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| One of the many Black-headed Gull Chicks from Clifton Pond |
If you were out and about on the Nature Reserve at the crack
of dawn last weekend you may have noticed some unusual activity on one of the
islands on Clifton Pond. No, it wasn’t some rare bird skulking around in the
nettles. It was the South Nott’s Ringing Group
ringing the young chicks from the newly established Black-Headed Gull colony.
Clifton Pond has been transformed in recent years following
efforts to re-create wildlife habitats that have been lost due to pressures
from development and agriculture across the County. In the winter of 2007 the
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust carried out major works on one of the islands to
enhance the site for breeding Common Terns, waders and gulls. A redundant spoil
heap left over from the gravel extraction days was cleared of its poor quality vegetation,
reduced in height, and covered with a waterproof membrane and 150 tonnes of
gravel. Such was the success of this habitat creation that the following
spring, Black-Headed Gulls settled down to breed on the island – the first ever
breeding record of this species at the Nature Reserve!
Considered by many to be a ‘seagull’ the Black-Headed Gull
is in fact the commonest gull to be seen inland in Britain, with inland breeding
colonies often outnumbering coastal ones. The number of Black-Headed Gulls in
the Attenborough colony has slowly increased each year with over 250 adults
seen on the island this spring!
Ringing the chicks enables us to find out more information
about the gulls. By fitting a lightweight, uniquely numbered, metal ring around
each chick’s leg it provides a reliable and harmless method of identifying each
bird as an individual. This will allow us to study how many young birds leave
the nest and survive to become adults, as well as the movements of the birds
during the winter and to enable us to see which birds return to breed in
subsequent years. An astonishing 176 chicks were ringed in the time the South
Nott’s group were on the island, however, this still only accounted for a
quarter of the total number of chicks present. So maybe next time you’re at the
seaside you might come across one of the gulls ringed at Attenborough.
Elsewhere on the Reserve the recent spell of warm weather
has meant there has been lots of invertebrate activity with many dragonflies,
damselflies, butterflies and moths taking to the wing. The first Brown Hawker
dragonflies of the year were spotted this week and a vast number of the
brightly coloured, male Banded Demoiselle damselflies have been seen as they elegantly
skip and dance over the riverside vegetation in order to attract a mate. The
Common Spotted Orchids are now in flower on Corbett’s Meadow and are definitely
worth a visit! Their dense cone-shaped flower spikes vary in colour from light
pink to pale lilac with purple spots. As the name suggests, they are one of the
most common species of orchid in Britain, however it is thought that
the species found at Attenborough is a hybrid with the Southern Marsh Orchid.
If you have any sightings from the Nature Reserve, I’d love
to hear about them. Send me an Email to enquiries@attenboroughnaturereserve.co.uk
To report a ringed bird visit www.ring.ac
