Greetings from Labrador Bay, via the Exe Estuary office!
As Mark mentioned last week the work of scrub clearance on Waterfield, the very steep section, has been completed for the year. The ponies and sheep will soon take over the job of keeping the scrub under control. A mosaic of habitats including scrub, open areas, log piles and small trees has been created ideal for Cirl Buntings.
Labrador Bay is one of the best sites to see the rare Cirl Bunting that was once widespread across much of Southern England but unfortunately declined in numbers and range due to changes in land use. However in South Devon numbers have increased in recent years thanks in part to the Cirl Bunting Project, a partnership between The RSPB, Natural England and the National Trust.
There is more good news as the species has been successfully reintroduced to Cornwall, the first time a song bird reintroduction has been attempted in Europe. Along with help from Paignton Zoo and the Zoological Society of London chicks were translocated from South Devon, hand reared, ringed and released. Reintroductions since 2006 have led to 39 pairs fledging over 100 young last year. This amazing achievement was possible due to the help of local farmers returning to more traditional farming practises such as leaving overwinter stubble, leaving field margins and allowing hedge rows to grow thicker. As Cirl’s spend a lot of their time within close proximity of there nest they require this mosaic of habitat. From the ringing much has been learnt about this little bird, including that polygamy and ‘divorce’ occurs amongst this usually faithful species and that some individuals can live up to 5 years, twice as long as usual.
This success, along with the work carried out at Labrador bay this winter, has shown the value of teamwork and cooperation. A big Thank You goes out to everyone involved.
Andrew.