The morning fog evaporated quickly today, so I spent a bit of time with the Black Necked Grebe on Crosby Marina at lunch.
Still loitering round the north west corner of the lake, out of the way of dinghies and dragonboats, it was feeding away, which was good in the sense that every time it dived I could sneak a bit closer, but bad in that following a diving bird with just enough battery power for 5 hand-held digi-scoped shots was way too much like hard work.
To make me feel better, Rich Steel kindly sent me these superb "big boy photographer" shots of the bubble-headed freak in better conditions.
"Here's what it looks like out of the fog!", the great man says, encouragingly.
Cheers Rich.
Sigh....I'll have to get round to buying a proper camera one of these days.
Apart from the grebe, two Corn Buntings at the northern end of the grassland was nice, as were 14 Skylark feeding on the tideline, and a good gull roost was building on the beach.
Until dogwalkers did the usual.
Few Goldeneye and Tufties about, but as Sunday is sailing day, the lake was relatively quiet.
Eyes to the skies everyone, eyes to the skies...
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Alison Cook, RSPB wrote...
An official Dutch report – obtained by the RSPB – details the flood risk, as well as the devastating impacts for wildlife, fishing, tourism and shipping from the construction of a storm surge barrier across the Oosterschelde estuary in the 1980s.
The Oosterschelde is very similar to estuaries across the West coast of England from the Severn Estuary in the South West to the Solway Estuary on the Scottish border. These estuaries offer the potential to produce significant renewable energy by harnessing the power of the tides; in the North West there are proposals for tidal energy being developed on the Solway, Morecambe Bay, the Wyre and the Mersey.
Tidal barrages are only one option for capturing energy from the tide. New technologies provide us with a range of alternative options that could have a lower impact on the environment.
If those responsible for these schemes opt for tidal barrages as their preferred choice for producing energy, then the impacts on the North West could be devastating.
The Dutch report found that:
* Increased erosion has led to the loss of mudflats along the estuary, leading to higher waves and water levels. Huge sums will have to be spent on strengthening coastal defences to protect lives and property.
* By 2050, the tidal flats of the Oosterschelde will have more than halved, falling from 11,000ha in 1986 to about 5,000ha in 2045 and 1,500ha by the end of the century. These tidal flats are the feeding grounds for internationally important numbers of birds.
* Salt marshes will disappear from all but the most sheltered locations by 2050.
* Less intertidal habitat will mean less shellfish and fewer birds. Oystercatcher numbers will have crashed 80 per cent by 2045 with other species “awaiting the same fate”.
* Shipping channels will become shallower and harder to navigate.
* Shellfisheries will be hit because of loss of habitat for the cockles and mussels.
* Tourism will be hit by the loss of wildlife interest.
Peter Robertson, the RSPB’s conservation manager for Northern England said: “This report makes grim reading. It is the closest we can get to proof that the creation of a barrage across an estuary would cause devastation.
“The Oosterschelde is very similar to estuaries in the North West in many ways and it is being damaged beyond repair. We must ensure that the same fate does not befall the estuaries of the North West.
“The Dutch built their barrier to prevent deadly storms from claiming lives. Ironically, it has now led to an increased risk of flooding behind the barrier, but it could be argued they had little choice at the time.
“In the North West, we do have a choice. Barrages would not be built to stop storm surges but to harness the tides and generate electricity. There are other, far less environmentally damaging ways to do that. We only have one opportunity to get this right on each estuary so we need to explore all potential solutions.
“We have long said the Government should invest in innovative schemes, which offer the potential to put the UK and UK engineering at the forefront of tidal power without the risk of floods, loss of wildlife and livelihoods.”
Posted by: Alison Cook, RSPB | February 9, 2010 8:12 PM