An uncommon Winter visitor

[British Red]

It's lovely on the Wash in the Winter. Despite being public access, we rarely if ever see another person (despite being able to see for many miles in all directions).

It takes a little effort to get there and you can't drive on a salt marsh so it's too much like hard work for most people. It's very sad really. If you want to see massive numbers of wildfowl, this is thd place. Brent Geese today. Last week was pink footed geese



We didn't take the SLR today just strolling about but Merlin identifies so much from the haunting calls






Today we enjoyed sighting a bird that's a relative of a new resident. We have a large number of Little Egrets that are now breeding and often living in the dykes. Lately we have been watching a Great Egret



Its hard to tell from a phone photo but these are big - heron sized. They are settling slowly. There maybe as many 12 pairs now permanently resident in the UK. Over the Winter as many as 50 join them as migrants.

We hope this one will decide to stay - the Wash is a perfect spot. Time will tell.

 

[Broch]

We're seeing Great Egrets all the way up here now - well, winter visitors anyway.

As you say, a big bird

 

[British Red]

We're seeing Great Egrets all the way up here now - well, winter visitors anyway.

As you say, a big bird

Oh yes - if you aren't sure, it's a Little Egret - when it's a Great Egret, you know!

 

[nigelp]

That’s a good spot. We have plenty of little egrets done on the marshes but I’ve only seen one or two of the big ones - last year.
Have seen plenty of Widgeon. They are quite a chipper bird and form quite extensive flocks.

 

[British Red]

That’s a good spot. We have plenty of little egrets done on the marshes but I’ve only seen one or two of the big ones - last year.
Have seen plenty of Widgeon. They are quite a chipper bird and form quite extensive flocks.

They are definitely resident now but not yet on our stretch - hopefully this year. It does make me laugh when I hear the antogonistic pundits from the BBC going on about how little wildlife there is on farmland!

One of our local farmers has done a fantastic job making old marsh barns great nest sites & we see Barnies daily. This is today's quartering the margins for voles



There are Windhovers absolutely everywhere if the townies would stop fly tipping for 5 minutes




Honestly the idea that there is no wildlife in the UK can only come from someone who doesn't venture far from a Macdonalds!

 

[Wander]

Honestly the idea that there is no wildlife in the UK can only come from someone who doesn't venture far from a Macdonalds!

Hmm...a lovely sentiment, but a little short-sighted.
It's not that there's no wildlife, it's that there's not as much as there was/should be.

 

[British Red]

Hmm...a lovely sentiment, but a little short-sighted.
It's not that there's no wildlife, it's that there's not as much as there was/should be.

As more land becomes houses, roads & shops because of population growth that's probably true of some species.

It's also true that, for example, there are more deer in the UK that at any time in the last 1,000 years. So for deer, there are far more than there have been since William the Conqueror was king.

Of course there could be more - we just need to get back to sustainable numbers of people. As David Attenborough says;

All of our environmental problems become easier to solve with fewer people, and harder – and ultimately impossible – to solve with ever more people.

 

[Wander]

Yes, very true.
Modern farming practices also take a share of the blame - insecticides mean fewer...er...insects, which means fewer birds that feed on them, and so on.
It is a shame, but Attenborough really does have a point. I just can't get away from the fact that there are just too many of us on this poor planet.

 

[Broch]

Well, deer are perhaps not the best example especially as a great number of them are alien species

There are also more grey squirrel than ever before, 2.5 million, but I don't think we should be celebrating the fact. Our wildlife diversity has been going down since farming began (sorry, but change and loss of habitat is a prime cause of diversity loss). Since the 70's, 50% of our species have declined (the ones we know about) and that's after continued decline for thousands of years. 15% of our species are now in danger of becoming extinct. I could list a whole range of species that are in desperate straights, but there's no point.

Monocultures kill species diversity; we need to concentrate on diversity of habitats if we are to stop the rot.

However, there is plenty to see and engaging with wildlife is so rewarding.

Argh... I've got on a soap box again, sorry

 

[British Red]

Modern diets demand intensive farming. More vegetables have to be grown and everyone wants cheaper food. We already have an enormous food deficit as a country - meaning that we burn fossil fuels importing from countries that usually have far lower standards than our farmers work to - with all that implies for wildlife. Still it's there now, lets enjoy it!

 

[British Red]

Well, deer are perhaps not the best example especially as a great number of them are alien species

There are also more grey squirrel than ever before, 2.5 million, but I don't think we should be celebrating the fact. Our wildlife diversity has been going down since farming began (sorry, but change and loss of habitat is a prime cause of diversity loss). Since the 70's, 50% of our species have declined (the ones we know about) and that's after continued decline for thousands of years. 15% of our species are now in danger of becoming extinct. I could list a whole range of species that are in desperate straights, but there's no point.

Monocultures kill species diversity; we need to concentrate on diversity of habitats if we are to stop the rot.

However, there is plenty to see and engaging with wildlife is so rewarding.

Argh... I've got on a soap box again, sorry

Of course - I agree - lets get back to small mixed farms, permanent hay meadows and coppice woods. We just need to ave a sustainable population to match our sustainable production!

 

[Broch]

Yep, I do not have an answer - farming allowed our populations to grow, I blame everything on farming

Bring back the Mesolithic!

 

[Wander]

Still it's there now, lets enjoy it!

No, I'm sorry, that's an irresponsible attitude and I cannot endorse it. As a culture, as a society at large, you may very well be right.
But as individuals I find that position dispiriting and as an individual I think that way lies destruction.

We just need to ave a sustainable population to match our sustainable production!

Yup, and there's the rub. Again, that comes back to what Attenborough said.

Back on track - yes, there is some amazing wildlife out there. But if you think that only MacDonald's eating urbanites are concerned that there should be more...well, an expert on small holding and making hedgerow brews you may be, but your conservation skills and knowledge are not all they should be or what you think they are!
There should be more out there, and more variety as well. If you are happy with the little you have, and see it a glut of treasure, then I'm pleased for you, but...

 

[British Red]

No, I'm sorry, that's an irresponsible attitude and I cannot endorse it. As a culture, as a society at large, you may very well be right.
But as individuals I find that position dispiriting and as an individual I think that way lies destruction.

If you find enjoying the wildlife around us irresponsible and dispiriting then I feel very sorry for you. I find it beautiful and up lifting - but you do you.

 

[Broch]

I am fairly sure @Wander that BR did not mean 'there's plenty out there let's stop worrying' but more 'let's not be all doom and gloom and enjoy what is out there'. And, to some extent I agree. Unless we persuade people to enjoy and value the species we have we just don't stand a chance. The alternative, and my preferred approach, is to just stop humans going into huge sanctuary areas at all - but that's just not acceptable to most people

 

[Wander]

I am fairly sure @Wander that BR did not mean 'there's plenty out there let's stop worrying' but more 'let's not be all doom and gloom and enjoy what is out there'.

You may want to re-read post #5. Misguided patronising highlights include:

It does make me laugh when I hear the antogonistic pundits from the BBC going on about how little wildlife there is on farmland!

There are Windhovers absolutely everywhere if the townies would stop fly tipping for 5 minutes

Honestly the idea that there is no wildlife in the UK can only come from someone who doesn't venture far from a Macdonalds!