Kingsdown Rifle Range

Large areas of the rifle range SSSI have been unnecessarily scraped off and removed by the new owner, apparently with the support of Natural England.  The original permission was to move boulders and parts of the chalk butts from one end to the other (south) end to fill the hole behind the sea wall.

Permission was given to create a single track from north to south...... but whole areas at each end have been scraped flat, crushing colonies of Kidney Vetch (with Small Blues) and Early Spider Orchids as well as many other species.

Astonishingly, Natural England had concluded that the grassland was not of any value and that the arisings should be taken off-site.

161 plant species have been recorded in this small area and it's heart-breaking to think how many have now been lost. 

It remains to be seen what may have survived, and hopefully at least most of the Oxtongue Broomrape areas have been avoided.  

And the huge gap in the northern part of the sea wall remains; will the contractors fill this in as well, and if so what materials will be used this time? I fear it could become a dumping ground for spoil from elsewhere.

Historic photos: 1929 showing vegetated shingle in 1929,

... and an aerial picture apparently showing clean chalk after works in the 1930s.

I don't think I'll see its recovery in my lifetime.

Back to Botany Bay

Back to Botany Bay (Margate) for the first time in a while - this was where I spent my lunch breaks in the mid-2000s, learning quickly from the Planet Thanet forum.

Fortunately it was full high tide, so Fayreness beach was protected from dog-walkers and other disturbance, giving the waders a chance to rest in peace.

The roost held 260 Sanderlings, 150 Oystercatchers, 57 Ringed Plovers, 20 Curlews, one Purple Sandpiper and an uncountable number of restless Turnstones.

This is a similar count to that reported on the blog back in 2008: https://kingsdownkent.blogspot.com/2008/10/sanderlings-and-other-favourites.html

Love the way the Ringed Plovers hunker down in footprints to avoid the wind.

These Turnstones were some of the few that were not scuttling around, while the other species were taking their ease.

And just one Purple Sandpiper - good to see.

Tucked away under the cliff was a solitary Cherry Plum bush, anticipating spring like its relatives planted along the road verges. You can tell it's a Cherry Plum by its early flowering, and by the folded back sepals.

More frequent across the sand dunes was Sea Spurge, and there'll be a host of other interesting psammophiles ready to appear in the warmer weather.  I must return for a swim later in the year.