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Discussion Topic: Wildlife
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RAB |
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As a longtime broads user especially of the Ant and Barton I'm very concerned about the lack of wildlife especially birds.
I have not seen a single coot or moorhen on the Ant for 2 years now and only a few ducks at Barton Staithe for a few days during the summer.
I am a volunteer for the Norfolk Mink Project which is successfully controlling the number of mink to very low numbers now but the problem might be Otters.
It is delightful to see Otters but they are seen so frequently now and do not appear to be shy of man. I wonder if the Otters that were bred then released from Earsham had become friendly of human contact instead of being a very secretive species. As such they are much more confident in populated waters and their numbers are much higher than in the past.
Its a terrible shame not to have more wildlife on the Broads and it may be down to our intervention.
Could the BA look into this as wildlife is such an important part of the Broads experience in my view.
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JollyRodger |
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Rab, I don't know how Dr Packman will answer that one but I can tell you that a major culprit is fox as well as mink. This is upheld by research by various wildlife organisations on the Broads.
Jolly Rodger
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Marshman |
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Mardles sometimes
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Lots and lots of coot on Hickling today plus little grebe and duck - to be fair I am not sure the BA monitor regularly the wildlife as other bodies tend to do that.
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Exile |
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There are plenty of threads on this subject on the forum. Otters were first removed by man and then partially reinstated.
They each establish a territory and then defend it, so there is a finite number of otters that Broadland can support. Those territories are fairly large.
Otters, unlike mink, are indigenous so are simply part of the local fauna.
IF they reduce other species numbers (there is a big question on that) that is because those other species have become unnaturally numerous due to man removing otters in the first place. Now they are back nature is rebalancing itself. That is all to the good for the area.
This message was edited by Exile on Nov-20-18 @ 11:02 PM
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Dzign |
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The reason there are a lot fewer coots and ducks is they are what the otters eat they are even taking geese now
L
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Marshman |
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Mardles sometimes
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Its called evolution - birds with feathers are much tastier than fish, despite there being an abundance of their natural food. Or perhaps that's the view of a few!
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JP |
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Dear RAB,
Thanks again for the question.
I have consulted colleagues in the RSPB on this and I have summarised their comments below.
Otters almost exclusively eat fish and the carrying capacity of the Broads in supporting otters will be limited by availability of sites for holts, and food availability.
Otters are often inquisitive, but have a healthy respect for humans. The initial introduction of captive reared otters from Earsham has allowed otters to repopulate the Broads. We doubt that the otters we see in the Broads are being less secretive than elsewhere.
During the breeding season waterfowl aren’t overtly conspicuous, as they’re raising young. Numbers of waterfowl on Barton Broad has not changed dramatically. The Broad supports good numbers of wintering waterfowl including coot, which would suggest good breeding success and minimal impact from otters. The issue might be availability of food and waterfowl may have moved in response to that. Ranworth Broad is often full of winter birds which includes lots of coot.
The numbers of coot and ducks at Strumpshaw Fen have increased over the last 10 years - despite the fact that Strumpshaw has otters, lots of visitors, undertakes mink control and there is nearby boat traffic in the River Yare.
On the other hand you may have seen a genuine drop in numbers of moorhen and coot. If so, the reasons are most likely complex and it would be impossible to attribute any decline to a single factor.
Hope that helps.
Regards
John
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Marshman |
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Mardles sometimes
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But sadly no one will believe you!!!! Some perceive the opposite and will continue to press the point.
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Paladine |
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As there is no differentiation in JP’s response between the summary of the RSPB’s comments and his own, who knows what to believe? On the one hand numbers are increasing, but it’s also admitted that numbers may be decreasing 
"..for the avoidance of any doubt, the broads are not legally a national park and do not come under the national park legislation, and nor will they."
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for DEFRA (Hansard 2015)
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Helmsman1946 |
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Over 50 mallard on the quay at Reedham this morning despite low survival rates of ducklings especially early in the season.
Peter
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Nov-20-2018 @ 11:32 AM
