Thursday 11 February 2010

February 11th (New Hythe)

Little of note around the lakes today in the way of birds,I was hoping the cold weather might have brought something new in.
The east scrub was taken a battering today in the name of conservation.Many of the bramble patches have been cleared where last year good numbers of Whitethroat were recorded and worse of all a Nightingale territory which has been used for at least the past eight years by the pylon has been reduced to ground level,I was told this clearing will be every three years,this hardly gives it time to recover.All I can see that this will achieve is to open up the area (like what has happened in the west scrub) and encourage more and more people and dogs to roam all over the area,pushing out wildlife,it makes my blood boil.When the park was first established reports and maps with Nightingale territories and other important areas were handed over,do they not look at this information before work begins,two years ago two Nightingale territories in the west scrub were destroyed when paths were cut through them.Cutting lots of paths through small areas erodes the habitat destroying nesting and feeding areas and encourages more people off of the main footpaths.

If anyone with influence in the park who reads the above and cares for the Parks Nightingales, we need a conservation plan drawn up before their habitat is eroded to such an extent that none remain.

The first thing that I would do as soon as possible (before it becomes another well trodden path) is put up a fence across where the Bramble was cut (on the southeastern edge of the pylon) to allow it and the breeding habitat beyond recover over the next few years (pylon Nightingales)

7 comments:

  1. Hi Alan. Personally I would like to see the whole area taken over by a decent conservation organisation.
    Thanks for the update Alan.

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  2. Hi Ken,if you see a warden in the park,just mention the Nightingales and if we all do that they might just get the message,thanks.

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  3. Hi Alan.
    I was tempted to ask what on earth were they thinking of but the answer would clearly be nothing. Needless to say I will have my say about it.
    Phil

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  4. Hi Alan,
    I have the same problem on my patch. The old victorian attitude of ''Must be neat and tidy''

    If you want to save the habitat, you will have to upset people, fire off a few e-mails to the local press. They would love to hear of Nightingale habitat being destroyed, get in touch with the people doing the clearance, threaten them with the 1981 wildlife act. Nightingale is a schedule 1 species.

    I have done these things and have met with some success. These organisations hate bad press, it loses them custom.

    Dont rely on other people to stop the destruction, use your anger to fight back!

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  5. Thanks Warren,I`m used to a lot of fighting,thirty odd years or more,mostly between 1970 and 1990,helping secure Abbey Mead lake and meadow and working with the KTNC,but I have been left with high blood pressure as a result but its been worth it.

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  6. Phil,hope you enjoyed your holiday.We will have to get together and find out whats going on.I believe the Nightingale numbers last year were probably at there peak in the park,so nows the time for action before numbers decline,which has started to happen in the Abbey Meads area.Reed island site on the opposite bank of the river held ats its peak 30 pairs (1980s)last year I heard none.

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  7. Alan , I can understand why it left you with high blood pressure. :-)

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