Related
Recommended
Jo Sampson

I admit that working for nature in the Greater Thames isn’t all about glitz and glamour. Not in comparison to the 2013 Brit Awards which will no doubt dazzle and shimmer in North Greenwich tonight.

Take a conversation I had the other day about the fate of the dunlin. If you wanted to invent a charismatic, headline grabbing, of the moment bird to be up there in the media spotlight, you probably wouldn’t choose the humble dunlin. Dunlins are small waders, which seek out the Thames Estuary every summer, where it is a degree or two cooler than their Southern wintering grounds. Individually they aren’t the most charismatic of species, but they make a real impact when you see them in the huge flocks that gather in the Thames Estuary.

Dunlin flock over an Estuary

Unless you’re in to worms, molluscs and dirty fun, you probably won’t think much of the mud flats, salt marshes and silt lagoons of the Thames. If you were a dunlin, those spaces represent the top restaurants, bars and fun palaces where many attendees at the O2’s Brit Awards, preen their feathers and strut their stuff for the world’s media.

Current climate projections suggest that in 2040 the south east of England will have warmed by 2 degrees. Perhaps this doesn’t sound like much. But a change in temperature of this level will cause sea levels to rise threatening the muddy estuarine expanses so beloved by the dunlin each summer. Through the Futurescape, we want to work with partners such as the Environment Agency and landowners to help the Greater Thames adapt to climate change so it can continue to deliver space for nature.

But for now, perhaps conservation could learn a few tricks from the Brit Awards. We need something loud, brash, bright and energetic. So here’s a starter for 10; the nominees for the #JeThames Brit Awards are (drum roll):

  1. Outstanding Contribution Award - Londoners drinking water has, on average, previously passed through 4 freshwater mussels! Well done those mussels for filtering our water.
  2. Best Solo Artist – Goes to the individual seals recorded at Rainham and by the O2 Arena.
  3. Best Hair – The quiff-like crest of the lapwing has got to be one of the all-time top styles for rebels and rockers.
  4. Best Newcomers – The Thames is an important spawning ground for many fish including shad and lamprey.
  5. Best Androgynous Act - short-snouted seahorses live in the lower-mid reaches of the estuary.
  6. Best International Act – This has got to go the birds of the estuary. The waders and waterfowl. Some 300,000 plus migrate here to join resident species every year – making it one of the busiest flight paths in Europe.
  7. Slipperiest customers – Eels. London may have lost most of its Pie & Eel shops, but the eel remains an important part of the ecology of the Thames and one of the foundation stones of the food pyramid for many different wildlife species.
  8. Best Single– Who could forget the vocal cry of a dolphin – this February we had three Dolphins (http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article4792301.ece) swim into central London up the Thames.
  9. The 2013 #JeThames Critics Choice award goes to the grey heron – a common sight along the Thames and the marshes along its banks. RSPB London staff will be showcasing Heronries in Battersea and Regent’s Parks, starting the weekend of 9 and 10 March – go and see them – it’s FREE.
  10. Finally – the Best grunge Act has to go to the Zebra mussel – a species which clumps together in nutrient-rich water, so has a habit of blocking sewage and drain overflow pipes, causing localised flooding issues.

Sadly, the dunlin didn’t make our top ten. It’s not sexy. It’s not glamorous. But it is threatened and it is running out of time.

Who would you nominate for a #JeThames Brit Award?