RSPB RESERVES 2007 RSPB RESERVES 2007 Black Park Ramna Stacks & Gruney Fetlar RSPB RESERVES 2007 Lumbister Mousa Loch of Spiggie Sumburgh Head Noup Cliffs North Hill Birsay Moors Trumland The Loons and Loch of Banks Onziebust Mill Dam Marwick Head Brodgar Cottasgarth & Rendall Moss Copinsay Hoy Hobbister Eilean Hoan Loch na Muilne Blar Nam Faoileag Forsinard Flows Priest Island Troup Head Edderton Sands Nigg and Udale Bays Balranald Culbin Sands Loch of Strathbeg Fairy Glen Drimore Farm Loch Ruthven Eileanan Dubha Corrimony Ballinglaggan Abernethy Insh Marshes Fowlsheugh Glenborrodale Coll Loch of Kinnordy The Reef Skinflats Inversnaid Balnahard Vane Farm Oronsay Inner Clyde Fidra Fannyside Smaull Farm Lochwinnoch Inchmickery Loch Gruinart/Ardnave Baron’s Haugh The Oa Horse Island Aird’s Moss Rathlin Ailsa Craig Coquet Island Lough Foyle Ken-Dee Marshes Kirkconnell Merse Wood of Cree Campfield Marsh Larne Lough Islands Mersehead Geltsdale Belfast Lough Lower Lough Erne Islands Portmore Lough Mull of Galloway & Scar Rocks Haweswater St Bees Head Aghatirourke Strangford Bay & Sandy Island Hodbarrow Lough Head Leighton Moss & Morecambe Bay Bempton Cliffs Carlingford Lough Islands Hesketh Out Marsh Fairburn Ings Marshside Read’s Island Blacktoft Sands The Skerries Tetney Marshes Valley Wetlands Dearne Valley – Old Moor and Bolton Ings South Stack Cliffs Conwy Dee Estuary EA/RSPB Beckingham Project Malltraeth Marsh Morfa Dinlle Coombes & Churnet Valleys Freiston Shore Titchwell Marsh Lake Vyrnwy Frampton Marsh Snettisham Sutton Fen Mawddach Woodlands Middleton Lakes Mid Yare Valley How Hill Fen Nene Washes Berney Marshes & Breydon Water Ynys-hir Sandwell Valley Ouse Washes Lakenheath Fen Ouse Fen (Hanson-RSPB project) Dingle Marshes Carngafallt Minsmere Fen Drayton Snape North Warren Gwenffrwd/Dinas The Lodge Fowlmere Havergate Island & Boyton Marshes Wolves & Ramsey Woods Stour Estuary Ramsey Island HighnamWoods Old Hall Marshes Grassholm Otmoor Cwm Clydach Nagshead Rye Meads Vange Marshes Church Wood Cliffe Pools West Canvey Marshes Winterbourne Downs Rainham Marshes Northward Hill Nor Marsh & Motney Hill Normanton Down Shorne Marshes Elmley Marshes Ham Wall Farnham Heath Blean Woods Chapel Wood Barfold Copse Tudeley Woods Greylake Isley Marsh West Sedgemoor Broadwater Warren Garston Wood Dungeness Fore Wood Aylesbeare Common Avon Heath Adur Estuary Lewes Brooks Exe Estuary Arne Pulborough Brooks and Amberley Wildbrooks Bracklesham Bay Radipole Lake Wareham Pilsey Island HMS Cambridge Lodmoor Meadows Langstone Harbour Hayle Estuary Brading Marshes Grange Heath Marazion Marsh Stoborough Heath Locations of RSPB reserves Featured reserves 1 RSPB Reserves 2007 A review of our work COMPILED BY JO GILBERT Contents Introduction: nature reserves in a modern world 5 Reserves and wildlife – a review of 2006 7 Condition of RSPB-managed SSSIs/ASSIs 8 Progress towards species targets 9 Habitat enhancement 13 Other wildlife 15 Land acquisition 15 Protecting threatened birds 17 Developing a network of reedbeds for bitterns 18 Grouse at Lake Vyrnwy 22 Capercaillie at Abernethy 24 Restoring lost habitats 29 Wetlands for Wales at Ynys-hir 30 Wetland creation at Bolton Ings 32 Blanket bog restoration at Forsinard Flows 34 Heathland re-creation at Farnham 36 Demonstrating regulated tidal exchange at the Exe Estuary 40 Beyond birds – improving conditions for biodiversity 45 Wet meadows at West Sedgemoor 46 Corncrakes and the great yellow bumblebee 50 Chalk grassland re-creation in Wiltshire 54 Reserves and people – a review of 2006 59 Something for everyone 60 Innovative events 61 Living classrooms 62 Volunteering 63 Belfast Lough’s bird spectacle 64 Sandwell Valley in the community 66 Working for the environment 71 Composting at Ham Wall 72 Award-winning visitor centre for Rainham 76 RSPB graziers and the Single Payment Scheme 78 Thank you to our supporters 80 2 Avocet David Tipling (rspb-images.com) RSPB RESERVES 2007 3 Our vision Our vision is to help achieve a wildlife-rich future by doubling the area of land managed as RSPB nature reserves by 2030, protecting our most special places for birds and all wildlife, and redressing past losses through habitat restoration and creation. Our reserves will be rich in wildlife and, through working with adjoining landowners, act as catalysts to enhance the quality of the surrounding countryside. They will be wonderful places where everyone can enjoy, learn about and be inspired by wildlife. Increasingly, we will focus on restoring land of low ecological interest to that of high quality. Although our ambition may appear large, we believe it is the minimum that an organisation of the RSPB’s scale and character should seek to contribute, given the size of the task facing us. 4 Troup Head is managed for its seabirds, including Britain’s largest mainlandgannetry largest includingBritain’s itsseabirds, for Headismanaged Troup Andy Hay (rspb-images.com) RSPB RESERVES 2007 5 Introduction Nature reserves in a modern world The protection of special places has inappropriate management, human space. A good example of this is our been a cornerstone of nature disturbance and direct persecution. reserve at Rainham Marshes in Essex conservation for over a century, In recent years, we have invested (see page 76). In addition, our through the purchase of land as more in land that has low biodiversity reserves are supplying ecosystem nature reserves and through value but great potential, with the aim services, such as sea defence, the protection by law. of restoring or recreating its value for protection of water-gathering ground wildlife. We have done this to reverse and carbon storage. Wildlife is unevenly distributed across the fragmentation of land of high the UK. Natural factors such as conservation value, to reconnect it and In the future, we believe nature climate, topography, soils and buffer it from adverse edge effects, or reserves will play a vital role in geology play their part in this, but to establish new sites of high value. helping species to adapt to the people’s use of land and water has, We have targeted our efforts at sites effects of climate change. Providing increasingly, modified the natural that have the potential to conserve extensive areas of high quality distribution of species and habitats. nationally important numbers of habitat will enable species to be In consequence, some areas are threatened or declining bird species, or more robust in the face of extreme richer in wildlife than others and their species with internationally important weather conditions. protection has a disproportionately populations in the UK. high conservation impact. We have little doubt that nature An important goal for the RSPB’s reserves will continue to be an The RSPB first acquired land in the reserve network is to provide places important tool in achieving the 1930s. We have continued to invest where we can all be enthused and RSPB’s conservation goals for many in land acquisition as an important inspired by contact with nature at first decades to come. way of meeting our conservation hand. Our nature reserves provide objectives. By July 2006, we fantastic opportunities to show people managed 131,127 ha of land at 196 birds and other wildlife, and increase nature reserves throughout the UK. understanding of nature conservation. What follows is a progress report and In many cases, RSPB reserves make a series of case studies depicting the important contributions to local range of work that has been carried economies, especially as they are Gwyn Williams out on our reserves during 2006. often located in relatively remote rural Head of Reserves and Protected Areas areas with limited economic Over time, the type of land we have opportunities. sought has changed. Initially, we were driven by the need to protect Increasingly, RSPB nature reserves are land of high wildlife value in the contributing to urban regeneration by absence of effective statutory site helping to attract large-scale inward protection. This helped counter the investment through the creation of an Dr Mark Avery threats posed by development, attractive environment and urban green Director of Conservation 6 Twelve male red-necked phalaropes bred on RSPB reserves in2006 reserves onRSPB bred phalaropes malered-necked Twelve David Tipling (rspb-images.com) RSPB RESERVES 2007 7 Reserves and wildlife a review of 2006 The strategic aims of the work on our reserves are: • to ensure that all SSSI/ASSI site management units for which the RSPB is responsible for delivery of favourable condition are classified as in favourable or unfavourable recovering condition by 2012 in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and 2010 in England • to ensure that populations of 11 key species are at least maintained at 2005 levels on the existing reserve network • to ensure that populations of 15 priority species are enhanced by 2012 on the existing reserve network • to achieve new functioning priority habitats on land acquired prior to 2006 • to ensure biodiversity thrives on reserves • to acquire further land to support delivery of our conservation objectives. Sound progress was made towards these aims in 2006. 8 RSPB RESERVES 2007 ) m ages.co m ersall (rspb-i m Chris Go Grazing cattle is one of the ways we manage our reserves Condition of RSPB-managed SSSIs/ASSIs Almost three-quarters of the land reserves are in favourable or Data are not yet available from the under RSPB management is unfavourable recovering condition. statutory conservation organisations designated as SSSI/ASSI (Site/Area of Thirty-two features at 14 reserves are for sites in Wales and Northern Ireland. Special Scientific Interest). This in unfavourable condition for reasons reflects the role our reserves play in that could be within the RSPB’s control underpinning statutory site (7% of the 475 features monitored). conservation mechanisms. Condition of SSSI area (England) and features (Scotland) on RSPB reserves In England, 21,272 ha (80.6%) of the 26,400 ha of SSSI managed by the England (Based on Nov 06 data) Scotland (Based on June 06 data) RSPB are currently assessed as being in favourable or unfavourable recovering condition by Natural England.