The Golden Wellies 2014

Another year of the RSPB’s internal competition to find the best passage wader site, The Golden Wellies, has come to a conclusion.  There are both league and knockout elements to the competition to test good wetland management throughout the year.  Monthly counts of waders are recorded; they have to be ‘feet down’ on a managed fresh/brackish scrape or flood (not tidal).

The Premier League champions are, yet again, Frampton Marsh (photo top). Frampton recorded 33 species, just ahead of Minsmere (31), Deane Valley (29) and Dungeness (29).  The highlights of Frampton’s year included Lesser Yellowlegs, Dotterel, White-rumped Sandpiper (photo above), as well as 4 Pectoral Sandpipers, 6 Temminck’s Stints and both Red-necked and Grey Phalarope.  Frampton had an average monthly peak of 5,018 waders of 25.6 species, compared to Minsmere’s 481 waders of 23.4 species. Snettisham records the most waders monthly – an average peak of 33,000 birds, but only averaging 14 species a month.

Middleton Lakes had a storming year, topping The Championship with 29 species (including Pacific Golden Plover, Pec Sandp and Temminck’s Stint) and winning the ‘most improved site’ prize.   They are promoted to the Premier League along with Blacktoft (29) and Saltholme (28).  Langford Lowfields (22), Ynys-hir (20) and The Reef (18) were promoted from League One.  Middleton Lakes and Dearne (Old Moor) again demonstrate that well managed inland sites can compete with coastal sites in terms of wader diversity and numbers.

In all, 43 species of wader were recorded during the year, with a peak monthly count across all sites of 106,021 birds being recorded in September.  Monthly peak counts included 10,682 Black-tailed Godwits and 481 Whimbrel in April, 14 Black-winged Stilts in May, 288 Greenshank in July, 125 Curlew Sandpipers and 98 Little Stints in August, and 14 Pec Sands and 38 Jack Snipe in September.  

The Premier League and Championship finished like this:

The Premier League                                                The Championship

1.   Frampton Marsh    33 species                             1. Middleton Lakes           29

2.   Minsmere                31                                         2. Blacktoft                         29

3.   Dearne Valley        29                                          3. Saltholme                       28

4.   Dungeness              29                                         4. Arne                                27

5.   Old Hall Marshes   28                                         5. Leighton Moss                25

6.   Exe Estuary             27                                         6. Snettisham                     23

7.   Aire Valley              27                                         7. Mid-Yare                        22

8.   Burton Mere           27                                         8. Loch of Strathbeg           22

9.   Havergate               26                                         9. Campfield                       21

10. Rainham Marsh     26                                         10. Otmoor                          21

11. South Essex            25                                          11. Ham Wall                     20

12. Weymouth Res       24                                         12. Stour Estuary                18

13. Ouse Washes          24                                         13. Belfast Lough                15

14. Conwy                     22                                        14. Fen Drayton                  15

15. Ouse Fen                 22                                         15. Pulborough Brooks       14

16. Titchwell                 22

Frampton comes alive.

Will Frampton Marsh rock the world of scrapes?  I pondered this question as I sat through the rather dull indoors part of the reserve annual review and itching to get out and examine the wader potential of the scrapes in the field, especially as I had noticed the Wind of change had gone to the east.  Located on the south-west corner of The Wash, the site certainly has the potential to pull waders.  Hmmm  Penny for your thoughts.

Regular readers will know I have ranted about scrapes before. Food abundance and availability are the key issue.  These are, in turn, is affected by water regime, nutrient levels and predators.  New wetlands are generally highly productive in the first few years of existence as early colonising invertebrates benefit from high nutrient levels and reach high abundance levels.  Food!  As time passes, nutrients become locked up in the system in mud and decomposing material and invertebrate predators increase as a more balanced system develops.  Less food!

So the key is to dry out shallow water bodies to allow nutrients to be released to the system, to kill off predators and then to re-set the clock by allowing re-colonisation.  But how often should this be done? Some ‘food’ invertebrates may peak in year 1, others up to years 4-5.  The trouble is that birders then moan when a scrape is dry for a season and there are no birds.  Many reserves fail to manage scrapes correctly for fear of a visitor backlash when they are dry, but then end up with a visitor backlash for having few birds. It’s a plain shame.

So, Frampton was designed with three scrapes adjacent to each other, all around seven hectares in extent. The two hides each overlook two scrapes.  The aim is to rotationally manage the scrapes; drying at different times to maximise the potential for waders.  Visitors will also see Something’s happening at all times.

Eventually we got out into the field, no doubt they saw the Lines on my face.  I said ‘Show me the way’.  The first scrape held a Black-necked Grebe and nine Little Gulls.  A couple of Temminck’s Stints grovelled around an island on the next scrape, while the third had Greenshank, Black-tailed Godwit and a number of broods of Avocet swishing for food in the shallow water. Baby, I love your way.  The adjacent wet grassland scrapes held 100+ Dunlin and Ringed Plover, Curlew Sandpiper and Garganey.  A bright future would seem set to Shine on Frampton.  Do you feel like we do?