A Slice of Wildlife
Gibraltar Point is a haven, says Barbara Meyer
LINCOLNSHIRE is known for its rural landscape, dominated by arable fields, fens and wolds. It’s also known for its nature reserves which include a variety of natural habitat areas from woodland, heathland and chalk grassland to wetland, river and coastal reserves. The coastline, which stretches for more than 30 miles from the Humber in the north to the Wash in the south, has three of Lincolnshire’s six National Nature Reserves, and Gibraltar Point is one of the most important.
This stunning reserve teeming with life sits north of The Wash, a few miles south of Skegness. It is known for its varied habitats, which offer roosting, feeding and breeding areas for many bird species. It attracts birdwatchers from across Lincolnshire and further afield who visit regularly to see which birds they can find, and how these species change from season to season.
On a clear day, you can see the North Norfolk coast on the other side of The Wash and the sandbanks in between, where harbour seals are resting and feeding their pups. The widely stretched grass areas of the salt and freshwater marshes are home to several mammal species as well, so if you love nature, Gibraltar Point is a real gem. Lindsay and David Primrose from Melton Mowbray visit every four to six weeks.
“Wherever you are on the reserve there is no traffic to hear, just the sounds of birds singing and calling,” Lindsay says. “Some of it is more musical like the songs from skylarks,
wrens and warblers compared to, for example, the calling of gulls and geese. But we love that the air is filled with the sounds of birds communicating with each other; urban life retreats with every step we take.”
The landscape here has developed over hundreds of years and is still actively evolving. Coastal areas are often dynamic, changing as the tides deposit mud and sand. Vegetation starts to establish itself, helping stabilise the sand and mud, while tidal creeks start to form through these new saltmarsh areas.
Different stages of these natural processes can be seen across the various parts of the reserve, which is one of the reasons why it is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), one of over 4,000 in England covering seven per cent of our land area.
As well as the tidal ridges, mud and sandflats, salt and freshwater marshes, lagoons and intertidal creeks plus a well-developed dune system, there is also a woodland area. Based on this diverse and changing landscape, Gibraltar Point is also part of a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) under European law, one of only 256 in England.
Its unique landscape and location make it a popular place for migrating birds. Some stop here to get a short rest on their way to their winter feeding grounds, others settle here from autumn through to spring before returning home to their nesting sites. The daily counts of wading birds often add up to tens of thousands, and some species like the sanderlings, grey plovers and bartailed godwits impressively have more than one per cent of their world population staying here over winter.
This all ramps up Gibraltar Point’s conservation status to a site of international importance. It is the last remaining site for nesting little terns in Lincolnshire, with its importance as a bird habitat long recognised. One of the UK’s first bird observatories was established here in 1949 and is active today. A small team of volunteers is out on the reserve every day to count the birds and to ring some of them, gathering information on local, national and international bird species and their populations and movement.
Being a designated National Nature Reserve provides the Point with protection against development on and around its habitat areas and additional laws such as the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 impose further restrictions on what people are allowed to do at the reserve or to wildlife species.
A Shore Bird Sanctuary is set up each year between April and August to protect the ground-nesting birds like the little tern and ringed plover and during the nesting period the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust ensures they will not be disturbed.
As well as protecting the birds, volunteers are there to help visitors to learn more about the birds and their conservation status. The dedication and passion of the staff and volunteers I have met during my visits to Gibraltar Point really add to making
Gibraltar Point a special place. They all happily answer questions about the reserve and its habitats and wildlife, making it a great place to take your children to get closer to nature.
There is a well-designed path system, which provides people with a variety of walks along the beach areas, across the salt and freshwater marshes as well as through a woodland area. The trust has also set up information boards, which provide details on what people can see around the reserve, a map and also aspects to protect the site.
While some of the volunteers get involved in the site’s management on a regular basis, others join the team only occasionally during, for example, the beach litter-picking events in January, March and September. Some regular visitors will pick litter while being out on the reserve as rubbish is one of the big problems for wildlife.
Speaking to Kevin Wilson, the head warden at Gibraltar Point, he explained that the problems for the wildlife are not just due to littering; there is also an increase in disturbance to roosting and feeding wading birds and wildfowl. He says that disturbances mostly occur unintentionally by, for example, jogging, walking or particularly having dogs too close to roosting or feeding birds.
Sometimes even photographers can cause disturbance if we try to get too close with our equipment. Birds are very sensitive and sense our presence, when we may think that we are still far away.
Other avoidable disturbances include drones, paramotors or light aircraft flying over roost sites, or jet skiers passing near to the sandbanks where there are birds or resting seals. Beyond this, fishing trawlers have also been seen coming into the marine conservation areas around Gibraltar Point, disturbing birds and other wildlife plus harvesting important prey items for little and sandwich terns and potentially causing damage to the seabed ecosystem – the socalled “benthic fauna”.
Wading birds feed off tidal mud and sandflats during low tides and rest on sandbanks, saltmarshes and other coastal areas during high tides. Disturbance during either of these activities may lead to exhaustion as they are forced to fly off repeatedly and for prolonged periods. It can also mean they are not getting enough rest and losing weight and energy when feeding is disrupted.
This level of disturbance can be critical during cold-weather periods for many of these small birds.
Besides the birds, though, there is also an endless number of different wildflowers and tree species, which are another attraction that bring Lindsay and David back regularly.
“Because the reserve encompasses so many different habitats the range of birds and plants to be seen is huge and every visit brings something new to admire. We were completely bowled over by the cowslips this year, large grassy areas transformed by soft yellow flowers in abundance.
“In late summer, the mass of bright orange berries and spiky grey/green foliage of the sea buckthorn viewed against a bright blue sky is a beautiful sight all along the dunes.
“On our last visit we identified over 30 different wildflower species – and we’re beginners!”
Gibraltar Point is a great place for people to visit, but most of all it is the home to many different bird and other wildlife species. We all can appreciate natural environments like Gibraltar Point and even contribute to wildlife conservation by simply respecting the wildlife and its habitat and adhering to site notices.
Enjoy your visit at Gibraltar Point and watching the wildlife there, but please do not disturb!
Gibraltar Point National Nature Reserve, Gibraltar Road, Skegness, Lincolnshire PE24 4SU; Visitor centre and café: 01754 898057; lincstrust.org.uk/get-involved/ top-reserves/gibraltar-point