GOOD NEWS FOR WILDFLOWERS, BAD NEWS FOR BIRDS - ERADICATION BECKONS FOR LONG STRETCH OF LINCOLNSHIRE'S SEA BUCKTHORN

 

Sea buckthorn in Cleethorpes - most of it will be destroyed come winter

A HUGE project to eradicate hundreds of acres of sea buckthorn from the Lincolnshire Coast is due to be undertaken next winter.

It is part of an ongoing national UK-wide programme, funded by the National Lottery,  known as Dynamic Dunescape.

Natural England has decided that scrubland should be forfeited in favour of encouraging  a range of wild flowers that are currently unable to flourish because of lack of light and growing space. The project could also benefit creatures such as sand lizards and natterjack toads..

Controversially, it will also open up areas for dog walking and other recreations, such as motorcycle-scrambling,  by residents and holidaymakers alike. 

Another  downside is that important feeding, roosting and nesting  habitat will be lost to migrating and overwintering songbirds (including, warblers, chats and members of the thrush family).

In Lincolnshire, swathes of buckthorn will be removed from the long stretch from Cleethorpes to Chapel St Leonards.

North East Lincolnshire Council's ecology officer, Mike Sleight, briefly made reference to the initiative in a
talk to birders earlier today.

He noted that sea buckthorn was not a native sand dune plant.

It is understood that Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust is giving guarded support to the scheme, but the position of the RSPB is awaiting clarification.