So the days of summer are coming to a close and the evenings are just beginning to draw in. Winter is coming...... sorry, I've just got started on Game of Thrones, only got through season two so no spoilers please!!..... Anyway, for many the end of summer may be a reason for feeling a little sad but for us at the Inner Forth this is perhaps the most exciting time of the year! While the swallows may be thinking about heading away and the swifts have already left us, it is time for our visitors from the north to join us and lift our spirits. Just last week I was down at Kinneil Lagoons and had the pleasure of seeing hundreds of bar-tailed godwits all merrily feeding on the exposed mud, that was until a peregrine came flashing through and sent them all skywards! Quite a sight if you ever get the chance to see it!
Peregrine Falcon, just one of the reasons to head down to the River Forth (credit: RSPB Images)
Those godwits were really just the pre-cursor to the huge numbers of waders and wildfowl that will be heading to the Inner Forth over the next few weeks. You may well ask yourself why these birds are choosing the Inner Forth to spend their winter (I mean I could point them to some lovely spots on the Mediterranean coastline)? Well the answer (apart from the fact it does get a little nippy and dark in Iceland over the winter) is mud. Glorious mud.
The mudflats that stretch along the River Forth may look a little boring on the surface but if you dig a little deeper you will find they are stuffed full of worms and shellfish that serve as tasty meals for our northern visitors. Adjacent to these mudflats are areas of salt-marsh that serve as safe roosting sites for these birds when the tide is covering the mud, plus they are important habitats in their own right! Unfortunately for these species, we have lost 50% of the mud flats and salt-marsh that used to exist in the Inner Forth over the last 300 years due to land claim, and the habitats are under even greater threat in the future due climate change and further development. So if we want to continue to witness sights such as the one I experienced at Kinneil last week we need to act.
Mud Glorious Mud! Its dinner time for our winter visitors (credit: David Palmar, www.photoscot.co.uk)
This is where Futurescapes comes in, we are working with partners throughout the landscape to try and recreate some of these important habitats make sure nature has a home right throughout the Inner Forth. More than that however, this work could have great benefits for the people that live in the area through providing more sustainable flood defence and increased opportunities for nature tourism (more about this in a later blog).
How can I help I hear you say? Well first things first, get down to the river before and after high tide over the next few months and watch the wildlife spectacle of the Inner Forth, the Bo'ness foreshore is a particular favorite of mine, but if you can get down to the river at any point you never know what you might see! The next step is to pop over to our vimeo page and view the films we made with local schools that show pupils enjoying the natural world around the Inner Forth, snappily titled 'Airth in Nature' and 'Our RSPB Adventure'. If this sparks your interest to do more there are going to be plenty of opportunities to volunteer with RSPB and our partners over the next few years as we work as part of the Inner Forth Landscape Initiative, perhaps you want to work with schools or submit your own wildlife records? Keep an eye on this blog for further details.
So what are you waiting for? Get out there and see nature in action! Leave a comment to let us know what you see, and please, please do not leave a comment telling me anything about Game of Thrones season 3....... Enjoy!