The RSPB Community

Listen to Beckingham Marshes again on BBC Radio Nottingham

Paul Bennett — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 17:20:42 GMT

Site Manager and media star Michael Copelston was interviewed on BBC Radio Nottingham on this morning's Frances Finn show.

Michael, along with Lincoln University students Katie, Laura and Matt, appeared on the show to talk about six new podcasts that the students recorded and produced, that will soon be available to listen to on our web page.

The interview can be found on the BBC Radio Nottingham website under 'listen again' and the Frances Finn show. The interview starts at 2 hours and 13 minutes into the programme.

Gainsborough Riverside Festival

Paul Bennett — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 12:07:03 GMT

The RSPB will have a stand at the Gainsborough Riverside Festival again this year, so if you'd like to speak to us about Beckingham Marshes, we'll be on stand 29.

I believe the weather forecast for the weekend is good, which will make a pleasant change after very strong winds in 2011 and wind and rain last year!

Sixty per cent of UK species in decline, groundbreaking study finds

Paul Bennett — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:57:40 GMT

UK nature is in trouble – that is the conclusion of a groundbreaking report published today by a coalition of leading conservation and research organisations.

Scientists working side-by-side from 25 wildlife organisations have compiled a stock take of our native species – the first of its kind in the UK. The report reveals that 60% of the species studied have declined over recent decades. More than one in ten of all the species assessed are under threat of disappearing from our shores altogether.

Erin McDaid, Communications Manager for Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust said: “Whilst our wildlife is clearly in trouble and needs help there are still things to be positive about and which can give us hope for the future. A great example is the return of the otter.

“After an absence of many decades we now have otters back at our Attenborough nature reserve and evidence of otters can be found on other wetland sites in the county. There are even glimmers of hope for threatened species such as the water vole which still have strongholds in Nottinghamshire such as along the River Idle.”

RSPB Beckingham Marshes is another success story in the making, a partnership project recreating 90 hectares of wet grassland on former arable land near the River Trent. This now rare habitat in Nottinghamshire is home to lapwings, water voles, smooth newts and dragonflies.

The incredibly special site lies within an area known as Trent Vale where the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and the Canal and Rivers Trust work with other partners, including Natural England, Environment Agency, RSPB and local communities.

Carl Cornish, spokesperson for the RSPB says: “It’s a uplifting feeling for me to walk through the entrance gate at Beckingham Marshes and step back in time to a lost landscape. The reserve has put back the a habitat that was once a common feature of the Trent Valley landscape – grazing cattle, singing skylarks, tumbling lapwings, dashing hares, the flash of a dragonfly – magical.”

The State of Nature report will be launched by Sir David Attenborough and UK conservation charities at the Natural History Museum in London this evening (Wednesday, May 22), while simultaneous events will be held in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.

Sir David Attenborough said: “This groundbreaking report shows that our species are in trouble, with many declining at a worrying rate. However, we have in this country a network of passionate conservation groups supported by millions of people who love wildlife. The experts have come together today to highlight the amazing nature we have around us and to ensure that it remains here for generations to come.”

Dr Mark Eaton, a lead author on the report, said: “This report reveals that the UK’s nature is in trouble - overall we are losing wildlife at an alarming rate.

“These declines are happening across all countries and UK Overseas Territories, habitats and species groups, although it is probably greatest amongst insects, such as our moths, butterflies and beetles. Other once common species like the lesser spotted woodpecker, barbastelle bat and hedgehog are vanishing before our eyes.

“Reliable data on these species goes back just fifty years, at most, but we know that there has been a historical pattern of loss in the UK going back even further. Threats including sweeping habitat loss, changes to the way we manage our countryside, and the more recent impact of climate change, have had a major impact on our wildlife, and they are not going away.

“None of this work would have been possible without the army of volunteer wildlife enthusiasts who spend their spare time surveying species and recording their findings. Our knowledge of nature in the UK would be significantly poorer without these unsung heroes. And that knowledge is the most essential tool that conservationists have.”

Local Children Give Nature a Home

Paul Bennett — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:51:49 GMT

I visited Beckingham Primary School this Tuesday and ran a session with each of the four classes. The children carried out a 'Bird Friendly Schools' survey of the garden that they will help to develop and then made some pine cone feeders for the birds that they hope to attract there.

They are currently learning all about birds and other wildlife at school and some of them have been busy building some very nicely decorated nest boxes. The image below shows some of the fruits of their labours.

First images from Beckingham Barn Owl cam'

Paul Bennett — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:26:44 GMT

When The Old Willow Works was restored in 2011, RSPB volunteer and Beckingham History Group member Chris duFeu, thought that it would be a good idea to provide nest boxes for the barn owls that had previously bred in the building . Therefore, the talents of local builder Michael Rennison were employed to build and install the boxes - one at either end of the building.

I've never been lucky enough to see barn owls in the Beckingham area. However, Chris assured me that they were around, as he had recently found numerous owl pellets when inspecting one of the boxes.

Motion-sensitive cameras were installed in the boxes earlier this year and connected to a plasma screen in the Willow Works conference room. The first time that I turned them on revealed only a lonely stock dove in one of the them. However, when I turned them on again this week, I was amazed to see two barn owls roosting in one of them, along with the aforementioned stock dove!

The image below is just a record shot taken with my phone, but we will have better images recorded using the nestbox camera to follow.

First school visit to Beckingham Marshes

Paul Bennett — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:51:34 GMT

Following on from our first public guided walk last month, we had our first visit to the site by a school group.

Class 2 from Misterton Primary School started with an introduction in The Old Willow Works, using our Beckingham Marshes play mat and then went out on to the reserve to enjoy activities such as 'owl and mouse', bug hunting and dressing up as a lapwing!

The children encountered wildlife such as sticklebacks, tadpoles, craneflies, spiders, ladybirds and even a brown hare and from the shrieks, shouts and laughing that could be heard, they certainly enjoyed themselves!

Today

Paul Bennett — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 20:21:00 GMT

The following were viewable from the viewing platform this afternoon:

9+ Yellow Wagtail, 2 Wheatears, c.20 Tree Sparrows, 1 Little Egret, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Shelduck, 2 Gadwall, 4 Lapwings, 7 Linnets, 3 Sand Martins, Swallows, 1 Fox

Incidentally, our telescope is suffering from a condensation problem, but we'll get it fixed as soon as we can. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Discover Beckingham Marshes - Sunday 14th April

Paul Bennett — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 09:46:59 GMT

Seven people attended the first of our public guided walks last Sunday. The group was made up of members of Kismet Theatre Company and members of RSPB Mansfield Local Members Group.

The strong winds proved a little challenging, however, we still managed to enjoy watching and listening to the meadow pipits and skylarks displaying, as well as good views of brown hares jumping ditches and lapwings chasing off crows.

The highlight of the afternoon though, had to be seeing a water vole in one of the ditches along the roadside on the way back to the Willow Works. Forum member Ray (birdbubs) has uploaded some great images of water voles in these ditches on our community web page. Armed with this knowledge, we scanned the ditches finding numerous burrow entrances, until we saw a vole sitting on the bank, shortly before it made its escape under water.

The next 'Discover Beckingham Marshes' guided walk is on Sunday 14th July. Further details can be found on our web page.

Yesterday

Paul Bennett — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 12:33:00 GMT

Whilst taking the monthly water table measurements yesterday, Assistant Warden Jenny Wallace saw 6 Little Egrets, 2 Ravens (circling/calling overhead), c.20 Teal, 2 Shelduck, 40 Snipe and numerous singing Meadow Pipits, and Skylarks, as well as a couple of Small Tortoiseshell butterflies.

Whilst installing some new signs with volunteers Mike, Martin and James, I also heard, Linnet, Tree Sparrow, Reed Bunting and Chaffinch in song and saw numerous Brown Hares chasing each other around.

However, the highlight for me was a male Merlin, that a visitor pointed out to me, sitting on a fence post in front of the viewing screen. After watching it for 5 minutes, it suddenly took off and made its signature 'short, dashing flight' and in doing so flushed up two Snipe and numerous Skylarks and Meadow Pipits.

Over the next few weeks, keep a look out for returning Yellow Wagtails and Wheatears, as well as displaying Lapwings and Curlews.

Coming soon to a website near you...

Paul Bennett — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:53:25 GMT

We've recently been working with three students from The University of Lincoln, to record six podcasts for the Beckingham Marshes web page.

The six themes that we've asked them to record podcasts about, are the River Trent, the history of the landscape, memories, bird song, oil production and the history of the Old Willow Works.

Lora, Katie and Matt, who are studying media, have already been busy recording with willow worker Alison Walling, children from Beckingham Primary School and staff from iGas Energy.

Last week, they braved bitter winds and very wet conditions to make recordings with both myself and Site Manager Michael Copleston, as well as trying to record some bird calls too.

The image below shows Matt recording the calls of the tree sparrows that have been visit our feeding station.

Anything about?

Paul Bennett — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 14:04:41 GMT

Despite three days of dense fog on site, we've seen quite a lot actually.

The lapwings and skylarks certainly seem to think that spring is on its way, as both species could be seen and heard singing and displaying. 'Mad march hares' have also been seen chasing each other about and taking part in some sparring!

There have been up to six little egrets on site for a good month now, with at least four there all this week. The number of wildfowl on site has increased markedly this week, with shelduck, mallard, shoveler, wigeon and teal, all viewable from the viewing platform.

Volunteers from both Beckingham and Langford have been busy on site this week, alongside Assistant Warden Jenny Wallace. They've been burning the arisings from the hedge laying that we've had done of the last month and are making good progress. Once that's finished, then 'all' we've got to do is plant up a few gaps in the hedges and repair a few fences, ready for the cattle to come back on in spring.

There's plenty of scope at Beckingham Marshes.

Paul Bennett — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 11:34:21 GMT

Forgotten your binoculars? Don't own any? Don't worry, it's no longer a problem if you visit RSPB Beckingham Marshes, as we've just installed a telescope on our viewing platform!

The Biffa Award funded telescope was installed yesterday, with the help of volunteer Martin Fox and it was put to use straight away to look at five shelduck and a little egret, that were using the site's scrapes.

The telescope is similar to those used on seaside resort promenades, except that you don't have to pay to use this one!

Tracks and trails

Paul Bennett — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 14:33:00 GMT

Whilst on site last Thursday, I was inspecting our drop -board sluices (used to let water off site), when I discovered what appeared to be water vole droppings on one of the boards.

Water voles are one of our target species and whilst we knew that they occasionally occur in the surrounding drains, we'd yet to record them (or their field signs) for sure, within the site's boundary.

I decided to investigate further and found numerous other clues as to their presence in the some of the ditches at the eastern end of the site. These included numerous droppings, plus evidence of grazing, pathways and a couple of potential entrance holes for burrows too.

Water vole field signs can be confused with those of other species, such as brown rat and field vole, however, these all looked pretty good to me.

Water vole numbers have declined greatly in the UK, to the point where it is now the rarest of our native mammals. This is due to both habitat loss and predation by escaped or released American mink.

The above image shows probable water vole droppings in a pathway along the water's edge.

Car parking over the Christmas period

Paul Bennett — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 17:38:10 GMT

Please note that, due to staff illness, the car park at The Willow Works may not be open over the Christmas period.

If you do wish to visit the site over the next couple of weeks, sensible parking is possible in the main entrance, opposite The Willow Works.

Hear our stories!

Paul Bennett — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 17:18:07 GMT

We're recording a series of podcast-style stories to capture the voices of real people who have seen and worked on the changing landscape at Beckingham Marshes.

The audio files will cover a range of stories from the marshes including the changing landscape, wildlife and birdsong, and tales from the river. Along the way, the reserve's team will be talking to local characters for snippets of history from the marshes.

Each sound bite is only three or so minutes long for you to get a brief taster from the reserve, and new stories will appear on this page every few months over the coming years.

Just click on the link below:

http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/b/beckinghammarshes/stories.aspx

Traditional Countryside Craft revived at Beckingham Marshes

Paul Bennett — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 18:04:40 GMT

Hedge layer (and all-round forester) Andrew Pickup has been recruited to sort out some of Beckingham's neglected hedgerows. Most of the site's hedges haven't been managed for many years and as such, have started to die back. The art of hedge laying is a traditional method of hedgerow management, that not only provides a stock-proof barrier, but also rejuvenates the hedge plants and provides a habitat for wildlife.

Andrew is one of few people who still lay hedges in a Nottinghamshire style and you can see his work next to the site entrance.

Andrew admiring the fruits of his labour.

Come and meet the RSPB at Marshall's Yard!

Paul Bennett — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:50:00 GMT

The RSPB's East Of England Region Membership Development Officers have been having a recruitment drive at Marshall's Yard in Gainsborough this year. Whilst Gainsborough falls into the East of England Office's region, it made sense for me to join MDO Dwane Lilley there last Monday, seeing as Beckingham Marshes is only just over the river.

I'll be there again this coming Wednesday 19th December with MDO Nikki Thurston. So if you happen to be doing your Christmas Shopping there, look out for the green RSPB stand and stop by for a chat.

EERO MDO Dwane Lilley at Marshall's Yard, Gainsborough.

Help to create a living willow tunnel!

Paul Bennett — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 17:01:00 GMT

Giant duck spotted at Beckingham Marshes!

Paul Bennett — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 17:47:00 GMT

Four members of 3rd Gainsborough (Whiteswood) Cub Scouts, carried out a sponsored walk in aid of Children in Need a couple of weeks ago.

Dressed in fancy dress, including the very appropriate 'Pudsey Duck', the four walked from Gainsborough to Beckingham and back again.

Beckingham blog posting

Paul Bennett — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 16:52:56 GMT

Some great images on the following link - particularly when you consider that they were taken when it was nearly dark! The 'discovery domes' look great.

Rob is is working on a web-based interactive interpretation project for us and you can follow his progress here:

http://rspb-robgbsn.blogspot.co.uk/

Bridging the gap.

Paul Bennett — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 16:44:32 GMT

If you've been out on the Marshes recently, you might have had a little difficulty getting through the gateway between the first two fields due to the muddy conditions.

To alleviate this, we put in a temporary boardwalk over the worst of it, yesterday. I hope it helps.

Willow workshops at The Old Willow Works

Paul Bennett — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 10:05:07 GMT

Groundwork have recruited the services of a local willow worker, to run two willow workshops over the next couple of weeks.

Details can be found on the attached poster below.

(Please visit the site to view this file)

New visitor trail and bustling wetland for the Trent Vale’s water loving wildlife.

Paul Bennett — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 18:13:21 GMT

After three years of engineering works to create a network of pools and wet ditches across an area of floodplain grassland the size of 100 football pitches, the partnership project between the RSPB and the Environment Agency has opened a new trail leading from the Old Willow Works in Beckingham.

Michael Copleston, RSPB Site Manager hopes local visitors using the new short trail from the Old Willow Works building will enjoy the wide landscape views and catch a glimpse of the dragonflies, tree sparrows and lapwings that are settling into the new reserve.

Michael comments: “The hard work is now really beginning to pay off, it’s been fantastic to see new records of curlew, lapwing, water voles, barn owls and brown hares, to name just a few of the species that Beckingham Marshes are supporting”

The partnership project has been a great combination of local community help, with excellent volunteers such as Chris du Feu and Mr and Mrs Braithwaite helping with valuable wildlife surveys, working together with RSPB Conservation expertise for designing new wetland reserves along the important Trent Valley landscape.

RSPB Volunteer, Chris du Feu says:” The reserve is already different with all sorts of species returning. A pair of Curlews seeing off a hunting Buzzard was a sight unimaginable here, even five years ago. The future is bright.”

The new reserve has nearly 100 large wet ponds, 4 km of ditches and 3 windpumps to circulate water around the wetland features. All of the hard work has been generously supported by funders, including Heritage Lottery Fund, WREN, Natural England, the Environment Agency and Biffa Award, whose money has helped create the largest wet grassland creation project for Nottinghamshire.

Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund East Midlands, Emma Sayer says: “We are tremendously delighted to see all the hard work everyone has put in to this project result in such a resounding success.

“The East Midlands has suffered the greatest loss of biodiversity in England with less than 2% designated as important for conservation. The importance of this project is clear, and we are certain with the RSPB’s management this revived wildlife haven will thrive for generations to come.”

Lee Rawlinson, Environment Agency Area Manager says: “The work the RSPB and the local community have done here is really exciting and continues to bring lots of additional benefits for the area.

“Beckingham Marshes is an excellent example of how we can deliver together to improve the local environment that can then be enjoyed by people and wildlife.”‪

For more information visit the RSPB Beckingham Marshes website on the reserves pages at www.rspb.co.uk or call the Nottinghamshire Reserves Office on 01636 893 611

What's about?

Paul Bennett — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 21:18:51 GMT

Fieldfares - hundreds of them!

Upon entering the site yesterday, we observed roughly 300 fieldfares in one of the easternmost fields. However, these weren't the only ones, as the sky was full of them throughout the day.

Volunteer Chris duFeu, reported approximately 2000 fieldfares in the fields just the north of the Old Willow Works, later that morning too. Redwings were seen and heard throughout the day as well, but in much smaller numbers.

Chris also saw a little egret feeding in one of the pools along the vistor trail, but the highlight of the day had to be a woodcock sitting in the middle of the track, only a few metres in front of the Land Rover.

New addition to visitor trail

Paul Bennett — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 16:18:22 GMT

Yesterday, I was joined by volunteers Joan and Mike, who assisted me in the installation of a feeding station for small birds.

It's on the right-hand side as you pass between the first and second fields, on your way to the viewing platform. It should prove popular with the local tree sparrow population and provide good views of these special birds.

If there is anybody who lives locally, who might be interested in keeping these topped up over the winter, then please e-mail me on paul.bennett@rspb.org.uk. It would be a great help.

Of interest on site yesterday, was a single pink-footed goose. Presumably, it got seperated from its flock in the fog that we've been experiening over the last few days.

Also a willow tit, calling just off the reserve near Eight-arches Bridge.