Animal,
vegetable and mineral |
Estuaries provide excellent environments for wildlife.
Why not take
these top tips from the Hands on Nature team as we get close to wildlife with
three activities that you can do near your home. Or why not find out about new
wildlife locations! | | Wildlife wonders at Spurn
Point |
Here are three different activities that you can try
out for yourselves throughout the year in Britain's estuaries: Reptiles
and plants at Spurn Point Spurn
Point is one of the most fragile and unique environments in the whole of the UK.
It's also great for a wide range of nature watching activities including
reptile watching and plant spotting.
Reptiles - top tips*
Set a sun trap. This can be made with a square piece of flat wood (about 14 inches
square) covered with ordinary kitchen foil. Place this in the sun and come back
later. Be patient and persistent, and don't expect to see results the first time. *
Lizards need solar radiation to warm themselves up. Tin foil is a good way to
attract them. As the sun warms up the foil, it's the perfect place for a sluggish
lizard to come and take in the sun, and get his body temperature up. * Common
lizards come in all sorts of beautiful colours - they're often brown or green
but have white or yellow spots down the sides of their bodies. * Look out
for common lizards in July when their young are born. They give birth to live
young, rather than lay eggs, so you might be lucky enough to see the egg sack
break and a young lizard scamper away. * Don't pick up a young lizard and
certainly don't hold it by its tail. The lizard's tail may drop off as a defence
mechanism as it will think it is being attacked by a predator. Take a photograph
and then look up the lizard on the internet to identify it when you get home. *
Another good place to see a lizard is on a south facing wall or surface where
they like to rest to enjoy the warmth. Plant identification tips*
Feel and smell the plants at Spurn. Many of them have adapted to a salty environment
by developing waxy leaves. * Look out for the Marsh Sunfire which can be
cut and pickled - it has a distinctive salty taste. It can be identified by its
waxy, fleshy feeling leaves. * Also look out for the Glassworst, another
plant that flourishes in this unusual landscape. Ecstatic about birds
at the Exe Estuary The
Exe Estuary is a great place to see migratory birds, including Avocets, Curlews,
Lapwings, and Brent Geese.
* February is a good time to watch the migratory
birds. * Avocets are characterised by their upturned beaks and grey-blue
legs. * Curlews can be spotted by their down turned beak. * When looking
for Lapwings, listen out for the bird's distinctive call and grand head crest. *
One of the best places to watch the birds are the bird hides at Bowling Green
Marsh, outside Topsham. * RSPB bird watching cruises run from November
to March, leaving from Exmouth, Starcross and Topsham. * Check time tides
around the coast before your visit to make the most of your visit. Sea
dipping in The Wash This
outstanding coastal wetland is made up of huge intertidal banks of sand and mud,
salt marshes, deep channels and shallow waters.
This makes The
Wash a really great place to go sea dipping.
Top tips
*
Go sea dipping at low tide, the best time to see marine life. Check tide times
and be careful.
* Go armed with a net and solid shoes.
* Look
out for algae and plankton, shrimps, pipefish and razor fish.
* Don't
forget to put everything back that you find. | 
