There was a very nice trip out to Elmley with the excellent Landscape Management group. Here are some photos from Stephen Langford, including this Northern Lapwing, Peewit or Green Plover, Vanellus vanellus. The lapwing names perhaps comes either from its erratic mode of flying, or from its tendency to drag a wing as it distracts predators from its nest.
These birds, like many others in their family, prefer to feed at night by moonlight, eating mainly insects.
Four students and I visited Elmley Marshes this morning. The themes included habitat creation, funding of nature conservation visitor facilities through visitor income, estuaries (internationally important numbers of winter duck), grazing marsh (rare breeding birds, important numbers of wintering ducks and waders), sea walls, brackish ditches (rare plants and associated insects), wader breeding requirements, impact of worming treatments, microhabitat creation by grazing activity.
We saw Wigeon, Teal, Greylags, Mallard, Curlew, Lapwing, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwits, Kestrel, Reed Buntings and a lovely male Stonechat. Also Starlings, Goldfinches, Chaffinches, Blackbirds, Crows.
It would be very tempting to go and stay in one of the Shepherd's Huts - but I wouldn't want to leave Monty for a night! I'll just have to get up early and make my own way there whenever I want to go, perhaps joining the Friends of Elmley" for a cheaper annual fee (I'll be generous with the donations though!
I was particularly interested in the predator gate - does the investment in this sort of protection a major factor in ensuring the breeding success this reserve is famous for? Its part of the new 8km fencing system installed 2012? to keep fox predation down, a system which this year seems to have resulted in excellent breeding results from birds like lapwings!
The monthly updates have been very informative, and helped to bring the picture to fruition.
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