A week of family activities to celebrate the nation’s shorebirds will be staged at a nature reserve on the North East coast over the Easter holiday.
Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve is staging events to mark the first Shorebird Awareness Week.
Free and open to all, the expert-led sessions will offer the chance to experience the wildlife of the distinctive stretch of the region’s coastline.
They will include shorebird safaris, nature trails, games, crafts, hands-on family activities and fact-filled workshops, all led by Lindisfarne’s expert wildlife team.
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All will take place across the reserve during the second week of the Easter school holidays.
Adults and children of all ages will have the opportunity to learn about the breeding Little Terns and Ringed Plovers, their incredible journey to get to our shores and what to expect in the coming months.
Shorebird Awareness Week is considered a keystone event for the region, putting the spotlight on the diversity of wildlife on our doorstep, and the vital work of the reserve team.
The reserve, together with several sites on the Northumberland coast, is home to some of the rarest shorebirds in the UK.
Shorebirds are those that use the beaches, saltmarshes and rocky shores to nest, rest and feed, but are often overlooked and have suffered steep declines in the last 30 years.
In the North East alone, habitat loss, increased coastal recreation and climate change are all said to have taken a significant toll.
The wildlife team on the reserve work throughout the year to support and raise awareness of these highly endangered birds, creating refuges, supporting nesting, monitoring numbers and managing disturbance.
Senior reserve manager Andrew Craggs said: “This is a wonderful time to explore the National Nature Reserve as the coast bursts into life.
“Dunelands come alive with flowers, and birds start feeding, displaying, becoming territorial and pairing up to breed.
“We also welcome back birds from their long migration, some having travelled thousands of miles to get here.
“Shorebird Week offers lots of fun hands-on activities full of nature encounters to fascinate young and old alike!
“We can’t wait to welcome visitors and show them the reserve in all its springtime glory.”
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Over the next four years, the reserve, which is managed by Natural England, will receive additional support from the LIFE WADER project, a major new £5.8m nature recovery project, co-funded by the European Union.
WADER (Water and Disturbance Environmental Restoration on the Northumberland coast) is led by Natural England and brings together a range of experts to improve the ecological condition of more than 120,000 acres of river, coastal and marine habitat and improve water quality within the River Tweed catchment and along the Northumberland Coast.
All Shorebird Week events are free, but donations are welcome.
Read next:
* 30 ways to go wild about North-East nature in June
* Help secure the future of the water vole in the North-East
* Teesside wildlife die-off investigated by completely independent panel
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No booking is required.
Further information is available via www.lindisfarnennr.blogspot.com, or by ringing the reserve office, on (01289) 381470
More information about LIFE WADER is available via www.tweedforum.org/our-work/life-wader/ or @LifeWader on Twitter.
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