Biodiversity and conservation - Case study
Kielder Ospreys
The summer of 2009 proved to be an historic occasion as a pair of ospreys nested in Northumberland for the first time in at least 200 years and successfully reared three chicks in a nest located on a specially built platform within Kielder Water & Forest Park. The development was hailed as a major breakthrough by conservationists and the historic event was repeated this summer when the ospreys returned to their nest in the 155,000 acre forest.
Ospreys were once distributed widely, but persecution resulted in the species becoming extinct as a breeding bird in England in 1840 and in Scotland by 1916. However, birds returned to Scotland in the 1950s and by 2001 there were nearly 160 breeding pairs (today about 200). The same year saw the first successful osprey nests in England for 160 years with one pair of ospreys located at Bassenthwaite Lake in the Lake District and a re-introduction programme at Rutland Water in the East Midlands. The Kielder Water & Forest Park ospreys are thought to originate from the expanding Scottish population.
Kielder Water & Forest Park boasts England’s largest man-made woodland and northern Europe’s biggest man-made lake, making it an ideal territory for the ospreys, which feed on fish and build their nests, known as eyries, high in the tree tops.
In 2010 there was an anxious wait as park rangers hoped the ospreys would return to their nesting spot at Kielder after migrating back from sub-Saharan Africa, where the birds spend the winter in a warmer climate. Ospreys are largely monogamous and strongly faithful both to nest and mate and it was therefore hoped they would return, providing they had survived the 10,000 mile round trip.
In anticipation of the ospreys return the Forestry Commission erected two cameras at the original nest site built on a platform high in a tree in order to stream live CCTV footage of the ospreys to screens at Kielder Castle visitor centre and the Dukes Pantry Tea Room.
Much to the delight of everyone concerned the male returned at the end of March, followed by the female in the first week of April. The pair then went on to produce three more eggs in a repeat of the previous year’s success.
All three eggs hatched in June and rangers were thrilled to spot the new arrivals on the CCTV images. A Kielder Partnership competition was then launched giving children across the region a unique chance to name the chicks and join rangers to watch as the young birds were ringed. The rings carry important information about the ospreys including when and where the birds were born. This vital process had to be carried out before the chicks flew from the nest.
Wildlife fan Olivia Graham, age 10, came up with the winning water themed names of Aqua, Spray and Splash and accompanied rangers on their mission to ring the young birds.
The osprey chicks were lowered from their nest by a tree climbing Forestry Commission ranger and were also weighed and had their wings measured. The chicks are reported to be in excellent health and have since left their nest and taken to the air for the very first time.
Kielder Osprey Watch 2010 was set up and organised by the Kielder Partnership, the RSPB, Northumberland Wildlife Trust and volunteers from the Northumberland and Tyneside Bird Club. The partners work hard to ensure that the ospreys will return by maintaining a high quality habitat in Kielder Water & Forest Park and by safeguarding and monitoring the nest site. The three chicks raised in Kielder Water & Forest Park will spend the next few years in Africa, assuming they make their first hazardous migration south without a hitch. When they reach around four years of age they will make their first return journey north to breed, but may not necessarily return to Northumberland although we hope they do!
Branching out at Hanningfield Reservoir
Our ‘Branch Out’ initiative involves working in partnership to reconnect habitats for the benefit of people and wildlife. It encompasses a number of projects with the aim of helping our regions build resilience and adapt to the changing climate whilst bringing benefits to water, wildlife and communities. As part of the ‘Branch Out’ programme Essex & Suffolk Water have been bringing together partners to help provide crucial connections between habitats surrounding Hanningfield Reservoir.
St Peter’s Church of England Primary School in West Hanningfield have helped to connect the valuable habitat that surrounds the reservoir by planting 200 metres of new hedgerow around a playing field close to the school. Hanningfield Reservoir and the surrounding area is already a haven for wildlife and is an important home to endangered hazel dormice. The new hedgerow will provide a vital corridor for wildlife between areas of important habitat. It links together small copses and existing hedgerows near the reservoir, which are critical for local wildlife. Creating ecological networks is a recognised way of helping species build a greater resilience to the changes caused by climate change.
With the help of the People’s Trust for Endangered Species, Essex Arboriculture, local landowners, St Peter’s school and the Essex Wildlife Trust, one and a half kilometres of new hedgerow has been planted near the reservoir. Rosalind Atienza, Conservation advisor for Essex & Suffolk Water, said: “We are really grateful to everyone involved for coming together to make this happen. It has been a real community effort. The new hedgerow is a big enhancement for the local environment. It will encourage the very rare hazel dormice to continue to reside at Hanningfield Reservoir and numbers of the species to rise in years to come.
National Environment Award for the Trinity Broads
Fifteen years of hard work to transform part of the Broads was rewarded with a prestigious national environment award in March 2010. The Trinity Broads, near Great Yarmouth, won the category for Natural Environment at the Waterways Renaissance Awards, which recognise best practice in sustainable waterway regeneration throughout the UK. Essex & Suffolk Water have been working in partnership with the Broads Authority, Natural England, the Environment Agency and local landowners since 1995 to improve water quality and people’s enjoyment of the lakeland area through activities including bio-manipulation, mud-pumping, scrub removal and managing non-native species such as mink.
The Trinity Broads provide drinking water to our customers in the Great Yarmouth area and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation. The water quality and natural habitat at the site has greatly improved as a result of the work of the partnership. It now has clear water, a profusion of water plants, an improved fishery and a return of rare wildlife, such as the water vole. In the last few years rare plants such as the holly-leaved naiad and stoneworts, as well as molluscs such as the Desmoulin's whorl snail, have reappeared. Bats are now a common sight, while bittern are also regularly seen. The numbers of this rare water bird have increased at the site, probably as a result of improved foraging conditions in the now clear water. Otters make an appearance on average once a month. Fishing was formerly limited to roach and bream but now pike, perch, tench and rudd are all common. Regular wildlife surveys are carried out to build up data for yearly comparisons and analysis to ensure the site is managed sensitively.
The judging panel said about the project: “An excellent project that deserves recognition. This project has resulted in a significant improvement in the water quality and natural habitat of the Broads. This was also one of the first examples of a water company investing beyond their own land boundaries to affect the wider catchment.” David Alborough, our Property Manager represented Essex & Suffolk Water at the awards and said: “This national recognition represents the culmination of many years of hard work and sustained commitment from all the partners. The success of the Trinity Broads partnership shows how organisations from the private and public sector can work together with the local community to deliver innovative ecological restoration and management. The work at the Trinities has been crucial in protecting a key source of water for our customers."
David Bellamy Conservation Gold Award
For the last five years running the luxury lodges at Leaplish Waterside Park in Kielder Water and Forest Park have been awarded gold status in the David Bellamy Conservation Awards. The awards are given out each year to holiday parks which can demonstrate policies showing active concern for the environment. Leaplish achieved the award following a detailed audit of the park’s environmental policies, supported by comments made by holidaymakers.
The conservation audits look at virtually every aspect of park management- from the protection of plant and animal habitats to the efficient use of energy and recycling. Aspects such as the care of hedgerows and wild flowers, to the sitting of bird-boxes and the development and protection of reed beds and wildlife ponds were all considered. Professor Bellamy also looked at aspects of park management which do not directly effect the immediate environment, but which are important in overall conservation terms – such as the use of unbleached paper for holiday brochures, installing long-life light bulbs and recycling waste.
Great Crested Newts at Broken Scar
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Much of our amphibian work has been carried out at Broken Scar Water Treatment works in Darlington, where the entire amphibian population has been studied as part of a Great Crested Newt translocation programme. This scheme involved the creation of an new habitat suitable for amphibians and the subsequent removal of the amphibian population from within the operational works to this site, over a three-year period.
Invertebrate surveys
Surveys have been commissioned at our northern area sites to identify the important areas for butterflies. The surveys look also at habitats and are timed to coincide with the flight times of the adult butterflies. The information enables us to ensure that sympathetic management practices, such as scrub control on grassland, are implemented and that appropriate monitoring schemes are put in place. The surveys also provide a snapshot in time of the status of the various species populations at the time of the survey. At Hanningfield, Essex, a local expert carries out a weekly survey of butterflies each summer.
Small mammal surveys
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Four sites in our southern area were surveyed for Dormice in 2004/2005. A successful breeding population of this Biodiversity Action Plan species was found around Hanningfield reservoir in Essex and so an ongoing population survey has been set up with the results feeding into the National Dormouse Monitoring Programme.
Bat surveys have been carried out at a number of our sites to identify roosts and species that feed over the water. At the Trinity Broads, Norfolk, annual surveys of bats using the broads and our water treatment works have been carried out.