Another exciting year has flown by here on the reserve with lots of hard work and achievements aplenty! We thought we would summarise these again via this blog.
Ironically, we have finished this year as we started with very high water levels. We are rapidly approaching the highest levels ever recorded on the reserve and we are only halfway through the winter!
The usual willow clearance was started by the practical team, with the main areas of focus being the islands out on Burrowes Pit, badgers field area, the ARC and to some of our remotest Oppen Pit.
The benefits of clearing willow from these places are to encourage the reedbeds to develop and to increase flora and fauna such as the Sphagnum Bog and the rare Cottongrass which flourish here.
The team installed some floating fence around the islands on ARC and the new islands south of Makepeace Viewpoint to significantly reduce the chance of mammalian predation on these islands.
We were delighted to have received a few new seabird rafts, funded by Natural England as part of HPAI (Avian Flu) mitigation to provide more spaces for our seabirds to nest and hopefully reduce its impacts on typically colonial nesters. We also brought in and repaired one of the large rafts on Burrowes Pit, meaning we now have more available places for seabirds to nest and roost.
We had the exciting approval for the ecological uplift of New Excavations in September, thanks to the funding from Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme Capital Grant Scheme (SRP). The main part of the project is to create more island on this lake to improve the birdlife and the opportunities for shallow feeding and roosting.
Work started with the clearance of willow around the margins of the lake to increase the floral species such as marshmallow, Jersey cudweed and other wildlife like the Damp Sand Beetle that reside in that area. We then welcomed an external contractor on to site with an excavator to start creating some of the island and we are excited to say that one was completed recently.
Work will stop for the breeding bird season and then continue until the late summer 2024 For more information see our New Excavations Uplift Project .
Looking back on this time last year, when the works for the wetland restoration project at Worth Marshes had only just been completed, it’s really something to think on how much things have changed in just 12 months.
We have now completed a full cycle of more routine reserve management and are entering our second wet winter, with water levels pleasingly high, scrapes and water features full and over 7000 wintering birds enjoying this new habitat. Of course, it hasn’t all been plain-sailing and the first part of the year did see some snagging jobs following the project works – raising the access track at Minnis Farm, repairing sluices and getting the infamous spillway to the desired specifications.
However we did have a successful breeding season, with 32 Lapwing pairs, 11 Common Redshank pairs and of course, the 3 Black-Winged Stilt pairs – of which one fledged a full brood of 4 chicks. It has been great to have had a few regular volunteers working on the site this year and our thanks go to all of them and the Assistant Wardens at Dungeness for their work and input into managing the habitats here.
Looking forward to what 2024 brings!
In September we installed two people counters. This will allow us to get a more accurate number of visitors to the reserve . The counters have been running for around three month and we have recorded a great amount of data which will hopefully help us reach our footfall targets.
Our hides have had their usual yearly refurbishments and they look better then ever. The roof and foundations to Dengemarsh Hide have been replaced and the roofs of Christmas Dell and the Viewing Screen also replaced with a new hardwearing material. This will help to maintain these hides into the future.
Christmas Dell hide has had a lot of work done to it this year. All the cladding was replaced, the wheelchair bay was rebuilt and all remaining timbers was given a good coat of preservative. All of this has given it a lot more longevity.
We have improved the accessibility for wheelchairs and pushchairs around the reserve by raising the height of the footpath into Dengemarsh Hide, filling in the big holes on the track to Hanson Hide and resurfacing the path between the visitor centre and the Discovery Area.
It was great to see a whole year of our events programme that was relaunched.
We have such a range of events running from Guided Walks, Wildlife Workshops, Sound Mirror Open Days, Stargazing and Pond Dipping as well as our Summer Open Day which was very successful with around 250 people attending.
We want to thank those that have supported us this year, whether that's been through volunteering, donations, attending events or simply visiting the reserve and shop. We look forward seeing you all in 2024.
Check our Wildlife Sighting highlights for 2023 here - https://community.rspb.org.uk/placestovisit/dungeness/b/dungeness-blog/posts/wildlife-sighting-highlights-for-2023