The Dumble Farm conservation scheme is going from strength to strength and we would like to thank everyone that has sponsored us and volunteered.
Wonderful Donation
At the beginning of last 2024 the Yorkshire Water Biodiversity fund donated two sandmartin boxes. In the first year we had 9 nests, we were delighted, this year there are nearly 30 nests, amazing!
Important Research
We are also delighted to have a PhD student using our boxes for research. You can see Jenny taking notes and checking the boxes. Jenny has had special training and holds a license to open the boxes; it requires great care and knowledge.
Future data
Jenny is researching the effects that pollutants, plus chemicals used to treat sewage, may have on the birds. As our lake is freshwater, Jenny can use it as a comparison to contaminated sites. We hope it will be very valuable to Jenny’s research.
Recording the sandmartins
Jenny and two colleagues carefully trap the sandmartins so that they can record them, they are such adorable little birds and don’t seem at all stressed that they are being handled.
The birds have a ring put round their legs, the wing length is measured and the sex is recorded.
The birds are then weighed and released back to fly to their nests and to feed around the lake. The poo is sent to a laboratory for analysis; this will show the ratio of aquatic versus terrestrial invertebrates that are being eaten.
