Our coast in August can feel a little overcrowded, and with Norfolk’s population almost doubling during the summer holidays, that’s no surprise! But if you know where to look, quiet walks and lonely spots can still be found. The dunes and beaches around Norfolk’s coast, although teeming with holiday-makers, still have lots of wildlife to discover. Our sea and seashore at this time of year is often NWT’s focus for public engagement. Other coastal Wildlife Trusts do the same, and the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts holds a National Marine Week which runs from 26^th July to 10^th August. The event highlights how wonderful our seas are and discusses the many challenging issues our seas and oceans are facing. 

Here in Norfolk we know all-too-well the threats, as the collision between the cargo ship Solong and the oil tanker Stena Immaculate in March proved. The initial concern was of a massive oil spill, and with such important nature reserves along our coast, it was a worrying time. The oil was, fortunately, contained. The release of tiny plastic pellets known as ‘nurdles’, however, still proved a significant a threat to wildlife. At NWT Holme Dunes not only were millions of these tiny plastic beads washed up, but large charred and melted chunks of the stuff too. These small floating pellets can quickly enter the food chain. Wildlife, particularly fish, ingest them, mistaking them for plankton. They can end up filling their stomachs with fragments of plastic. It is insidious, persistent and highly toxic. However, organised beach cleans by various organisations, including NWT, are carried out year-round, and the continuing efforts of hundreds of volunteers help remove rubbish from our coastline.

Pollution is not the only concern, as average sea temperatures around the British Isles have gradually risen over the last fifty years, and record-breaking warmth has been observed in recent months. This year is shaping up to be the hottest sea temperatures on record. This warming trend is linked to both long-term climate change and short-term marine heatwave events. The UK's seas are experiencing temperatures approaching 2°C above average. This is, of course, changing the wildlife around our coastline. Any sea-angler will tell you about the lack of cod and other cold-water species. Sand eels, the stable diet of puffins, guillemots and many other sea-birds, are in short supply. Warming water temperatures is driving a depleted population further north. It’s shocking to think that blue-fin tuna, leatherback turtle and sunfish have already arrived on our south coast. 

At NWT Cley and Salthouse Marshes nature reserve, bird-watchers have observed seabird rarities, some from the other side of the Atlantic, including Sooty shearwaters, pomarine skuas and Cory’s shearwaters. In addition, at NWT Holme Dunes, great and sooty shearwaters were recorded throughout August. Watching birds that are at sea is a challenge, and ‘sea-watchers’ are a special breed of bird-watcher. It requires hours of dedication staring, it seems, at nothing but open sea. But once you get your eye in it’s surprising how much is going on, and how many birds are back and forth along the coastline. This pursuit is enjoyed by seasoned bird-watchers - those that know, at a glance, all the phases of juvenile plumage in every European gull and are willing to hanker down in a seaside shelter during a howling on-shore gale. 

Norfolk’s coastal mudflats are well known for the variety and number of birds they attract. Finding and identifying them is a little easier than sea-watching, particularly those that feed in the many creeks that wind along our coast. August finds wading bird migration picking up, and The Wash is one of the most important estuarine mudflats in Europe. It is both a migration stopping-off point, and a wintering ground for tens of thousands of coastal birds.

As well as our wonderful mudflats, Norfolk boasts rare chalk-reefs. These stretch from Cley Next the Sea to Trimingham. The chalk, the building block of shells, being the reason such large and tasty crabs come from this area. One may hear ‘reef’ and think ‘coral’, but reefs can be made from anything, including chalk. A reef is simply a ridge, ledge or outcrop that sticks out of the surrounding seabed. Over time, waves and currents wear away chalk cliffs and the seafloor, leaving behind a rocky reef surface with arches, ledges, and cracks. This chalk then provides a base in which marine life can bore into or settle and grow on. The Norfolk coastline is home to Europe’s longest chalk reef - Cromer Shoal Chalk Beds. This internationally important chalk reef (our own version of the great barrier reef!) has now been designated a Marine Conservation Zone. I recently snorkelled out to the reef from a Sheringham beach, and it was a wonderful experience, although it needs to be after a run of several calm days for good visibility. Chalk-reefs are incredibly rare, and only really found in north-west Europe. The United Kingdom coastline is exceptionally important, but only 1% of our coast is chalk. This means Norfolk holds a globally significant proportion of all the world's marine chalk. As such, we all have a special responsibility to protect it.

Take Action

Bottom trawling is a hugely destructive fishing method that drags heavy chains across the seabed, bulldozing fragile marine habitats. As the chains are dragged along, indiscriminately capturing and even killing marine life in its path, carbon is released from the seabed. This fishing method is often used to catch just one or two species of fish but many other sea creatures are caught up in the nets. Over three quarters of what’s caught is thrown away.

The Government is considering a ban on bottom trawling in 41 offshore Marine Protected Areas in England – including two off the Norfolk coast. This is a great step forward, but The Wildlife Trusts need your help to ensure a ban is implemented effectively by telling the Marine Management Organisation and Minister Hardy that you support measures to ban bottom trawling. As Sir David Attenborough said, “If we save the sea, we save our world.” 

You can show your support for the ban by clicking here.

What to see in September

The sun may be taking a step back, but September is often blessed with fine mild weather. In a good migration year, butterflies such as painted lady and clouded yellow may be found fliting among the creeping thistles. A lucky garden may be graced by a visit from a humming-bird hawkmoth, the still blooming honey-suckle being one of its favourite flowers. Bird migration is in full swing, and the tail end of the month will find the first Brent geese arriving. The swifts have long gone, and the last of the swallows are soon to follow, ‘…and summer’s lease is all too short’.