On Wednesday we were back at the stunning Whitburn Coastal Conservation Centre for another partnership event. Alongside the National Trust, Seascapes, Stronger Shores and COAST South Tyneside the aim of this event was to encourage people into the centre and let them know about the different environmental projects happening in the area.

Whilst Becky stayed in the centre to chat to members of the public about coastal wildlife and make bird- themed badges and keyrings with younger visitors, Sam and Lauren (COAST South Tyneside) headed out to lead a guided bird walk. Once everyone was kitted out with binoculars, the group headed south along the coastal path towards Jackies Beach, looking for different birds along the way. Sightings included fulmar, kittiwake, chiff-chaff and cormorant.

Jackies beach is particularly exciting at the moment as a pair of Ringed Plovers have once again nested on the site. These birds make small scrapes in the shingle and lay very camouflaged eggs which mean they are at risk of being trampled by walkers and dogs. Lauren has been running the Ringed Plover Project for the last 2 years in an effort to tackle this problem and give the birds space to nest and safely raise their young. With help from dedicated volunteers, fencing and signage has been installed around the nesting site and the group undertake regular monitoring. Watching from a distance, it was a race to see who from the group could spot the tiny ringed plovers first. After some tricky searching through binoculars, it was wonderful for the group to see not only the adults but three chicks doing well! Please follow the signage guidance if you are in this area and be mindful of nesting birds. Please avoid using the south entrance to the beach where possible as this reduces the likelihood of encountering tiny chicks!

The excitement didn’t stop there however as we then spotted a group of bottlenose dolphins heading towards the conservation centre. Sam immediately rang Becky who alerted the visitors in the centre and gathered everyone to the window to wait with anticipation. And… wow what a show we were treated to! Approximately 30 bottlenose dolphins passed us as they headed north, some with calves, some jumping high out of the water. The centre quickly became alive with shrieks and exclaims of “wow look at that”, “there’s more over there”, “I can’t believe we’re seeing this”. It was an amazing experience to share with both members of the public and our partners- we can’t wait to come back to the centre for another partnership day!