Curlew proposed as 'mascot' for redevelopment project at abandoned Lincolnshire theme park

                        

On the prowl for something to eat - a Curlew on Cleethorpes beach

A CURLEW could be adopted as the "mascot" if the proposed redevelopment of an abandoned  theme park in northern Lincolnshire goes ahead.

The idea has been put forward for Pleasure Island in Cleethorpes by Lichfelds, the agents acting on behalf of the scheme's applicants, as part of an initiative to keep planners and  conservationists sweet.

Among the latter are Natural England and the RSPB who have expressed concerns that Curlews and other declining shorebirds could face increased disturbance if the Cleethorpes coastline becomes target destination for thousands of boisterous  holidaymakers.

Another proposal is for the redeveloped site to have its own dedicated Coastal Ranger  "for the lifetime of the lodge development".   

Subject to the organisation's  agreement, the appointee would be employed by the Humber Nature Partnership who would receive a financial contribution of approximately  £22,264 per annum - to be increased in line with inflation - to subsidise the role.

The intention is for the Ranger not just to monitor the shorebird bird population, plus incidents where they are disturbed, but also (good luck with this!) to "educate" holidaymakers about the importance of conservation.

The draft job description for the role outlines the main responsibilities thus:

1. To undertake programmes of ornithological and disturbance monitoring in accordance with agreed monitoring and reporting protocols.  

2. Monitoring and reporting any disturbance events or issues to stakeholders to enable continual review of the role and findings. 

3. To provide advice to holiday park and recreational users concerning the value of the coast to wildlife and how they can undertake their activities while avoiding disturbance.  

4. To support with effective public engagement programmes, including guided walks, educational programmes and help deliver compelling social media campaigns. 

5. To support holiday park engagement activities which may include the coordination of partners, local recreational groups, local industry and community groups to share the message about the importance of the Humber Estuary and connect people to the natural environment.   

6. Participate in the delivery of informative, engaging, inclusive and participative engagement programmes that connect people and place through storytelling, participation and learning, inspiring and helping to build capacity. 

7. Support the work of the partners, local community groups, the community and recreational user groups to share understanding of ecological issues and the place.  

8. Support with the delivery of important initiatives to conserve important wintering and breeding bird populations and their habitat.  

9. Undertake such other duties as may be reasonably expected at this level.

The site's redevelopment will be recommended for approval at a meeting on Thursday, but it is unclear whether any of the above will be included as a formal planning condition of consent.

Ornithological note: Probably fewer than a dozen pairs of Curlews nest in Lincolnshire, but none anywhere near Cleethorpes. A few non-breeders linger in the Humber Estuary over summer, but most depart our shores in spring to nest in Scandinavia, chiefly at sites in Finland, thereafter to return to our beaches in autumn and winter.

                       

Pleasure Island - the theme park closed 10 years ago

The Wryneck says: Cynics might see the Curlew mascot idea as an attempt at "greenwashing". It reflects what has happened widely across the country where housing estates have been given names which include the words "fields", "forest" or "meadows" and where new streets have been named after displaced  birds, trees or wildflowers. It is uncertain if the applicants have the slightest interest in the welfare of Curlews, but, to give them their due, the idea of one being one used as a logo has its merits. In addition, the appointment of a Coastal Ranger would certainly (assuming the duties are fulfilled) do no harm.  

Would poet - and birdwatcher - William Wordsworth have appreciated living close to a kebab shop?

                                                   

Dove Cottage - home of Wordsworth between 1799 and 1808 (photo: Christine Hasman via Wikimedia Commons

A RUMPUS over whether a kebab shop should be allowed to open in the scenic Lakeland village of Grasmere has put its most famous resident, William Wordsworth, in the spotlight.

Would he have disapproved such a business opening close to Dove Cottage where he lived? Or, by contrast, would he have become a regular and appreciative customer?

These questions are being explored in current media reports.

Of incidental ornithological interest, it could be noted that Wordsworth (1770-1850) was an important chronicler of the birdlife of the Lake District and his huge output of verse includes references, sometimes frequent, to the species he used to encounter on his walks.

All told, there are reckoned to be more than 50 of them including Nightjar (Dor-hawk), Corncrake (Land-rail), Snipe and Stonechat.

His various poetic tributes to the Skylark are less admired than a corresponding work by Shelley, but one is particularly impressive.

It reads:

Ethereal minstrel! pilgrim of the sky!

Dost thou despise the earth where cares abound?

Or, while the wings aspire, are heart and eye

Both with thy nest upon the dewy ground?

Thy nest which thou canst drop into at will,

Those quivering wings composed, that music still!

Leave to the nightingale her shady wood;

A privacy of glorious light is thine;

Whence thou dost pour upon the world a flood

Of harmony, with instinct more divine;

Type of the wise who soar, but never roam;

True to the kindred points of Heaven and Home!

In his Book, Wordsworth's Birds (1985), Stanley Finch describes Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy, as "life-long bird lovers".

He writes: "Birds were their everyday companions - as much a part of surrounding life as mountains and lakes, trees and flowers, and equally loved."

According to the author, the Robin was the poet's favourite just ahead of the Wren.

Kindred spirit - poet always cherished seeing a Robin

                                     

Deep in reflection - William Wordsworth (photo: Benjamin Haydon via Wikimedia Commons)

 

Great Scott! Egg from 'most grotesque bird in all the world' expected to fetch as much as £15,000 at London auction

                                                           

A little bit of Antarctic history

 

AN egg from an Adelie Penguin  would not normally be an object of  desire, but an exception is set to go under the hammer (not literally) at a sale in London on Thursday July 9.

What makes this egg  special is that it was brought back by one of the scientists on Capt Robert Scott's ill-fated 'Terra Nova' 1910-13 expedition to the South Pole. 

Measuring circa 75cm x 55cm, the egg, which has been 'blown' of its contents, is contained in a black cardboard presentation box.

Also in the box, crucially, is a typewritten note signed by Herbert Ponting,  the man who gathered it.

This valuable historical document reads: "This box contains the egg of an Adelie Penguin - the most grotesque bird in all the world -which was brought back by me from the Antarctic regions where I was a member of Captain Scott's expedition on which he and four comrades - Captain Oates, Dr Wilson, Lieut Bowers and Petty Officer Evans - perished on their return journey from the South Pole. 

"The Adelie Penguin breeds farther south than any other known creature. 

"This egg was found by me, in November 1911, seven miles from Captain Scott's Winter Quarters, Lat:77.30 S., 750 miles from the South Pole."

The box and its contents are likely to be one of the star lots at an auction to be conducted by Sotheby's next Thursday July 9.

A report in the catalogue states:  "Herbert Ponting (1870-1935) is famed for his role as the expedition photographer and cinematographer for the British Antarctic Expedition, also known as the Terra Nova Expedition, led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott. 

"Ponting took some of the first known colour photographs of Antarctica, and was also among the first men to use a portable movie camera in the region. 

"Having helped set up the winter camp at Cape Evans in 1911, Ponting took many photographs of Scott and his men, as well as over one hundred photographs of Adelie and Emperor Penguins."

It continues: "Whilst the tragic deaths of Scott and his men are central to the legend of the Terra Nova expedition, one of the expedition's major objectives was scientific, as this object reminds us. 

"The Terra Nova returned laden with specimens of plants, animals, and fossils, of which more than four hundred were new to science. 

"Penguin eggs were prized for their alleged importance in revealing evolutionary links between reptiles and birds. 

"The box and accompanying typewritten note signed by Ponting suggest that this item was presented as a gift. 

"Intriguingly, the Scott Polar Research Institute holds another Adelie Penguin egg housed in a box of apparently identical construction, with a near-identical typed note signed, stating that the specimen was found at the same location as the present egg ("Lat:77.30 S., 750 miles from the South Pole"). 

"The two specimens may well have been removed by an expedition member from the same clutch of eggs."

Online bidding has already begun and reached £9,000.

However, Sotheby's have high hopes that the hammer price on Thursday could reach between £10,000 and £15,000.

                                                    

Herbert Ponting's note

                                                    

Blown free of its contents - the hole on another side of the egg

                                          

Warden of Cape Clear John Horton lined up to give talk on bird observatories at Global Birdfair 2026

                                          

Plenty of coastal observatories but none inland

THERE should be a good attendance when John Horton discusses the work of bird observatories in the presentation he is due to give at Global Birdfair on Friday afternoon.

There are 21 observatories dotted around the coasts of Britain and Ireland - for some reason there are none inland - with John being warden at Cape Clear.

According to the Bird Observatories Council, their function is to "conduct long-term monitoring of bird populations and migration".

The BOC says: "Individual observatories are located at prime migration points where a daily census is taken in a defined recording area.

"An integral part of observatory work is bird ringing, undertaken within the national British scheme which is cordinated by the British Trust for Ornithology. 

"This provides data for guiding conservation policies of such bodies as Natural England, Natural Resources Wales, Scottish Natural Heritage and their counterparts in Ireland.

"The observatories encourage volunteers to participate in scientific studies of birds and the environment.

" The results of these studies and more general information are made freely available to researchers and to the public who are welcome to visit observatories."

Some of the individual observatories - for instance, those at Dungeness, Fair Isle, Gibraltar Point and Spurn - are excellent at providing daily records.

Over the past day or two, for instance, Bee-eaters have been noted at Dungeness and Trumpeter Finch on Fair Isle.

However, disappointingly, some observatories seldom post any records at all until the publication of their annual reports.

John Horton’s talk will be at 5pm on Friday in the Avocet lecture theatre. 

New book explores how interests of birds and other wildlife get shunted to one side by 'powerful people'

                                 

"Nature deserves to be front and centre in the minds of decision-makers."

So says Simon Marsh in a new book chronicling how the interests of birds and other wildlife are so often put to one side when it comes to matters of planning and development.

He writes: "Sadly, powerful people, such as the Mayor of London, are prone not to learn from planning history.

"They will pursue grandiose schemes despite a mass of evidence of environmental harm."

Planning for Nature is this week published in paperback (£29.99) by Pelagic Publishing.

Financial squeeze means it's end of road for BBC-TV's Winterwatch nature show after 14-year run

      

Blaming financial pressures, the BBC has confirmed the scrapping of its live TV show, Winterwatch, which had been running since 2012. It will be replaced by a weekly pre-recorded programme to be called Naturewatch. The corporation has not revealed the extent, if any, to which Winterwatch's presenters, (from left) Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan  and Iolo Williams, will be involved in the new show. 

Natural England's green light for slaughter of Herring Gulls on industrial estate in Suffolk

                                               

Even though the Herring Gull is a Red-listed species, Natural England continues to grant licences for their slaughter if it deems there to be 'special conditions'. In the latest cull, which has sparked  controversy, birds have been shot at an industrial park in Ipswich, Suffolk, on the grounds that their nesting activity threatened to block guttering on warehouse buildings.