Yes we have had a drop of the old wet stuff recently but we desperately needed it so that we could keep the lagoons in working order over the autumn. The rain though has caused no problems to the reserve and we are fully open as usual with access via Goole also no problem.
Still plenty of birds about too, although the Marsh Sandpiper has left us to pastures a new by the looks of it. The spoonbill also returned briefly today from where ever it's been hiding! Add to this peak counts of 21 spotted redshank, 20 ruff, 9 greenshank. 9 green sandpiper, 193 Black tailed godwits, and then records of whimbrel, curlew, oystercatcher, little ringed plover, ringed plover, snipe, avocet (plus 3 young) redshank, goldie plover (an old Humber name for golden plover as used by a friend who's father used to hunt them for the upper class game market in London!), common sandpiper, dunlin, and lapwing then you have a pretty good range of waders to see.
And its not all waders! An immature/female type garganey was on Singleton yesterday, with other sightings since the weekend including 11 little egrets, peregrine, hobby, merlin (the first of the Autumn), bullfinch (not a common bird at the sands) yellow wagtails, and then loads of bearded tits, marsh harriers and regular water rails skulking around the edges of the lagoons and sharming to each other which are still making a good days birding to be had.
Now I know many people don't like the feral greylags but for me they are pretty spectacular especially when they flight into the reserve to wash and roost. And I must add that many people would pay good money and travel some distance in winter to have several hundred geese fly over their head all wailing and squawking! So why not sit back and enjoy the bird spectacle of the Blacktoft Autumn greylag build up and save a bit of petrol money?
Also its that time again folks! Yes habitat management time that is. This years breeding season is still ongoing with young pochard, mallard, avocet, little grebe, water rail and marsh harrier still to fledge but we are starting the main winter period of habitat management for next years breeding season! Phew, a Wardens work is never done! Managing the grassland is one of the main tasks we are currently undertaking with the help of a few cows and old blue the tractor and mower (see below). This work creates a good nesting and feeding habitat for a whole wealth of waders and wildfowl but also skylark and meadow pipit. The area in front of Ousefleet hide is part of this and is managed as a seasonal pool so that annual weeds can establish and provide seed for wintering waterfowl. Many people wonder why this area is allowed to dry out and the reason is two fold. In the lease with our landlords ABP we are not allowed to hold water permanently on this area because of a risk of destabalising the river banks. The ecological reasons are because seasonal pools are a rare habitat and can provide a lot of habitat and particularly food for wildfowl when managed this way. Significantly this area often holds several thousand duck (mallard, teal and wigeon particularly ) when flooded by the tide and is an important feeding and refuge area for many of the Upper Humbers birds, part of why the reserve is a SSSI. Its not all about bird watching!