Today we have a blog from Georgie, our new Conservation Intern, about her first couple of weeks here:
I have recently become the newest team member of Frampton and Freiston Shore reserves after a busy summer as a Conservation Intern at Titchwell Reserve I have moved to the other side of the wash (the best side I am assured) for 6 months. I am looking forward to a fabulous winter here and have already seen and been involved in some great activities.
There have been some amazing numbers of black tailed godwits over the past week with up to 5000 roosting during high tide. While working near the 360 hide, there have been really great up close views of curlew sandpipers, little stints and dunlin. There has also been a dotterel right next to the path, however typically on Friday the 13th we got there 2 minutes too late to see it!
Little Stint - Neil Smith
On my first day at the reserve I got to assist in taking samples of mud from the scrapes at Frampton and the reservoir at Freiston shore. This was to carry out the yearly invertebrate sampling so we can see what food is there for the waders to eat. The most common invertebrate is the blood worm or chironomid, which is the larvae of non-biting midge. As its name suggests it’s bright red and very small.
We took a sample of mud and used a very fine mesh sieve and water to remove the mud very slowly picking out the worms and any other larvae that happens to be there. We could then work out the amount of food there is within a square meter of the scrapes. It was surprising how many we found in each sample and helps to show why there are so many birds in one area. The management of the water level throughout the seasons also significantly affects the number of chironomids that are present so careful management is the key to successful scrapes!
Another exciting sighting at Frampton has been seeing some sea aster mining bees right beside the path near the East hide. These amazing bees are unlike other species being non-social insects and they build their nests in small burrows. The females will only collect pollen from the sea aster plant, hence the name! This species has very limited distribution in the UK and with a 50 % decline in saltmarsh worldwide this bee is seen as one of the UK’s most important bee species.
Here are some of the highlights of my first few weeks at the Lincolnshire wash reserves and I’ll keep you up to date with many more throughout my time here!