Avocets
Surfbirds News: RSPB Archives
The site, which is a haven for a stunning array of plants and animals, was first leased to the RSPB in April 1947, the same year that
avocets
– extinct in the UK for 100 years - were found breeding there.
Avocets, Suffolk, Minsmere 15 May 2004 © Jeff Higott
This year is also the 60th anniversary of their return.
Ever since Minsmere has provided a lifeline to birds on the brink of disappearing from the UK.
Avocets, bitterns, marsh harriers
and
bearded tits
all owe their current success to the reserve and to the work of its staff and volunteers.
By the 1840s the avocet had become extinct in the UK, wiped out by marsh drainage, shooting and the taking of eggs by collectors. A century later, the coastal marshes of East Anglia were flooded to hinder the expected German invasion. This provided an ideal habitat for the avocet, which launched its own invasion. In 1947, four pairs were found on the Minsmere Level, which during the war had been a battle training ground. In the same year the RSPB agreed to lease the area and the reserve was born. In the years that followed The Scrape – a saline lagoon with shingle islands – was built and became home to a colony of avocets. Today the reserve is home to 100 of the country’s 1,000 breeding pairs and the avocet features on the RSPB’s logo.
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