As we say goodbye to the winter season and our wintering birds head north, we also say goodbye to our Seasonal Rangers Julie and Mel. Here they take a look back at the last six months and consider what lockdown might mean for our coastal wildlife.

Well I have had a great time as one of the Bird Wise Rangers for my second season. It doesn’t seem six whole months since I came back from Scotland to reacquaint myself with the North Kent Marshes and catch up with all our Bird Wise friends. Now it’s time to go into an unknown future.

As rangers, out all day every day, we’ve been rained on, hailed on, warmed by the sun, blown away, swamped and generally buffeted by weather. The day at Oare when we had a particularly high tide was interesting. The Environment Agency put up flood defences at the end of the slipway in case the tide came over the top of the marsh wall and flooded the car park. I ended up warning visitors parking up that they may want to keep an eye on the water level and come back and move their cars if it looked as if it might breach…

We made some lovely new friends during our free bird watching walks, and we also have some regular groupies now! They have arrived in all weathers to explore new coastal areas which they had never been to before and find out more about places they know well. We’ve helped keen birders sort out a Black-tailed Godwit from a Bar-tailed and learn the difference between a Black-headed and a Mediterranean Gull. We’ve shown people, who have never realised our coast is so important for migrant birds, that those little black dots on the shoreline are actually rather interesting. Helping them to understand what a fascinating and compelling life story those dots have. Many have gone away with an appreciation and admiration of them and an understanding of how they need our protection after struggling to get here from thousands of miles away. Now we wave goodbye to those birds as they migrate and hope that their breeding seasons elsewhere will be productive.

I am often asked what my personal high spot of the season was. It’s not the really rare species that blows in unexpectedly. Although that can be fun as we get to meet many many more keen birders. It’s the return of the more humdrum birds who come to the North Kent Coast year in year out. I wait every winter to see when my favourites will begin to make their appearance. So, it was great to see the arrival, at last, of the Pintail Ducks. My personal favourite during our outreach work was coaching a new birder on how to spot kingfishers. The thrill of the moment when she actually spotting her first kingfisher was lovely to share. Especially since I had briefed her on what kinds of perches to look for them on and she spotted one before I did. I am sure her first view is one she will never forget. Admittedly on that day we were completely spoilt, not one but three kingfishers in the space of ten minutes all from the same vantage point. We don’t always strike that lucky…

Mel has been considering how our absence, combined with that of everyone who is isolating and staying in, has and will alter the way wildlife gets on with life over the spring and probably into the summer. Already I am seeing differences in the gardens at the back of my street. I live well away from the coast, or suitable flowing water, yet here in the middle of town in a heron swooped low over the grass and went to sit in a nearby tree. Not something I have ever seen from my home office window.

Wishing you a safe summer season, see you again soon, Ranger Julie

I confess I’ve never seen a pair of waders high-fiving or punching the air.  If they could though, they would probably be doing it right now!

Modern life as we know it has been put on hold and who knows for how long this will last.  For most of us, the domino effect that this pandemic has had on our lives could never have been predicted.  However, there will inevitably be some positive gains for the animals and the environment – and these will be happening right now.

Footpaths across beaches, woodland, marshland and fields are currently devoid of the human (and canine) footprints that have trudged through these landscapes come rain or shine for decades.  The effect of this is that much of our rarely seen wildlife is coming out and poking its head into the spring light, and above the parapets of their secret homes.  They may be venturing a little further or resting a little longer in coastal areas than they have been able to do safely in the recent past.

We’ve read many accounts of wildlife rangers recently reporting more sightings than usual of deer, rodents and hawks but it is the ground nesting birds with their fragile populations who will ultimately benefit the most from a lessening of footfall across their breeding grounds.

At this time of year, in our north Kent coastal areas, we would expect birds such as the Oystercatcher, Ringed plover, Redshank, Lapwing, Marsh Harrier and, if we’re very lucky, Little Tern to be making grounds nests and breeding this spring. 

The Lapwing and Ringed Plover are both on the Birds of Conservation Concern 4 (BoCC4) Red List. This list has more species on it now than ever before and has grown by 15 since the last review in 2009…currently standing at 67. Oystercatchers, Redshank and Marsh Harriers appear on the Amber List.  If you want to learn more about the endangered species then you can see the full lists here: https://www.bto.org/our-science/publications/psob

Little Terns are one of the most threatened seabirds breeding in Britain and their exposed breeding sites on beaches means they are very vulnerable to accidental disturbance.  Many of their traditional sites have been abandoned in recent years due to the pressures of human disturbance.

So what makes for a stable, declining or growing bird population?  Well, this is the science of population dynamics and, needless to say, it can get complicated.  The key is the net reproductive rate.  This is defined as ‘the growth rate of a population per generation; equivalent to the number of female offspring that each female produces over her lifetime’. The ‘net’ bit means that this number has taken into account births and deaths.

Scientists have calculated that, for Lapwing populations to remain stable each pair need to fledge at least 0.6 chicks per year. This equates to 6 chicks flying over the course of 10 years.  One chick per pair per year would see the population grow. Anything less than 0.6 and the population will decline.  You can begin to see how fragile these populations are.

You can also see that any number of females dying prematurely and not reaching their full egg-laying potential will affect the numbers.  Additionally, short-lived species are under even more pressure to fledge as many chicks as possible every breeding season and will often have several broods in their short life.  For example, Kingfishers live for only 2 years and so need to lay 2 or 3 clutches consecutively in their first year of life.  Tough-going under any circumstances.

All we can do, as coastal users, is to try and ensure that ground nests are given a wide berth and birds incubating eggs are left undisturbed.  You might think that this is a tall order given that most nests are so well camouflaged to deter predators but we don’t need to see something to protect it. Just imagine that coastal fields and beaches are more than likely to contain the nests of breeding birds at this time of year so keep yourself and dogs to the designated footpaths. This way you’ll help these fragile populations stand a fighting chance.

There is a good chance that once we are allowed back out to enjoy our countryside and wildlife, many will take it as an opportunity to re-engage with nature on a deeper level.  Maybe we have taken it all for granted for too long. Have you noticed that you can hear the bird song and the wind blowing more clearly without the constant drone of traffic and planes? Does the air smell fresher?

There are other problems with an extended lockdown that will affect wildlife adversely though. There is currently an absence of ears and eyes on the ground reporting issues such as disturbance of bird colonies, wildlife crime and damaging environmental activities.  Many environmental agencies and conservation charities rely on the public being their eyes on the ground, especially in the remoter areas.  Necessary conservation work such as wildlife surveys and monitoring are also being disrupted around the country, which will leave a hole in this year’s annual data collection.

The importance of wildlife and environmental data collected by teams of volunteers – known of late as Citizen Science – is well documented. The scientific community could not do its job without it and it has also shown to improve public scientific literacy no end.  Roll on the return of these committed volunteer naturalists to our countryside and coast.

Check out these science links sent to us by the fabulous friends and wardens at Elmley Nature Reserve.  Scientifically guaranteed to keep you busy whilst you’re indoors:

www.zooniverse.org/projects/ghthomas/project-plumage

https://www.zooniverse.org/projects

https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/gigl/london-bird-records

https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/webcams

http://www.garden-birds.co.uk/quiz/

When our lockdown ends one thing is for sure – for the wildlife and for us – life will never be the same!

Stay safe and well, Ranger Mel