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| Spurn Lighthouse, on the other side of the Humber Estuary, provides the backdrop for these two ruff |
It is many years since it was wardened, even on a part-time basis, and investment has been conspicuous only through its absence.
The site, mostly consisting of saltmarsh and saline lagoons plus a sandy shoreline fringe, is not even listed in the most recent RSPB handbooks.
Word is that wildfowlers are given the nod to shoot pintail, wigeon and other duck in winter.
Time was when the 870-hectare reserve hosted a small colony of little terns, but the society did little to safeguard them and has done nothing to encourage their return.
Only to check whether small numbers of redshank breed do society officers carry out rare monitoring visits.
Happily, impressive birds are still to be found at most times of the year as the accompanying photographs - taken earlier this month - reveal.
So, on second thoughts, perhaps the RSPB's do-nothing policy is the correct one - that of non-interference. Nature is sometimes best left to its own devices.
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| Greenshank |
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| Great white egret |
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| Common sandpiper |
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| Common snipe |
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