July Wildlife Round-Up

July has been very warm and dry with a welcome bit of rain at the end. It has also seen Sandwich Tern chicks hatching on the tip of Blakeney Point known as Far Point.

Breeding birds

This year, on Blakeney Freshes, good numbers of young Mallard and Lapwing have been recorded as well as two broods of Little Ringed Plovers. Stiffkey experienced the best Black-headed Gull breeding season in many years, with two dozen young fledging. The establishment of this colony gives us hope that more terns may be attracted to breed there in the future; three Common Tern pairs prospected here this year. On Blakeney Point, thanks to successful large gull deterrence efforts early in the season, Common Terns have experienced very good chick survival with over 100 juveniles fledging from 103 pairs. This is the highest productivity since 2001. Sandwich Terns nesting on Far Point were seen flying in with small fish throughout the month, indicating the presence of chicks. At the very end of the month, larger chicks started to become visible by boat. Unfortunately, like many other sites across the country, Little Terns have struggled this year. Whilst sad for us, they are long-lived birds and we will be doing all we can to help protect them in 2019. Oystercatchers appear to have had a good breeding season, with numerous well-grown young observed across the Point. A brood of Grey Partridges was observed in the sand dunes on the Point on 18^th July and a pair with flying young was observed on the Freshes on 30^th – always lovely to see.

Migrant birds

Late July saw the first autumn migrants arrive on Blakeney Point, approximately eight weeks after the last spring migrants of early June. These were a Pied Flycatcher and a Garden Warbler on 27^th July. We expect to see Willow Warblers and Wheatears appearing on the Point very soon. On several occasions throughout July a lone Roseate Tern was seen on the Point making it possible to see five tern species together on the end of the Point (Sandwich, Common, Little, Arctic and Roseate).

Seals

Low tide seal counts on Stiffkey West Sands were as follows – note the high count of Common Seals on 24^th:

Date	Grey Seal	Common Seal
27th June 2018	304	90
2nd July 2018	309	107
18th July 2018	264	233
24th July 2018	289	429

Invertebrates

Our butterfly transect counts have recorded relatively low numbers. Moth trapping, on the other hand, has produced high moth numbers and diversity with highlights including Garden Tiger, Poplar Hawkmoth, Pine Hawkmoth, Privet Hawkmoth (pictured below), Eyed Hawkmoth, Buff Tip and Buff Arches.

Privet Hawkmoth (Carl Brooker)

Reserve management

This year, there has been significantly less Ragwort (plant, toxic to livestock) on Blakeney Freshes than 2017. This is a reflection of our persistent pulling efforts; big thanks to our volunteers who have helped us with Ragwort control. Dry weather impeding grass growth, combined with cattle grazing, has resulted in much of Blakeney Freshes being the ideal height. We will also be mowing throughout August and into autumn to create optimum habitat for our overwintering geese.

Carl and Ajay "Ragworting" on the Freshes (Val Mac-Fall)

Looking ahead, a date for your diaries is the Blakeney Point beach clean on Saturday 15^th September at 10am from the Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s Cley Beach car park. This is part of the Marine Conservation Society’s Great British Beach Clean weekend.

Ajay Tegala,

Ranger

June Wildlife Round-up

June has seen the first Common Seal pups of the year on Blakneney Point and lots of chicks appearing across the reserve. We will be continuing to carefully follow their progress throughout July.

Breeding birds

 We are delighted to report three Bittern sightings on Blakeney Freshes in the second half of June, seen in the vicinity of the reedbed on 15^th, 25^th and 28^th June. Also in the reedbed, two juvenile Marsh Harriers were noted on 26^th. We are very pleased to now have two broods of Little Ringed Plovers: the original pair with three well-grown juveniles plus a second pair with smaller chicks. Flying juvenile Lapwings were observed on the Freshes from 21^st. Mallards appear to have had a very good season, with several broods of varying ages across the Freshes. The Black-headed Gull colony on Stiffkey Meals is doing well, with 23 chicks close to fledging. This colony has been slowly building up over the last three years, having previously been absent for some time, and is attracting Common Terns to also prospect there. The 14 pairs of Sand Martins at Gramborough Hill, Salthouse are doing well with five chicks observed poking out of nest holes on 19^th. On Blakeney Point, there has been a late arrival of Sandwich Terns, with 165 pairs nesting on the tip of Far Point alongside 185 Black-headed Gull pairs. There are also dozens of Common Tern chicks, from 103 nests – more than twice as many as last year – and four pairs of Arctic Terns on the tip of the Point. Unfortunately, the Little Tern colony near the Watch House has suffered from Kestrel predation, which has been a problem at several colonies around the country this year. We are hoping the addition of diversionary feeding stations will encourage the Kestrels away from the colony. Our focus remains on looking after the remaining nests and chicks as we keep up our daily presence at this colony. Elsewhere on the Point, there are 45 Little Tern pairs breeding on the beach towards the western end.

Black-headed Gull chick, Blakeney Point (Ajay Tegala)

Shelducklings, Blakeney Freshes (Ajay Tegala)

Little Tern with chick, Blakeney Point (Barry Brooks)

 

Little Tern chick using shelter, Blakeney Point (Ryan Doggart)

 

Migrant birds

The start of June saw a rather sensational end to the spring migration with Moltoni’s Subalpine Warbler on 2^nd and 3^rd plus Paddyfield Warbler and Short-toed Lark on 5^th. Passages of Swifts were observed throughout the month, peaking at 41 on 16^th. Curlew arrivals have been noted, with eight recorded on 22^nd.

Seals

The first Common Seal pup of the season was seen in the second half of June. As is usual, low tide seal counts show a definite increase in numbers from May:

Date	Grey Seal	Common Seal
16th May 2018	20	46
13th June 2018	50	20
27th June 2018	304	90
2nd July 2018	309	107

Invertebrates

Moths trapped on Friary Hills, for National Moth Weekend, included Small Elephant, Poplar and Pine Hawkmoths and Burnished Brass. A freshly emerged female Emperor dragonfly was observed on Blakeney Freshes on 13^th June. On Blakeney Point, Dark Green Fritillary butterflies were recorded from 23^rd with eight seen on 28^th. The end of the month also saw dozens of day-flying Silver Y and Cinnabar moths.

Plants

In early June, nine Bee Orchid spikes were counted on Young's Land (a field owned by the National Trust located between Blakeney Garage and the coast path).

 

Bee Orchid, Blakeney (Ajay Tegala)

Reserve management

June saw the beginning of our annual Ragwort control. Uprooting this poisonous plant is a legal requirement on areas with grazing livestock, which includes Blakeney Freshes. We will be doing lots more of this throughout July as well as cutting thistles in order to avoid them going to seed, spreading and outcompeting other plants of higher conservation value.

Ajay Tegala,

Ranger