Hi everyone,
We've been doing lots of work this year to keep an eye on how well Saltholme's breeding lapwings are doing. Here's Peter on what Toby, Saltholme's assistant warden, and volunteers have been up to ...
Along with a team of volunteers, Toby has been surveying the lapwing nests on Saltholme's wet and boggy grassland. Armed with a telescope, radios and a GPS, Toby has been looking for a sitting lapwings then guiding us (that's the volunteers) to where he thinks there will be a nest with eggs. Once found, the GPS coordinates are recorded along with the number of eggs. The photo is one we did last week.
We can then return to check on the progress and see how many chicks hatch. The data will help us keep Saltholme perfect for lapwings as well as other ground nesting birds like snipe and redshanks. One of the things we do to keep the grassland suitable for waders to nest, is to remove any trees and bushes to deny predators perches near to nesting areas.
When you next visit you can see the chicks from Paddy's Pool hide, although the nesting areas are off limits except for essential monitoring.
Bye for now,
Ben.