SAND DUNES & SALTY AIR

The Dune systems along the Lincolnshire Coast hold many surprises. Raptors hunting during the winter, Orchids, Twayblades and Helleborines in due season, unusual ornithological visitors and passage migrants.

You may even spot Common Lizard,but for me the ‘running toad’, the Natterjack is really special. Easily identified by the yellow stripe along it’s back.

Natterjack Toad

Bufo calamito

Although mainly nocturnal,you may just see one foraging early morning or toward dusk and should you ever be fortunate to be in the habitat in breeding season at night, you’ll never forget the crescendo of definitive males croaking.

We are very fortunate in Lincolnshire to play host to a rare amphibian , the Natterjack Toad. One of the quiet back-room work successes of the Trust, due not in least part to forsighted conservationists ,reserve wardens and managers.

Now to be found anywhere from Gibraltar Point through to Saltfleetby/Theddlethorpe Dunes. However should you come across one you need a licence to handle it.

So next time you are down at Rimac , tread carefully and keep your eyes peeled.

by Mick Binnion

Getting it into Perspective: a personal view (part 2)

This article can now be viewed

HERE

It now follows on from Part 1.

The Red Admiral and the Snowdrop
from Mark Tyszka.

"The sight of a Red Admiral fluttering amongst the Snowdrops is a sign of the impact of climate change on British wildlife.

"The Snowdrop flowers in January and February; the Red Admiral has, in the past, flown between May and September. Twenty years ago, seeing the two together would have been nearly impossible.

"Since the 1990s the butterfly has been recorded overwintering in ever-increasing numbers. They are now seen in every month of the year – real proof of climate change," says Dr Martin Warren of Butterfly Conservation.

Will you look for Red Admirals and for wild Snowdrops in the countryside?

In 2009, to celebrate our Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust's 60th anniversary, we shall try to collect records of wildlife in our area. We shall target L.W.T. nature reserves, Local Nature Reserves (LNRs) in N.E. Lincolnshire, and the new Local Wildlife Sites (L.W.S.s) There are about forty in our area, but some are on private land.

Why are we doing this?

Climate change is in the news all the time. To understand these changes and try to cope with them we need information. Which plants, animals, insects et al are declining or increasing? All of our creatures live in habitats like grassland, wetland woodland etc. How are they coping?

To manage and conserve the best parts of our countryside the Trust needs observations of wildlife. This is where we can help. You do not need to be an expert - all you need is an interest in local wildlife.

My job as Wildlife Records Officer...

...is to try to collect some of this information and pass it on to the Lincolnshire Environmental Records Centre (L.E.R.C.) which is supported by the Trust.

So what de we need to do?

1. We need a list of the wildlife sites. Here are some, which have open access :

2. We then look for any of these wildlife groups:

Flowering plants; birds; mammals; amphibians and reptiles (frogs, snakes); butterflies and moths; dragon flies.

3. Note down the following (this is the record, as many visits as you like)

Name of the recorder; the location (Map Ref if possible); date when recorded; the species recorded.

4. Send the records to Mark Tyszka:

10, Riby Road, Keelby, Grimsby, DN41 8ER,
or send by e-mail to: mark.tyszka@tiscali.co.uk

Thank you.

Return to the Index Page