4th of October: What a load of rubbish

Following our Blakeney Point beach clean in September, local artist Hugh Pilkington has been busily sorting through all 42 bags of rubbish. Here is the three miles worth of litter laid out...

 Thank you to all who helped us clear this rubbish off the beach

We eagerly wait for the final art project to emerge from this impressive collection of litter. It is an interesting representation of how much rubbish has built up over a six-month period. On a related note, volunteer Richard Porter has been collecting discarded fishing tackle on the Point - this is how much he has picked up in the last two years...

Fishing tackle is bad news for seabirds and marine wildlife, from swallowing hooks to getting caught in netting. Every year we see seals caught in netting, and occasionally we are able to successfully free them. In seal news, our latest low tide count recorded a total of 108 Common and 306 Grey on Tuesday (the 29th of September). In other mammalian news, a Harvest Mouse was spotted near the Long Hills on the same day.

This week has certainly not been without its migrant bird sightings. As ducks and geese continue to increase in the harbour, thrushes and warblers are also on the move. Highlights have included three Hen Harriers, a male Stonechat and the first Redwing and Ring Ouzel of the autumn on Monday (28th), a Red-breasted Flycatcher on Tuesday (29th), an Osprey and the first Robins of the autumn on Wednesday (30th), a Jack Snipe on Thursday (1st of October), a male Eider on Friday (2nd), a Little Bunting on Saturday (3rd) plus numerous Yellow-browed Warblers throughout the week.

 Red-breasted Flycatcher (Richard Porter)

 Yellow-browed Warbler in the Plantation (Richard Porter)

The end of September saw the end of the season for Seasonal Assistant Rangers Josh, Sarah and Paul. A big thank you to them for their hard work throughout the season. Their last week was pleasant and sunny, with some big spring tides, as captured in this short film...

I am on leave for much of October, but will be blogging again at the end of the month. By then, we could well be celebrating the first Grey Seal pup of winter 2015/16 (historically, the first pup has been born on the Point between the 26th of October and 1st of November). Always about a month ahead, due to their position further north, our friends the Farnes Islands had their first pup last week.

-Ajay