aporophyla nigra kindly stayed still for a photograph alongside a lovely Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba.  Black Rustic is common in the south and adults fly in September and October.

Black Rustic (left) and Large Yellow Underwing (right)

In bird related news, the Black Redstart male is still hanging around the lifeboat house so you may just catch a glimpse of that flickering red tail and coal black face if you are out for a walk. Other sightings this week have included Red-breasted Flycatcher, garden warbler, whitethroat, lesser whitethroat, redwing and song thrush amongst the usual visitors. Osprey sightings have kept us all on our toes this week too with some really close up views of these incredible birds moving along the coast and even perching on the telegraph pole!

It’s a good time to see wildfowl on the point as these next few months we will see arrivals of many species who will spend the winter here. Its lovely to see Brent Geese on the marshes again which have begun their return to our coast from their breeding grounds on arctic tundra as far as Northern Russia. Pink-footed Geese, Wigeon and Pintail are just some of the other wildfowl you may see if you make a visit to the point at high tide. 

18th of September: Cleaned Beach

Yesterday (Saturday 17th September), we took part in the Marine Conservation Society's Great British Beach Clean on Blakeney Point for the third year running.

Despite the grey and windy weather, 17 kind volunteers - and one dog - showed up to help us fill 24 bags of beach litter and clear up 24 plastic containers.

Thanks to their efforts, the Point is looking much better. Thank you also to our neighbours, Norfolk Wildlife Trust at Cley Marshes for helping support the event and allowing us to pile the rubbish on their land temporarily, until North Norfolk District Council kindly dispose of it.

Some of our wonderful beach clean volunteers

The beach litter from our previous two beach cleans (September 2015 and March 2016) is currently on display at the Beach Watch Exhibition at Wiveton Hall - well worth a visit!

Ajay,
Ranger

11th of September: Sedge Warblers and sea-watching

We were blessed with good weather this week, perfect for a morning wetland bird survey count on the 5^th. The highlight was a lovely group of five Pintails feeding on the edges of the flooded marsh. It’s “bottoms up” for the Pintail as they feed by ‘up-ending’, with only their rumps and frantic webbed feet visible above water as they search with their bills for the seeds and roots of aquatic plants. Large flocks of Ringed Plover and Dunlin have been scattering the shingle beach each morning with the tides. Most are juveniles which are distinguishable by the faded mask and bib and yellower leg colour.

The male Black Redstart is still enjoying the Point and has graced us with some fine views all week. Other sightings have included Pied and Spotted Flycatchers, Common and Lesser Whitethroat, Willow Warblers, Chiffchaff, Sedge Warbler, Blackcap, Yellow Wagtail and plenty of Wheatears and Whinchats.

Sedge Warbler in the Garden (D. Wynn)

With the winds picking up and sightings of shearwater moving along the coasts, the rangers have had some opportunities to put scope to sea and spend some time looking for these passage seabirds. We got a bit of a surprise when we were visited by this adult winter Guillemot who came incredibly close to the shore to feed. The Grey Seals found it fascinating too and at one point the Guillemot appeared to be accompanied by a five- strong grey seal entourage!

With the help of the tractor, the mobile hide has now been moved up the ridge and placed in the dunes. The hide is open and offers some shelter if you find yourself caught in the rain after a walk up the ridge.

Join us for a beach clean and help clean up our coastline!

Remember that on Saturday 17^th September from 10am until 1pm we will be holding our end of season beach clean as part of Marine Conservation Society's Big British Beach Clean. If you have some time to spare and you would like to help, please join us for as little or as long as you would like, don your gloves and pickers and help make Blakeney’s coastline litter free for people and for our important wildlife. On our last beach clean, with the help of kind folk like you, we amassed an impressive pile, so thank you for your continued support. For more details about the event, please ring the Norfolk Coast National Trust office on 01263 741694.

A message from Belgium!

This message in a bottle was found on the beach by the rangers during the wetland bird survey this week and appears to have come all the way from a beach in Belgium! The message written in French by a Belgian family is dated the 31^st July 2016 and was found here at Blakeney on the 5^th September 2016 having taken 37 days to travel across the North sea from the Belgian coastal town of Blakenberge to the tideline of Blakeney Point!

A quote in the message reads “if you reach for the moon you'll land among the stars”.

Us rangers don’t usually condone littering but we must admit, we thought this was a pretty exciting discovery!

4th of September: September Wildlife

This week our Little Tern volunteers have relocated to the top of the Point to become our ‘Seal Volunteers’. They are on hand to provide information about the seals and other wildlife across the reserve. They will be minding the gap near Far Point so please do ask them any questions you may have. They will also have a scope if you want a closer look!

Seal in the water off Far Point (Daniel Wynn)

Speaking of seals, we’re seeing larger numbers hauling out at low tide. This increase is expected as we move more toward the Grey Seal breeding season (Nov-Jan). The highest count this week was on the 2^nd September with 361 Greys and 452 Commons.

Seals hauling out at low tide on the West Sands (Daniel Wynn)

The weather this week has been mostly hot and sunny with only the scattered shower on the Point. The butterflies are making the most of this late sunshine with Small Whites, Small Coppers, Small Tortoiseshells and Grayling’s still showing across the reserve. A count on the 1^st September revealed 5 Grayling, 2 Small Coppers, 1 Small Tortoiseshell, and 2 Small Whites. The shingle ridge on the way up from Cley is a good place to see the butterflies.

Looking back along the shingle ridge to the Watchhouse from the Hood (Daniel Wynn)

There have been some large numbers of waders across the reserve with a mixed flock of over 80 Dunlin, 150 Ringed Plover and 30 Sanderling seen on the 3^rd September. The evening roost count is now perpetually punctuated with the loud honking noise of Greylag Geese on the mainland.

Sanderling taking flight off the beach (Wynona Legg)

Migrants are still around on the reserve with regular sightings of Wheatear, Whinchat, Willow Warblers, Pied Flycatchers and Black Redstart. We also had a few Whitethroats appear later in the week. We had an estimated 8 Wheatear on the reserve on the 1^st September.

Wheatear near the strandline at Far Point (Daniel Wynn)

Our resident Black Redstart is still hanging around the Lifeboat House. This makes it a total stay of 12 nights so far. He must like it around here but who can blame him! However he is notoriously camera shy and will be off around the corner as soon as he catches a sight of you. A really stunning bird though, worth a look if you’re up this way.  

Black Redstart perched on the steps to the toilets (Daniel Wynn)