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Hi again

I feel a case of déjà vu coming on. Apologies if this column appears to repeat some of the news from the last – or from last year for some of my regular readers.

Penduline tit got a mention last time as I had missed another here while I was away. Luckily, four were found soon afterwards at RSPB Dingle Marshes when Adam Rowlands was checking on the damage from the surge tide. These gorgeous birds stayed around for a couple of weeks, so I was finally able to catch up with them – a full 16 years since I’d last seen one in the UK. You can imagine that I was a happy boy that morning!

Flooding has continued to a problem on the coast. Althoguh water levels receded at Dingle Marshes, and the breaches in the shingle bank had repaired themselves, more high tides over the weekend caused another breach – and more saltwater flooding! The long time prospects for bitterns at Dingle don’t look good.

At Havergate, our wardens have been able to repair the damage to the seawalls, and are now repairing damage to the visitor facilities and machinery store ready for the island to re-open to the public next spring.

Although Minsmere avoided the saltwater flooding, we haven’t escaped the effects of the surge tide. Shingle blocked the main sluice outlet, leading to the New Cut and Minsmere River bursting their banks. The result was a rapid rise in the water levels on the Scrape and part of the reedbed, leading to several parts of the nature trails becoming inaccessible. The Scrape looked like a a large lake, with no dividing banks or islands.

The Environment Agency have managed to unblock the sluice, and last weekend’s tides caused no further blockage, so water levels are now falling and the reserve is open once again.

Albatrosses also featured in my work this week. I was the studio guest of Lesley Dolphin on BBC Radio Suffolk today, chatting about my work and other interests, so we were able to chat about my recent honeymoon – and the albatrosses that we saw. If you’d like to hear the interview, you can listen again until next Wednesday on www.bbc.co.uk/suffolk.

I hope the next few weeks bring some different stories. I’ll let you know before Christmas.

Hi again

In my absence, it’s been a busy and exciting few weeks at Minsmere. There has been a good run of rare and scarce birds, including sightings of a lesser yellowlegs – a North American wading bird – and a penduline tit – a tiny bird from Eastern Europe, as well as two great white egrets, purple sandpipers, ring ouzels and some late swallows and house martins.

It’s also been a time to focus the wardens’ attention on managing and protecting the freshwater habitats. The annual winter reedbed management is in full swing, with diggers clearing ditching and ponds and the aquatic reed-cutting machine being used to cut wetter parts of the reedbed.

This work, which will improve habitat for birds such as bitterns, bearded tits and marsh harriers, is vital to maintaining a healthy reedbed for wildlife. However, the good work could easily have been destroyed had last weekend’s surge tide flooded onto the reedbed.

Luckily, although there was considerable damage to the dunes, our secondary defences held and the reedbed survived – this time. There are further surge tides forecast for later this month, so we can only sit back and wait. The Environment Agency have again been in today to clear shingle from the sluice to allow freshwater to drain off the reserve, as this could also lead to future damage to important habitats.

Along the coast, Dingle Marshes, to the north, and Havergate Island, to the south, have both suffered more severe damage, but we don’t yet know the full extent of this. The sea came close to flooding onto North Warren, too, which could have been disastrous for the town of Aldeburgh.

Strangely, storm-force winds were a feature of my trip to South Africa too, but when they did finally abate we were able to take a boat out to see in search of seabirds. So it was that last Thursday, I finally achieved a lifelong ambition and saw my first albatross. In fact, we saw three different species of these highly threatened birds. We must continue the fight to protect them – see www.savethealbatross.net for more information.

While in South Africa, we also saw penguins, vultures, sunbirds, whales and a variety of big game, including elephants, rhinos and a leopard. We also saw large flocks of swallows, which had beaten us there, despite some still being seen at Minsmere last week. Just another reminder of how important it is for the RSPB to work with our Birdlife International partners to protect wildlife and their habitats around the globe.