Exploring the Foreshore at Rimac

A walk led by John Loft. 21st September 2014

It was a blustery afternoon with a threat of showers when 27 members and their cars crowded into the car park at Rimac. The apparel ranged from fully kitted lifeboat man to a light anorak and trainers. I was delighted to see so many new faces from the LAG catchment area, many of whom were already LWT members, together with a couple from the Boston Area Group.

John gave us a quick briefing about the structure of the sand dunes and salt marsh at Rimac. It is a classic example of an 'accretion coast' whereby colonising plants form a series of sand dunes and salt marshes. We straggled along behind John across the salt marsh looking at the seed heads of Sea lavender and Sea aster with Scurvy grass, Sea purslane and Perennial glasswort underfoot. However, it took a little time to identify the Cord grass seed heads. There were a few waders on the large lagoon in the middle of the marsh; we heard the Snipe and Curlew before we saw them.

We crested the large sand dune and gazed in awe at a magnificent beach with Grey seals cavorting in the creek which was the outflow from the River Eau. They seemed to be as interested in us as we were in them. There were Cormorants drying their wings on the bank and a large group of gulls and Shelduck on the edge of a marsh. The body of a gannet with a 6 foot wing span was resting on the sand. It must have been a recent death as the striking blue pigment of the bill and feet was still very bright.

We could see clumps of the Common glasswort (edible samphire/samfer) growing on the sand with muddy sediment forming around the stems. In some cases Cord grass had grown to form little islands and as one moved back to the established dunes Marram grass and its deep roots strengthened the dune against wave action. The red stemmed Sea sandwort and the delicately flowered Sea rocket were still in flower at the edge of the dunes and some scrubby Sea buckthorn was beginning to spread.

The tide was coming in fast. It was time to go. As John guided us back to the car park some us of had a close look at a Grey plover in its winter plumage. Thanks John for a great outing. RW

Bird list: Cormorant, Little egret, Teal, Oystercatcher, Grey plover, Little stint(?), Snipe, Black-tailed godwit, Curlew, Redshank, Black-headed gull, Common gull, Herring gull, Greater black-backed gull, Skylark, Swallow, Carrion crow, Starling, Linnet. Dead Gannet & Heron.

Ray Woodcock

John mentioned the Sea Aster Mining Bee. Here's something I wrote about it last year. It's really a rather curious creature.

Biff Vernon

Seed Collection at Red Hill

Since our Louth Area Group (LAG) outing to the Coronation Meadow last year and the Louth U3A trip in June of this year members have responded to Harry Turner's requests for seed harvesting.

On the 6th and 20th of August members, including John and his grandchildren, and Dennis, Avril, Peter, Alan, Catherine and Ray, collected Cowslip and Scabious seeds. We all enjoyed the work and Harry was delighted with the results.

Ray Woodcock

Counting the Birds

"In the last decades of the 20th century, 44 million breeding birds vanished from the British countryside. The total avian population has probably never been lower since the last Ice Age."

That's the startling conclusion from Mark Cocker in his article looking at the various recently published atlases of British birds in the New Statesman.

Mark Cocker's latest books include Birds and People and Birds Britannica.

 

LAG VISIT TO GIBRALTAR POINT RESERVE

Saturday 19 July 2014

The forecast was dreadful. Luckily we had only a few drops of rain whilst the rest of the county enjoyed Summer downpours. So it was a select band of 13 who benefited from the tour of part of the storm damaged reserve with Warden Kevin Wilson. It was walk, listen and look. We heard and saw how far the 5 December tide had reached and were fascinated to see where the flood water had broken through a 200 year old dune to pour along the road and to form – for a short time - a sea water lagoon. Kevin pointed out a Red-banded sand wasp that lays its eggs in a moth caterpillar where they develop as the host dies. We saw Yellow wagtails and Linnets flitting over. There were Cinnabar moths on the Ragwort and the ground hugging brambles were in fact Dewberries. Essex skipper, Gatekeeper and Ringlet butterflies were sucking up nectar in profusion. Over the dunes a Marsh harrier was being mobbed by Meadow pipits – it did not seem to take any notice of them as it flew majestically out to sea.

It was not until we reached a stand of sycamore trees, looking sad after a salt water soaking, that have been left to thrive in contradiction to most reserves where sycamores are removed, that Kevin was asked what he had been doing on the time of the flood. Quite unassumingly he told us that by night he was constantly assessing the water levels and warning local residents of the imminent dangers. By daybreak – sleep was a couple of hours - he had been up to his chest in water probing with his feet to find sluice gate controls to ease the flow of water.

There was a lot of property damage at Gibraltar Point. The Visitors' Centre and accommodation block were made uninhabitable which had a direct impact to the reserve. No place for full time volunteers to reside and the possible loss of employment for the canteen staff. No services for visitors or teaching groups with a loss of revenue from the café and shop and no hay crop from the meadows. The various article in Lapwings chronicle in detail the changes that have come about since that night. The long term plan is to manage this changed habitat and to make the location safe and welcoming for visitors by replacing board walks and by installing more substantial toilets and a shop to replace the temporary Portaloos and refreshment wagon.

As somebody who has always been interested in the zonation of the seashore and the development of salt marsh from beach to sand dune I was very excited when we reached the area to the north of the Fenland Lagoon. Here the sea had broken through from the lagoon and had scoured a pathway through a wild flower meadow. Well, it was a wildflower meadow last summer!Now it is covered with the bright green Sea club rush and in the salt water path there are the classic salt marsh colonising plants of Common orache, Glasswort (our old friend Samfer), Sea purslane, Annual sea blite and Scurvy grass. From the location of the plants the seeds must have come with the tide rather than having laid dormant in the meadow which would have been salt marsh many years ago.

The verges still had colour from Knapweed, Wild carrot, Bartsia, Betony and Bird's foot trefoil. The Yellow rattle had lost its yellow but was rattling well in the breeze. We 'hide-hopped' back to the car park. The lagoons that are overlooked by the hides on the West side of the road were unaffected by the flood and as ever were supporting loads of ducks, waders and noisy Black-headed gulls. The Black-tailed godwits looked handsome in their chestnut Summer plumage, the Avocets were dainty whilst a young Great crested grebe looked rather lost on an island on the mud. Turtle doves used to be common in this country and are now quite rare – but we saw and heard one sitting on the top of a Hawthorne bush twenty metres from the road.

We finished off our outing with a rustic picnic under threatening clouds.

BIRD LIST (30)

Little grebe, Great crested grebe, Cormorant, Little egret, Canada goose, Shelduck, Teal, Mallard, Tufted duck, Marsh harrier, Oystercatcher, Avocet, Lapwing, Black-tailed godwit, Bar-tailed godwit, Redshank, Black-headed gull, Wood pigeon, Turtle dove, Skylark, Swallow, Meadow pipit, Yellow wagtail, Sedge warbler, Grasshopper warbler(heard) Long-tailed tit, Magpie, Carrion crow, Linnet and Yellow hammer.

Sea Club-moss

(top pic. Turtle dove)

Ray Woodcock

Seed Collection at Red Hill

A COUPLE OF HOURS IN THE SUMMER SUNSHINE AT RED HILL

Good morning to you all,

I remember how impressed we were by the work of Volunteer Warden Harry Turner when we visited  the LWT Red Hill reserve last year with the LAG and last month when we visited with Louth U3A. Harry has done wonders during the last decade to create an SSSI site and the Coronation Meadow. On both occasions some of us said that we would be prepared to offer help at the reserve so long the task was not too onerous.

 

I have just heard from Harry who tells me that he would appreciate some help in collecting the heads of cowslip plants in order that he may extract and dry the seeds. Rather than ad hoc arrangements we agreed that 10.00 am on Wednesday 6 August might be a good time for people to gather at the car park opposite the Coronation Meadow  to spend a little time gathering Cowslips. Children will be welcome.

 

Map reference TF 264806, nearest post code LN11 9UE.

  

The only equipment needed is a medium sized polythene bag or as Harry defined it, 'the size that contains a large loaf of bread'. 

 

Let me know if you can join me or just turn up on the day.

Best wishes

Ray Woodcock

Chairman LAG

Visit to Gibraltar Point Reserve

LOUTH AREA GROUP LWT

10.00 am Saturday 19 July 2014

We shall meet at the Main Car Park of the Gibraltar Point Reserve at 10.00 am when the Warden, Kevin Wilson, will take us on a tour of parts of the reserve where we will have the opportunity to observe how the ecology of the site has been changed by the December 2013 floods and what management measures need to be taken to deal with the changes. We shall also see lots of birds, so bring your bins.

The visitors' centre café and toilets no longer function. However, there are mobile toilets and a busy snack bar at the car park. You may wish to take your own refreshments, particularly water, as it is likely to be a hot day. We will be on the move for about a couple of hours – but on flat ground!

The daily car park fee is £3 whilst groups visiting Gibraltar Point are asked to make a donation towards the upkeep of the reserve.

Ray Woodcock

Wildflower Seed Picking Picnic

 We are having a Picking Picnic event at Red Hill on Sunday 10^th August from 10am-1pm.

This will be an opportunity to gather free wildflower seed of local provenance for your gardens and growing projects.  You can also help the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust gather seed for community green spaces too.

I will give a wildflower identification field presentation and provide collecting bags and some refreshments.  Toilets are available on the site.  Bring a packed lunch and drink if you’d like to join a picnic afterwards!

Similar events may be organised later in August/September.

Here also is a link to more information on Red Hill Nature reserve:  http://live.data.wt.precedenthost.co.uk/sites/default/files/Red%20Hill.pdf

I look forward to seeing you there!

With best regards,

Mark.

Mark Schofield

www.lifeontheverge.org.uk         

Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust

Banovallum House

Manor House Street

Horncastle

Lincolnshire

LN9 5HF