Saltmarshes Visit led by Dave Bramley
Report
In keeping with events following on from talks Aimee Durnell and her husband Pete took us on a site visit to the Lymington Saltmarshes. In her talk Aimee explained that Lymington was an exceedingly rich town built on the value of the saltpans. Until, as often happens, a much cheaper way to obtain salt from mines in Cheshire took away the main industry and employment in the area. Moving on around 100 years the saltmarshes have been revived as a nature reserve attracting over 300,000 visitors a year. Pete is the warden of the area and was extremely proud to share with us how Hampshire County Council acquired the reserve in the 1970s and 1990s when land was relatively cheap. By careful planning and implementation they have turned the site into a haven of nesting rare birds all coexisting together in a moat and wire fence with an electric top. Pete and Aimee brought very powerful telescopes so we were able to observe the birds in great detail. A rarely observed moment occured when a pair of Avocets changed places on the nest. We are sure it was the male taking over when he spent time cleaning his feet before getting on the nest. We also observed 4 olive eggs almost the size of hens eggs. Along with the avocets were redshanks various terns including the extremely rare little tern. A grey Heron, little egret, tufted ducks various gulls made up a vast number of birds. As well as seabirds there were Cetti Warblers, Reed Warblers, a great whitethroat and numerous others. We also saw a roe deer hiding in the long grass. It was a privelege to share this time with Aimee and Pete who know pretty much all there is to know about the history of Lymington and the evolution of and the wildlife in the salt marshes.
