MAJOR WEATHER INCIDENT - LATEST UPDATE
Find out more about the major weather incident declared in Cumbria, on the Cumbria Police website.
Enjoy wildlife watching on Barrow’s coast NATURE ON YOUR DOORSTEP Barrow and the surrounding islands lie at the tip of the Furness peninsula. The coast and islands are dotted with rich…
Barrow and the surrounding islands lie at the tip of the Furness peninsula. The coast and islands are dotted with rich industrial and military heritage and wonderful wildlife. The specially protected sand dune habitats here are perfect for rare natterjack toads whilst the diverse wildlife offers something spectacular and different with each season of the year.
Look out for
Regal eider ducks arriving at their most southerly breeding site at South Walney and orchids blooming at Sandscale Haws
Special flowering plants adapted to sunny and salty seaside habitats, like Walney geranium which is found nowhere else in the world!
Wonderful colourful displays of deciduous trees like oak, ask and sycamore in Millwood and Abbots Wood
Grey seals are easy to spot from the comfort of cosy hides on South Walney.
Morecambe Bay Local Nature Partnership has produced an excellent leaflet on Barrow wildlife as part of its Morecambe Bay : Nature on Your Doorstep series For other guides around the Bay and Morecambe Bay Nature Partnership.
Barrow and its surrounding coastal reserves are fantastic places to watch wildlife, but how can we be sure that we are not harming the species that we aim to see? We need to be aware of how to minimize disturbance and stress to breeding, nesting and feeding birds.
Our Nature Reserves are chosen by birds for nesting and breeding because disturbance is controlled and managed. When breeding birds are disturbed other birds can eat their eggs or chicks, the eggs can chill, or ultimately the nest may be abandoned.
We are privileged to have internationally important numbers of wintering birds on our doorstep – birds such as the oystercatcher and curlew. These birds need as much food as possible just to survive through the winter. For a period around high tide though, they cannot feed and so form ‘roosts’ of many thousands. Each bird in these roosts aims to conserve as much energy as possible over these two or three hours. When they are disturbed they are forced to fly, using vital energy resources that are needed to maintain their body temperature through cold winter nights. Birds like this live on a knife-edge through the winter months, and have a limited number of places to go during high tide.
Download Wildlife on Barrow's Doorstep (pdf 1.1Mb) - a guide to nature reserves in and around Barrow.
So, what can we do to reduce disturbance to our local wildlife?
Following are a few tips that will reduce your impact: