30th June: Little Tern Recovery Project Update

The shorebird breeding season is well underway with chicks becoming a regular sight on our coast line. It’s an exciting time for visitors but a worrying time for parent birds who keep a close eye on their offspring to help see them through until they can fly themselves. The EU Life Project currently running on the coast has done its bit to help by adding new areas protected by fencing. This creates small parts of the beach just for wildlife which is free from disturbance. Any disturbance from dogs or people can cause parent birds to move away from the chicks and open them up to all sorts of dangers.

As well as fenced off areas we have our unsung heroes of Lindisfarne NNR shorebirds - our hardy bunch of volunteer wardens. They have been busy keeping watch over our shorebirds all along the Northumberland Coast. They are tasked with speaking to visitors and collecting valuable information on how the birds manage over the summer months.

Gill is one of many shorebird wardens keeping a close eye on the coast

We are always looking for more people to help - If you would like to volunteer or for more information then get in touch: northumberlandlittleterns@gmail.com

Mhairi Maclauchlan
Project Co-ordinator EU LIFE+ - Little Tern Recovery Project Northumberland

27th June: Family Craft Event, Wednesday 2nd July

Reserve staff and volunteers are holding another fun craft event next week at the Window on Wild Lindisfarne, our previous craft events have been a great success with hundreds of Little terns, lobsters, flapping lapwings and seal cards made by visiting families and local schools.

Here are some photographs from previous events:

If you would like to learn more about Lindisfarne NNR and make some fantastic crafts as keepsakes, drop-in anytime between 11.00am and 1.00pm on Wednesday 2nd July at the Window on Wild Lindisfarne. More details on our Events page. We'd love to see you there!

23rd June: New bespoke Nature Trail posts

We have now installed the first of our new self-guided nature trail posts near the end of the Straight Lonnen. These replaced the old, smaller posts, and each has a carving of a different creature or plant found on the Reserve.

 

We will be installing more of these posts over the summer, to make the trail clearer to follow. The trail map can be found in our leaflet, available from various locations on the Reserve and as a downloadable PDF file on Natural England's website.

16th June: Lindisfarne NNR at the Glendale Show's Children's Countryside Day

Last Thursday we were asked to attend the local Children's Countryside Day, organised by the Glendale Show. It was the 10th anniversary of the Children’s Countryside Day and we were thrilled to be involved for the first time. The day is dedicated to giving children between 5 and 9 hands on experience of the countryside. We were teamed up with some of our colleagues in Catchment Sensitive Farming and the Northumberland Rivers Trust who had lots of interesting water creatures for the children to examine.

Setting up before the children arrive 

After being kindly let into the main tent due to the threat of rain we talked to the children about the work we do and also got them looking at litter and how long it takes to rot away once it’s dumped on our shores. I think a few of them were shocked to find out it takes around 450 years for a nappy to decompose and over 1,000,000 years for glass! Following that, they created a couple of craft creatures including making a little tern. This gave us an opportunity to talk to them about our current partnership project the Northumberland Little Tern Project.

Natural England's litter guessing game

Despite the threat of rain the show stayed dry and 1500 children enjoyed the exhibits which ranged from sheep shearing through to wood turners. We talked to children from schools based locally at Belford and Berwick but also from further afield such as Jesmond in Newcastle. It was a great day! The feedback from the children was positive and everyone was really enthusiastic. Many of them took away a leaflet about Lindisfarne NNR and some said they would be dragging their parents out to enjoy the reserve in the holidays!

14th June: Eiders are hatching at Lindisfarne NNR

A few days ago we blogged about the eider duckling that was found alone on the beach at Lindisfarne. The Berwick Swan Trust has posted a photo of the eider chick and it's friend on their Facebook page which you can view by clicking the following link:

Link to the eider chick on Berwick Swan Trust's Facebook page

The female eiders, which are ground-nesting birds, gather their ducklings together to form large 'creches'. You can often see these from the shores of Lindisfarne NNR from early June, so look out for these creches of newly hatched eiders now.

An eider creche

Be mindful of young eiders when you're out and about on the Reserve, they often come up to rest on the mud and rocks along the shore, so keep your dog on a lead or at heel and enjoy watching the young ducklings from a distance. This will also reduce disturbance to other ground-nesting shorebirds such as ringed plover.

13th June: Great Yarmouth Little Tern found on Lindisfarne NNR

A little tern was recently found dead on the strandline of the Reserve, with no visible signs of injury or illness. The bird had been ringed, so the details were sent to the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) who were able to tell us that it was ringed as a nestling in 1998 at Great Yarmouth, meaning it was almost 16 years old. According to the BTO website their typical lifespan is 12 years and the oldest recorded recovery was 17 years 9 months and 28 days.

Little Tern

If you ever find a bird ring or a dead bird with a ring, please report this to the BTO as it provides interesting and useful information about the species. More information can be found at www.bto.org

10th June: A rescued eider duckling

An eider duckling was found by some kind members of the public on the beach at Ross a week and a half ago. We think it was left behind by a mother who also had 2 more chicks with her, she was seen further up the beach. We tried to reunite the chick with the female but by this time she and the  other chicks had swam out towards Holy Island.

The eider duckling

The duckling was taken to the Berwick Swan and Wildlife Trust and is doing very well with a teddy to cuddle into and a mirror so it has 'another' duckling to keep it company! It is still too small to be kept next to some mallard ducklings that the Swan Trust is also looking after.

We will post regular updates on the duckling's progress and hopefully in a few weeks can return it to Ross where it was found.

3rd June: Photos from Ellingham First School's visit last month

Children from Ellingham C of E Aided First School had a brilliant day on their trip to the Reserve a few weeks ago. The school has kindly sent some photos to us of the groups having a great time taking part in activities with us. 

One group decorating their glittering Flapping Lapwings

Learning about the Reserve at the Lookout on Wild Lindisfarne

Seal watching at the Lookout

Creating pop-up seal cards

Watching the wildlife at the Window on Wild Lindisfarne