Projects Updates:

23/02/2010 13:43: Avocets return for spring

An amazing 200 avocets have returned to Reads Island in the last week to find the newly restored saline lagoons in perfect condition for the breeding season! Photographs taken on a recent reconnaissance to inspect the water levels clearly show that the three lagoons look in superb condition for the breeding season and that the newly arrived avocets will have plenty of habitat to nest in this year!  Deceptively the photographs of the lagoons look like they have lots of deep water in at the moment but they do in fact have a range of levels (varying from 1.5m – 12cm deep) which were created by the carefully planned excavations undertaken this summer. If the current condition of the lagoons stays the same the avocets should have every chance to raise lots of young and fulfil the aims of the project!

05/11/2009 11:44: A quick update on the saline lagoon restoration on Reads Island, and just how the birds and wildlife have responded in the autumn migration period.

The September, October and November high tides and recent rainfall have slowly built up the water table within the seven hectare saline lagoon system making them highly attractive to some impressive numbers of BAP target species. 
 
Avocets topped the 1000 mark in September, an all time high and hopefully a precursor to next spring. Two of the lagoons look superb already, with as we planned, areas of deeper water and then a nice shallow flood that should provide a wealth of food for those important chicks.
 
Also highly impressive have been the 7000 pink-footed geese that have used the islands lagoons for roosting!  This number of birds using the island notably constitutes internationally important numbers and they certainly provided a breathtaking spectacle at first light as they left the roost for their feeding areas on the Wolds. Just as impressive though have being the rutting fallow deer who live on the Island with some impressive Stags seen locking horns in the morning mist!  
 
Other notable numbers of birds have been 1200 shelduck, 3000 golden plover, 600 dunlin, 500 teal, and up to 4 Marsh harriers plus many more mallard, wigeon, lapwing and curlew using the site in good numbers.
 
The restoration of the lagoons was primarily for the breeding avocets but also because the many thousands of waterfowl using this part of the estuary also needed a reliable and undisturbed high tide roost. In its current working state the island is already delivering superbly and this has been a great boost to the conservation state of this part of the estuary, so roll on spring and hopefully a successful breeding season!
 

01/09/2009 15:46: 900 avocets can't be wrong!

Eighteen manic days working out in the middle of the wild Humber saw the creation of three stunning new saline lagoons on Reads Island! Working long fifteen hour days the team managed to install 10 hectares of habitat that will be capable of supporting over 100 breeding pairs of avocet and a safe roosting and feeding area for over 15,000 waterfowl.
 
The project started well with the massive crane barge lifting the 24 tonne excavator onto the island as though it was a toy! It soon became apparent though that work needed to commence almost immediately as the next set of high tides were going to flood the area we wanted to work in, something which we were not expecting! So on the first full day the excavator driver Paul swung into action and put in over 200m of 1m high bund over 35% of the site in just less than 12 hours! This was indeed very timely as the next tide on the preceding morning was hard against the bank. Panic over and tide kept at bay we could now commence with the bund and lagoon excavation.
 
Work in such an unpredictable and hostile environment required a very flexible and reactive approach to say the least. The original plan was adhered to up to a point but the creation of the banks revolved around the tide and how soft the ground was. There was always the chance of getting the machine stuck and if this had happened then we may have being in real problems. So the team had to be practical, in the first week the first lagoon was created by completing the main bund. Twelve metres wide at the base and nearly two metres high it was built to withstand the full force of a Humber gale. Other existing bunds were repaired, areas of deep water excavated and nesting islands created. The bunds were then spread with grass seed to help bind the soil and stop erosion. It all sounds so simple now but at the time in scorching hot weather the work pace was exhausting. Thank goodness for the Hope and Anchor pub and that cool pint of lager when the boat docked on an evening!   
 
The next week and a half saw lower tides and this allowed the second and third lagoons to be created on schedule. The weather changed too but luckily was not too wet to stop work, something we did not want as time was literally money in terms of how long the excavator was on the island and we were now working to the next series of high tides when it could be lifted off the island. If we did not meet this then the excavator would have had to remain on the island for another two weeks! So the team pushed along with the work, when lightening storms would allow, something which none of us would like to repeat on a flat island with no cover!
 
When the last lagoon was completed, the level pipes were put into the banks and drainpipes fitted to each lagoon via the level control ditch.  This allows the lagoons to fill on high tides and then drain down to a level quickly so that the inner banks are not damaged. The levelling ditch then allows the lagoons to be adjusted on a finer level or to be dried out if required.
 
As the barge crane came in to sight, the last of the grass seeding and then the installation of the depth gauges were hastily finished off, then a quick tidy up of the site just as the plant left the island. No deciding there was any last minute jobs now!
 
However, the proof is often in the pudding so as they say and of course we had to see if the level pipes worked and if the lagoon banks could stand up to the next series of high tides. These were in July about two weeks after the finish of the project. The pressure was on as we sped across to the island in the little work boat, hopefully the system would work as planned. When we got onto the island it was really pleasing to see that the grass seed on the banks had already germinated and was growing well and there was no obvious problems with the banks. Then the moment of truth as the tide reached the pipes and the water started to flow in, yes it did work! Although the tides were lower than predicted, it could be seen that water easily flowed onto all of the lagoons and more importantly, the banks were holding well!
 
The water levels are now being increased slowly so as not to put too much pressure on the system until the banks have stabilized and the grass has become fully established. We have also put some erosion protection (Hessian sacking) in key areas where the bank needed to have a bit of additional help in the early stages of vegetation establishment plus some plastic erosion control on the inner banks where the inlet pipes are, just to help stop undermining of the bank.  

On the last visit in late August the system was developing superbly. There were 500 teal feeding on the lagoons, 130 roosting redshank, 200 curlew and best of all, over 900 avocets feeding on the banks of the island, a record Humber count! So, fingers crossed (and a special thanks to SITA) that a few of them will come back in spring and raise their young on the new lagoons! 

27/08/2009 15:11: Visit Blacktoft Sands

Read's Island is the second largest permanent island in the Humber Estuary, and is part of the RSPB's Humber Reserves. Unfortunately there is no public access to the island, however less than an hour away is Blacktoft Sands reserve, a fantastic location for a great day out. You can see avocets in the spring, along with many other birds throughout the year. For more information, please visit www.rspb.org.uk/blacktoftsands

30/07/2009 15:54: Island restored for the strange bird with the upturned beak.

 

With the help of special machinery – and a grant of nearly £50,000 – avocets have been given the best possible chance to breed again in one of their favourite spots on the Humber.

Read’s Island was the most important breeding site for the charismatic avocet until very recently, when the island’s special pools were eroded by the scouring forces of the river. The RSPB has announced the completion of major work on the island, aimed at securing a brighter future for avocets and other wildlife.
 
The project to restore the island has been made possible through a SITA Trust Enriching Nature grant of almost £48,000. The grant has allowed the RSPB to improve and protect 10 hectares of saline lagoon, a threatened habitat.
 
In recent weeks, a special low ground pressure machine with a 15m reach has been on the island, creating banks and islands that will provide ideal conditions for the avocets. Pipes will allow the pools to flood on autumn tides and by next spring, conditions should again be suitable for avocets to return to breed successfully. Just getting the machine and equipment onto the island required the use of a huge crane barge to transport the digger onto the island.

Pete Short, the RSPB’s Humber Site Manager, said: "While the loss of Read’s Island to the River Humber may be entirely natural, it is happening at a time when our coasts are being destroyed by rising seas caused by climate change. To the avocets, the result is the same – nowhere to nest.
 
"The restoration of the island has been technically challenging but emotionally uplifting – knowing the RSPB has restored one of the most important coastal islands in the UK makes me feel very proud. "We could not have achieved this project without the support and help of many people, not least SITA Trust, the Nickerson trustees and Natural England."

Read’s Island has traditionally provided a safe haven where avocets and other birds can breed and rest, safe from the reaches of the tidal river. Over 100 pairs have bred on the island out of a UK population of around 1,000 pairs. In recent years, the special conditions on the island have also seen many hundreds of young avocets take to the wing and colonise other new sites in northern England

The avocet is an icon of British wildlife, a symbol of success against all odds and the bird on the RSPB’s logo. They breed on shallow, salty pools around and use their strange, upturned beaks to sift food from the muddy waters. Life on the edge is never easy for these birds, with the risk of tidal flooding an all too familiar daily occurrence.

Avocets returned to the UK in 1947, a century after the birds were driven to extinction by land drainage, hunters and egg collectors. When Britain faced what seemed to be certain invasion in the 1940s, the coastal marshes of East Anglia were flooded to hinder the German troops. This also provided ideal habitat for the avocet, which took the opportunity to mount its own invasion of the suddenly deserted coast.
 
Protection by the RSPB at Havergate Island and then Minsmere in Suffolk, allowed the bird’s range to gradually increase, with breeding populations concentrated around salty pools, like those found on Read’s Island.

The imminent loss of Read’s Island to the Humber threatened to put more pressure on the area’s avocets, which already face losing habitat to the man-made problem of sea-level rise.

The RSPB now looks forward to working with its partners around the Humber to ensure the avocet has a more secure future so that future generations can marvel at the strange bird with the upturned beak.