7th of August: Goodbye from Ajay

This is my last week as a ranger in the Norfolk Coast team. I have lots of happy memories from my various roles at Blakeney over the last nine years and am grateful for the opportunities I have had and the wonderful people I have worked with.

I started as a full-time volunteer assistant warden in summer 2009 and went on to secure a seasonal role at Morston Information Centre in spring 2010. I was delighted to become a seasonal ranger on Blakeney Point in 2012 (that's when we started this blog) and to then become Blakeney Point Ranger in 2013.

I am proud of how our team of volunteers has grown over the last five years and I have enjoyed working with so many dedicated volunteers. The tern and seal breeding seasons are absolutely fascinating and it has been a privilege to protect and monitor these very special species. Over the last 15 months, it has been a pleasure to broaden my experiences on Blakeney Freshes. I am leaving to take up a ranger position at the National Trust’s Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve.

Here are just a few of my special Blakeney memories:

  - Witnessing an autumn "fall" of thousands of thrushes

  - Counting a record 4,120 Sandwich Tern nests in 2013

  - Counting hundreds of seal pups in the winter months

  - Seeing my first Bittern, after hours of trying 

  - Taking school groups through the harbour at low tide

  - Spending time in boats in Blakeney Harbour

  - Working with dedicated and inspirational volunteers, colleagues and locals

  - Setting up this blog and sharing wildlife news

I wish the Norfolk coast, its wildlife and people all the very best for the future.

 - Ajay

Here are some photograph memories from the last nine years... 

Morston Information Centre, 2010 (my 21st birthday)

Sandwich Terns on Far Point, 2012

The vibrant Sandwich Tern colony, 2012

An adorable Little Tern chick

One of the thousands of Grey Seal pups I've counted

The 2012 Blakeney team - centenary celebration

The one and only Graham Lubbock!

The 2014-15 Blakeney Point team: Paul, Sarah and I

Coping with 3 months without running water on the Point!

Eddie, B, Carl and I, 2018: Blakeney past and present

Looking to the future...

21st of June: Sandwich Solstice

There are currently over 100 Sandwich Terns roosting on the end of Blakeney Point. These are late arrivals having turned up at Blakeney over the last few days. Most probably failed breeders from elsewhere - anywhere in the North Sea population - we are pretty sure some of them are on eggs and hope that more will lay over the next few days. If all goes well, there should be just enough time for them to fledge young before the need to begin their return migration to Africa.

Sandwich Terns roosting on the tip of the Point (Ajay Tegala)

We are leaving them undisturbed, but hope to conduct a nest count once they are settled. We are keeping our fingers crossed for them, and also for the 52-60 pairs of Little Terns on the main shingle ridge; a number of them have chicks now and feeding is looking very good.

Blakeney Point on the Summer Solstice (Ajay Tegala)

Ajay Tegala,

Ranger

17th of May: Taking Stock

This week brought much excitement when Point-based rangers Leighton, Luke and Ryan informed me that a Stock Dove was nesting on the Lifeboat House. Up until 2012, a pair of Stock Doves nested in the roof of the building every year. The winter restoration of the Lifeboat House, in 2012/13, made it watertight, which was much appreciated by the rangers living inside, but meant that the Stock Doves no longer had access to their favoured nesting place. A pair were seen in the area in spring 2013, but did not go on to breed. With permission from the National Trust's regional curator, I put up a nest box on the building, which was painted blue to match the Lifeboat House cladding. Sadly, this was never used.

Stock Dove inside the Lifeboat House, 2012 (Joe Cockram)

In 2011, volunteer Bee Büche put up nest boxes designed for Swifts on the look-out tower, hoping to attract them by playing recordings of their calls. Swift calls were played in the tower for three consecutive springs but did not manage to attract Swifts, which have never bred on the Point. In 2015, a pair of Starlings nested in one of the boxes, the first breeding record since the 1980s. This gave me the idea to remove a side panel from one of the Swift boxes so that it might be attractive to Stock Doves. Three years later, and six years since last breeding, it is a delight to have them back!

The nest contains two eggs...

In other news, on Blakeney Freshes we were delighted to hear a Bittern booming in the reedbed this week. The Freshes are looking fantastic at the moment, with good numbers of Lapwing and Redshank chicks...

Redshank chick on Blakeney Freshes (Ajay Tegala)

Lapwing on Blakeney Freshes (Ian Chilton)

Black-headed Gulls have started laying on the Freshes this week, having made nests out of reeds...

And finally, back to the Point, we are thrilled to have Little Terns present at the Watch House colony in double figures, with birds landing near the decoys put out by Blakeney Primary School. If you are walking up the Point, look out for our friendly Little Tern volunteers and please follow their advice to help protect these precious seabirds.

-Ajay Tegala, Ranger

Little Helping Hands

This spring term, Blakeney Primary School Key Stage 2 have been helping us conserve Little Terns at Blakeney. Sabrina (Membership Manager) has links with the primary school and Ajay has previously made decoys with primary school children in Northumberland. The two of them, along with Lucy (Visitor Welcome Assistant) and Val (Volunteer Ranger), have been helping the children make clay decoys to attract Little Terns to nest in suitable places on the reserve.

Made In Cley gallery very kindly fired the childrens' decoys free of charge, which we are immensely grateful for. The children then did a fantastic job painting their decoys to look like Little Terns.

One of the decoys

Last Thursday, Temple seal trips kindly ferried us all to Blakeney Point so that the children could put their decoys out in time for the first prospecting Little Terns.

Teaching the children about sand dunes

The decoys were put in a fenced enclosure on the main shingle ridge to the east of the Watch House; the Watch House colony as we call it. In the past, Little Terns have nested on areas of beach vulnerable to tidal flooding when spring tides combine with northerly winds. This has happened numerous times and has led to dozens of eggs and chicks failing.

Putting the decoys on the shingle ridge will hopefully attract Little Terns to nest high enough up to avoid being flooded. We have used decoys effectively in the past.

Visiting the colony

Last year, we had a record number of pairs nesting in the Watch House colony and fledging an excellent number of young. We have put the decoys here this year to try to encourage as many birds to nest here again and hopefully have a similarly successful season.

Putting the decoy in place

Little Terns typically follow others when it comes to nesting. Putting the decoys out early in the season will hopefully have the same effect of encouraging other birds to nest.

Whilst on the Point, on 3rd May, the children were lucky enough to spot the first Oystercatcher egg of the season, which was a very exciting moment. That day, six Little Terns were spotted displaying over the Watch House colony. A few days later, this had risen to 14.

We will keep you updated throughout the season. We will also have rangers and volunteers based at the Watch House colony on a daily basis, at our hide on the edge of the colony. Their work involves monitoring and protecting the Little Terns, including greeting walkers that visit the Point. Please follow their advice to avoid accidental disturbance to the colony and please respect the seasonal dog restrictions. This will help the Little Terns to have a better chance at hatching and raising their young.

Text: Ajay Tegala; Photographs: Sabrina Fenn

9th of April: Common re-Tern and first nest on the Point

On Friday - 6th April - Ranger Leighton spotted the first Common Terns of the year, on Blakeney Point. They landed briefly on the beach. This is slightly earlier than usual.




Yesterday evening - 8th of April - Leighton counted 50 Sandwich Terns roosting on the end of Blakeney Point.



Mallard nest on Far Point (Ajay Tegala)

Also yesterday, I stumbled upon the first nest of the spring on Blakeney Point: a Mallard nest on Far Point, which contained nine eggs. Every year since 2013, I have found a Mallard nest in this same location. Elsewhere on the reserve, on Blakeney Freshes, we have Lapwings on nests. We wish them well and look forward to countless more nests springing up over the coming weeks.


- Ajay (Ranger)

Early Spring Wildlife Update

Following an unseasonal snowy start, March signalled the start of spring with the first Sandwich Tern sightings of the year. The ranger team have been busily preparing for the breeding bird season, which will be getting into full swing as we head further into April. 

Birds

Spring was heralded on 16th March when the first Sandwich Terns of the year were spotted flying over Blakeney Point by Jim Temple and Ajay. On 5th March, following the thawing of the snow, some 299 Wigeon were recorded utilising Blakeney Freshes. These have since left the site on migration to their breeding grounds further north. Notable bird sightings on Blakeney Point have included Black Redstart, Chiffchaff, ringtail Hen Harrier, Merlin, Short-eared Owl, Long-tailed Duck on 9th March, first winter Iceland Gull on 16th, five Blue Tits on 27th (very rare on Blakeney Point), Lesser Redpoll on 28th, Brambling on 31st (a spring rarity) and some “firsts of the spring” in April: six Swallows, a Sand Martin and six Wheatears on 3rd plus two Firecrests on 4th. On Friary Hills, a Chiffchaff landed at Carl’s feet on 23rd March and seven Common Buzzards were recorded flying over Blakeney Freshes on 29th. A pair of Mediterranean Gulls flew over our Blakeney Office at Friary Farm on 4th April.

On 5th March, a minimum 21 Moorhens were counted on Blakeney Freshes, which is the highest number recorded there in some time. Gamebirds have been holding territories for a while; we are pleased to have a pair of Grey Partridges on Blakeney Freshes, plus four on Blakeney Point. Shelduck are back on territory on Blakeney Point; we will be conducting a coordinated census across the reserve at the end of April. On Blakeney Freshes, Marsh Harriers were observed nest building from 6th March, with food passing witnessed on 10th and 30th. There have been regular Bittern sightings near the reedbed from 15th March onwards. We have our fingers crossed for breeding Bitterns on the reserve this year and will be carrying out monitoring work to confirm this.

Invertebrates

In the week following the heavy snow, an early butterfly was recorded on Friary Hills: a Small Tortoiseshell on 9th March. The first Bumblebee of the spring on Blakeney Point was observed on 25th March: a probable queen Red-tailed. A Red-tailed Bumblebee was also observed by our Morston Quay Information Centre on 4th April.

Mammals

A Water Vole was observed on Blakeney Freshes on 9th March. On 22nd March, Ryan spotted a tagged Grey Seal on Blakeney Point. It is believed to have been released by Mablethorpe Seal Sanctuary, in Lincolnshire, having been rescued from nearby Donna Nook.

Reserve management

In early April, we will be putting up fenced enclosures to protect nesting Avocets and Little Terns on Blakeney Point, Stiffkey Meals and Salthouse beach. Ajay and Sabrina have been working with Blakeney Primary School to make Little Tern decoys, which they will be putting on the shingle ridge to attract these rare birds to nest in areas free from the risk of tidal flooding. We are taking advantage of a wet start to April, and are holding water back on the western side of Blakeney Freshes. This will enable us to top up water levels in the reedbed later in the summer to maintain suitable conditions for Bitterns.

Seasonal dog restrictions

We would like to thank all dog walkers in advance for following our usual seasonal dog restrictions on Blakeney Point. These run from 1st April to 15th August to protect rare and vulnerable ground-nesting birds – such as the Little Tern – from disturbance. Your support enables us to give our precious birds a better chance to hatch and raise their young.

Thank you

Finally, a great big thank you to all who helped with our recent spring beach clean; an impressive 98 volunteers attended. We are grateful to North Norfolk District Council for disposing of the litter. Thank you also to our Little Tern volunteers for helping us put up the breeding bird enclosures. Our Little Tern volunteers will be based near the Watch House from mid-May to help visitors enjoy their visit without accidentally disturbing any nesting birds.

Ajay Tegala,

Ranger

3rd of March: A rare sight

It's not very often we get to see thick snow on Blakeney Point. Heavy snow fell between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning. We were first able to get out there, in the tractor, on Thursday afternoon. Here are a few photographs capturing the rare sight, albeit after a bit of melting.

 The shingle ridge

Yankee Ridge 

Yankee Ridge - looking towards the Lifeboat House 

Snow drift in the dunes

The main dunes

 Snowy steps

Snow-capped solar panels and Lifeboat House roof 

The huts 

Far Point 

Middle Point 

Snow and sand drift 

Snow on the ramp 

The UCL Lab

Saltmarsh by the Long Hills

Photographs by Ajay Tegala (Ranger)

28th of February: The Beast from the East

Cor blast! It's a bit bleak in Blakeney this week...

TUE 27th: Icicles on the Lifeboat House (Ajay Tegala)

TUE 27th: Snow on the shingle ridge (Ajay Tegala)

WED 28th (07:45): Friary Hills and Blakeney Freshes now white (Ajay Tegala)

WED 28th (10:30): Blakeney Quay (Ajay Tegala)

WED 28th (14:00): Blakeney Freshes (Barrie Slegg)

23rd of February: Blakeney Freshes Cam

We wanted to share with you some of the wildlife captured by one of our trail cameras located on the Friary Hills edge of the Blakeney freshwater grazing marshes...

Muntjac - plenty of these around, plus an occasional Chinese Water Deer

 

Moorhen - soon to be nesting on the Freshes

Pheasant - plenty of these around, including this particularly bold male

And... best 'til last... a BADGER! - these are not a common sight on the Freshes, so we were delighted to find our trail camera had captured evidence of one on site.

In other news, we have just heard back from RSPCA East Winch regarding a year-old Grey Seal cow we spotted on Blakeney Point recently. She had an orange flipper tag, indicating she had been released by the RSPCA:

 Tail flipper showing orange tag (Ajay Tegala)

“Tusker

In from Cley (15.2kg) on the 9th of February 2017 and released at Sutton Bridge(45kg) on 15th September 2017.”

We were pleased to report that, although she was very sick when she arrived at East Winch with lungworm and pneumonia, she is currently very much alive and well. Another wildlife success story thanks to the great work of the RSPCA.

Finally, on the theme of seals, we were happy to see pup number 2,700 on Valentines Day; aged five weeks and still on the Point....

Pup #2700 aged five weeks (Ajay Tegala)

- Ajay, Ranger

1st of February: a Seal on the Old Season

Today, whilst carrying out a wetland bird count on Blakeney Point, we checked up on the last Grey Seal pup of the season (number 2700). The pup is today 22 days old and we are pleased to report that it has been successfully weaned...

The last weaned pup (Ajay Tegala)

It will now probably be almost nine months before we next blog about Grey Seal pups!

This week the rangers have been busy managing the reedbed on Blakeney Freshes as well as tidying up the car park and boat park at Morston Quay.