Cress Marsh

Credit to North East Lincolnshire Council for their work in creating Cress Marsh, but I fear they are unrealistic in wanting news of rare sightings to be provided only to them - not to the wider world.

That might have been possible in pre-internet times but not any more.

If and when Joy posts her black winged stilt sighting on the LBC forum, the news will quickly be picked up and disseminated via Twitter and other social media, including Rare Bird Alert which monitors the forum.

It doesn’t take much of a crystal ball to predict what happens next.

Scores of birder-containing cars turn up and there is traffic chaos, causing aggro aplenty.

The council will then blame LBC for posting the sighting without approval and compromising the integrity of “mitigation site”.

My own view is that NELC needs to be prepared for such an eventuality.

With a bit more imagination, I should have thought Cress Marsh and its smaller sister mitigation sites nearby could be incorporated into some sort of wildlife-watching package which would encourage tourism and boost the council’s eco-credentials.

You only have to look at RSPB wetland sites such as Frampton and Titchwell (but not Tetney Marsh!) to see the opportunities.

I have twice asked for the LBC to be allowed to attend management meetings for Cress Marsh, but, as yet, no invitation has been forthcoming. (It may be that birders are regarded as a bit of a nuisance.)

Another thought. Natural England are overseeing the project, and maybe they have asked for things to be kept low-key.

Incidentally, has anything been done yet to address the danger pinpointed by John Walker - that of the overhead power lines and the absence of diverter discs?

Also, has anyone yet had a chance to check if the nearby mitigation sites are attracting waders, wildfowl and other birds?

Jim

PS I have just seen Martin’s
post and fully agree. He’s more diplomatic than me and recognises the importance of working with NELC, not treading on their toes.

I have been considering trying to get together a group to carry out regular, systematic surveys of the birds on the Cress Marshes site?
It strikes me as an excellent opportunity to track the development of the site from the beginning, and it would provide excellent data to prove the site is working (or not!)
Also, it would be a check for vandalism and other problems at a frequency that council officials might not be able to manage.

I have already floated this idea past Rachel Graham (Ecology Officer) and James Wright and received favourable responses.

So if you would like to be involved, or at least find out what might be involved, please get in touch with me, preferably at martin.francis2@ntlworld.com
Best wishes
Martin

Im sure they will be

Hello Pete.... thanks for your question. I thought afterwards I hadn’t explained myself very well.
It’s just that the Ecology Officer emphasised that Cress Marsh is a mitigation site and not a bird reserve. He was keen that not too many people use it..... hence the reason for the barrier being locked to the car park. However as Jim said, if a rare sandpiper turns up, for example, it might be difficult to avoid.
I thought people would be interested though to hear how the site develops bird-wise.

Hi Joy

Why would you not want to record your sightings on this forum, especially now it’s LBC members only. I for one am looking forward to reading your reports

Regards Pete

Hi Joy,
Thanks for yours and John's replies to my query. An intestine report from Jim too
I should have explained that the reason I made the enquiry was that I had never heard of the place and looked for it in my database of Lincs sites and found no mention of it. I wanted a location as I enter all entries from the Forum in to an Excel spreadsheet which is then entered in to another spreadsheet of all sightings (the forum, private records, BirdGuides and BirdTrack etc). This is then used as core information for the Lincs Bird Club Bird Report each year. I think the next report may be ready next week. Your entry will probably be entered as Stallingborough. When you find half a dozen Black-winged Stilts on the site you will probably see an entry in the Report of 6 black-winged stilts at Cress Marsh. Thanks again