Words by Smiley Team
In positive news for wildlife, an expanse of heathland on the east coast of England has shown signs of becoming an increasingly hospitable habitat for rare wildlife, with 2021 being one of the best years for local species in nearly a decade.
After extensive conservation work, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) was rewarded with sightings of previously threatened species, flourishing on heathland in Minsmere, Suffolk.
“We've been managing the Minsmere site for 75 years,” says Ian Barthorpe of RSPB Minsmere. “The work has taught a lot over the years, and knowing that we’ve helped rare species to bounce back is just such a great reward for all the hours we’ve put in.”
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Among the species living there are threatened woodlarks, nightingales and nightjars, as well as a bird that hasn’t been spotted in Minsmere for decades - the Dartford warbler.
Since this small, dark bird nearly vanished in the ‘60s, it has gradually returned to Suffolk with an astonishing 40 males spotted on the heathland; the highest number ever recorded at RSPB Minsmere.
Ian recalls: “When I was a child there were hardly any Dartford warblers left in the UK. You had to travel to the New Forest to see any. Then it returned to the Suffolk coast about 25 years or so ago. And to see the numbers that we have here today bring me incredible joy.”
Species dependent on heathland are scarce partly because their native habitat is so rare. In fact, heathland covers even less of the planet than rainforest does.
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“Heathland is quite a scarce habitat globally anyway,” explains Ian. “But it’s becoming progressively less common these days and the Sandlings heath that we have here in Minsmere is a particularly unique type of heathland.”
“What makes a lot of the wildlife here so special is that it has evolved over the years to live in this very scarce kind of habitat,” he adds.
Protecting the heathland is vital to maintaining populations of rare birds. To do so, RSPB workers have cleared the land of fallen trees and restored what was lost to forestry and farming.
The return of rare species to the area also has knock-on benefits for the broader environment and climate.
Maintaining habitats such as heathland ensures carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can be naturally sequestered more effectively by the land than if it’s used for agriculture.
As Ian explains, “We're in an ecological and climate emergency and the work we're doing benefits both nature and climate, helping to undo some of the losses due to climate change.”
To help the RSPB to protect, restore and maintain more wildlife across the UK donate or join here.
