Brierdene - Method in the madness

I've had an email from the ecologist at North Tyneside Council regarding the vegetation removal at Brierdene and it's all good:

The grassland has been managed as any other hay meadow would be, by an
annual cut and rake off, which helps deplete the grassland of nutrients
and diversify the species in the grassland. This is standard management
practice for wildlfower meadows and would normally occur at the back end
of the summer (september/october) depending when it is dry enough to
take a cut.

If you had been to this site a number of years ago, the grassland was
very poor quality with little species diversity, because it was not
being managed appropriately. The group at Brierdene have been awarded
several pots of funding from various avenues and have proceeded over the
last few years to introduce wildflower seed into areas which were
becoming very rank and to then manage these areas (by an annual cut and
rake off) to improve species diversity. (They have recorded a large
increase in wildflower species as a result).

Brierdene - Nuked!

According to the sign the Brierdene is "untouched".

The Friends of Brierdene have 'nuked' the grassland area along the Brierdene in Whitley Bay. As part of a  conservation project they have cut ALL the grass and understory vegetation and dug out Butterbur (one of the few sites for this plant and the rare Butterbur Moth in North Tyneside), and much of the Water Dock.

I would be interested in hearing the science & reasoning behind this decision. If you are involved, please get in touch.

Ground Zero

Wot. No Green-winged Teal?

Er no, but I had a nice walk from Whitley Bay along the Waggonway to Holywell Dene and then onto St Mary's Wetland and home along the beach for Sunday lunch at the world famous Cottage Kitchen. I got home just as the heavens opened - perfect timing.

I saw 43 species including my first Treecreeper of the year and my first on patch Bullfinches. And that Med Gull again (Brierdene car park)- whereas a few weeks ago I couldn't find it, now it seems to be stalking me.

Pied Wagtail in 'paddy field' along the Waggonway

Holywell Dene - White water rafting anyone?

Robin singing in Holywell Dene. Another sings further down the track and a Wren joins in.

PS. If I can shake a leg early tomorrow there maybe some Green-winged Teal action tomorrow :)

A Sound Day

Sunday was perfect for trying out my new toy, an Edirol R-09HR Wave/MP3 Recorder. Perfect because there was no wind and the birds were singing. The results are further down this blog - best with head phones. The heavy breathing and slobbering is Dill my Golden Retreiver, not me.

I started my walk of the patch from the start of the waggonway in Monkseaton and headed north as far as the Brierdene where the fields to the north had 200 geese, mostly Greylag and 30 or so Pink-Foot.

The waggonway was alive with birds, Great Tit, Robin, Magpie, Blue Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Dunnock, Robin, House Sparrow, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Blackbird.

I took a turn east at the start of the Brierdene and headed across to St Mary's Wetland.

 

The Brierdene

 Greylag & Pink-Foot Geese

 

St Mary's Wetland

Here's a few recordings I took along the way.


Blackbird in my neighbours garden.


A flock of Long-tailed Tit pass along the waggonway.


A Magpie is nearby as a Greenfinch sings.


A Blue Tit sings.


A Robin in full song.


Great Tit sings as the Brierdene flows by.


The sound of St Mary's Wetland. See how many species you can pick out.

Bay Watch 11/02

I picked up two patch ticks today; a Kingfisher at the mouth of the Brierdene and a Med Gull in the adjacent car park. The latter has evaded my gaze for the last 3 months and I was starting to think it was an elaborate wind-up.





The tide was high so the last leg to St Mary's was along the cliff top. Not the safest of routes as it is retreating at an alarming rate.

My patch is shrinking by the minute!

The south beach at St Marys had 3 Purple Sandpiper, a number of Knot and 2 Bar-tailed Godwit.







The wetland had 3 snipe showing well, a pair of Mute Swan, Mallard, Teal, Gadwall and a Fox.



The fields to the west by Feathers Caravan Park were populated by over 200 Golden Plover, a good number of Curlew and a solitary Grey Heron.

The tide had started to recede on the way back so I took the route along the bottom of the cliffs. This wasn't too safe either with a couple of landslides witnessed. It can only be a matter of time before the council extend the sea defences as the loss of the pitch and putt could be the final nail in the coffin for Whitley tourism :)