Walkers urged to tread carefully this beach nesting season
04 May 2023 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news
For the council’s wildlife rangers on the Space for Shorebirds team spring means one thing – beach nesting birds.
Last year with a huge effort and the help of volunteers 14 chicks successfully fledged from our nest protection areas along the Northumberland coast.
The birds that spend the most of the year with us such as purple sandpiper, sanderling and turnstone are leaving our shores soon to undertake an incredible migration to their arctic breeding grounds, but ringed plovers are preparing to nest on our sandy beaches.
At the same time global travellers like arctic terns that have spent the winter travelling the southern oceans and little terns that have wintered in west Africa are heading to our beaches to breed, where they nest in colonies at Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve and the National Trust’s Long Nanny tern colony to the south of Beadnell.
Ringed plover are the most widespread shore nesting species on the Northumberland coast, where they nest on sandy and shingle beaches at low densities. They are very difficult to spot which means walkers and dog walkers can disturb the birds without realising, pushing the birds off eggs that need to be kept warm until they hatch. They are a species in decline and are red listed as a species of conservation concern, and so it is especially important that they are protected.
It takes around 24 days of incubating for the chicks to hatch. Ringed plover chicks find all their own food from only a few hours after hatching from the egg. At this stage they are just tiny little balls of fluff and feather, as you can imagine this makes them vulnerable to predation by crows, kestrel and gulls and also trampling by people.
Senior Wildlife Ranger Richard Willis said, “Disturbance and trampling are serious threats to these birds and so it is vital that we provide fenced refuges where they can safely nest and we ask everyone to give these areas lots of space, especially if a dog is present.”
The eagle eyes of local volunteers from Coast Care are invaluable in keeping our rangers up to date about where these beautiful little birds might be looking to nest, and Space for Shorebird rangers would like to thank the Coast Care volunteers and local residents who are taking part in our shore nesting bird surveys and nest protection work this year.
Cllr Colin Horncastle, Cabinet Member for Community Services added, “ The Council is committed to providing the homes that people need and helping the tourism industry to thrive.
"However, part of what makes the Northumberland coast so special is the wildlife, including our shore nesting birds like ringed plovers, so we are determined to help protect them for future generations. The level of support from residents for this nest protection work has also been very encouraging.”
If you would like to know more about the shorebird nesting season on the Northumberland coast check out the team's blog at www.spaceforshorebirds.co.uk and social media @spaceforshorebirds.