RSPB RESERVES 2009 Black Park Ramna Stacks & Gruney Fetlar 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 The Reef Coll Loch of Kinnordy Isle of Tiree Skinflats Tay reedbeds Inversnaid Balnahard and Garrison Farm 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 Saltholme Haweswater St Bees Head Aghatirourke Strangford Bay & Sandy Island Hodbarrow 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 Migneint 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 Lakes Snape North Warren Gwenffrwd/Dinas The Lodge Fowlmere Havergate Island & Boyton Marshes Wolves & Ramsey Woods Stour Estuary Ramsey Island HighnamWoods Old Hall Marshes Otmoor Grassholm Cwm Clydach Nagshead Wallasea Island Rye Meads Vange Marshes Church Wood Cliffe Pools Newport Wetlands 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 2009 A review of our work COMPILED BY JO GILBERT AND MALCOLM AUSDEN Contents Introduction: Change in an uncertain world 5 Reserves and wildlife – a review of 2008 6 Progress towards species targets 8 Habitat creation and restoration 12 Land acquisition 14 Condition of RSPB-managed SSSIs/ASSIs 15 Protecting threatened birds 16 Rathlin Island – a stepping stone for range expansion 18 Bitterns return to Somerset 20 Thirty years of seabird monitoring at Sumburgh Head 22 Storm petrel monitoring on Priest Island 24 Restoring lost habitats 26 Berney Marshes – a special place 28 Restoring the Ribble saltmarshes – managed realignment at Hesketh Out Marsh 32 Restoring blanket bog at Lake Vrynwy 34 Improvements for waders and ditch invertebrates at Greylake 40 Beyond birds – improving conditions for wildlife 44 Conserving our rarest plants and animals 46 Tooth fungus recording at Abernethy 50 Controlling invasive non-native plants 54 Reserves and people – a review of 2008 56 Welcoming visitors 58 Bringing nature closer to people 60 The RSPB’s field teaching 62 Thornhill Primary School visits RSPB Old Moor 63 Volunteering towards the vision – a team effort at Middleton Lakes 64 Newport Wetlands – a stunning habitat by the Severn Estuary 66 Improvements for wildlife and people in south and west Scotland 68 Rare birds on RSPB reserves 72 Working for the environment 76 Greening waste management at Pulborough Brooks 78 The RSPB and the Tay reedbeds 80 Working internationally 82 International management planning 84 Thank you to our supporters 88 2 RSPB RESERVES 2009 3 Chris Gomersall (rspb-images.com) 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. In the Fens, we are protecting black-tailed godwit breeding sites at the Nene Washes and creating new habitat for them adjacent to the Ouse Washes 4 RSPB RESERVES 2009 5 Gwyn Williams Introduction Change in an uncertain world 2009 marks the 200th anniversary of Some commentators have suggested of the Flow Country of Caithness the birth of arguably the world’s that nature reserves are an outmoded and Sutherland. greatest biologist – Charles Darwin – static concept in a dynamic world of and the 150th anniversary of the changing climate. We disagree – if Charles Darwin loved nature publication of On the Origin of the anything, we need more and bigger and understood it deeply. His Species, in which he presented his nature reserves to reduce habitat observations of the everyday plants theory of evolution. One building fragmentation, build resilience to and animals around him were as block in developing his ideas around climate change and allow species to influential in shaping his thinking as natural selection was the role of move from stepping stone to stepping was what he saw on the voyage of grazing by domestic cattle at stone in response to changing The Beagle. We hope that by Farnham Heath, Surrey, in sustaining conditions. We also need to create protecting nature we may help to the area as heath and preventing habitats in places where the climate inspire future generations, not only of invasion by Scots pine. Following may become suitable for shifting scientists but also of politicians, conifer afforestation, much of the species. Provision at a landscape scale entrepreneurs and citizens to ensure area would be unrecognisable to will increase the robustness of both that nature has a place in our lives for Darwin now, although part is now an current and future wildlife-rich habitat at least the next 200 years. RSPB reserve, under restoration to – something that we are seeking to heath. Once again, cattle are being deliver through our Futurescapes used to keep the heathland open. programme, both through our direct work and through partnerships. Since Darwin was born, the area of heathland has shrunk by about Also since Darwin was born, the five-sixths. We believe that it is population of the UK has increased important to safeguard the remaining six-fold, and yet fewer people live with areas through designation but also abundant nature on their doorstep. through sympathetic ownership and RSPB nature reserves provide people management that will help protect with opportunities to get close to Gwyn Williams and enhance the many species that nature and fall in love with it. We are Head of Reserves and Protected Areas depend on this habitat. Many delighted that visits to our nature habitats, heath is just one example, reserves continue to grow – are of high wildlife value but little 1.9 million last year, up 200,000 on economic value. The remaining the year before. We will continue to fragments will always be under threat invest in giving visitors rewarding from development pressure and their experiences of nature – whether at best and most secure future must inner-city sites, such as Sandwell Dr Mark Avery surely be to be managed with nature Valley, Birmingham, or remote sites Director of Conservation conservation as their main purpose. such as Forsinard Flows, in the heart Farnham Heath, where we are restoring a lowland heath mosaic by removing conifer plantation 6 RSPB RESERVES 2009 7 Andy Hay (rspb-images.com) Reserves and wildlife a review of 2008 The strategic aims of the work on our reserves are: • to ensure that all Sites and Areas of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs and ASSIs) 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 of bird are at least maintained at 2005 levels on the existing reserve network • to ensure that populations of 15 priority species of bird are enhanced by 2012 on the existing reserve network • to create important new habitats on land acquired before 2006 • to ensure wildlife thrives on reserves • to acquire further land to support our conservation objectives. Progress was made towards these aims in 2008 and is reported in the following chapter. Numbers of stone-curlews increased from six to 10 pairs on RSPB reserves between