Cooling Marshes, Kent, 7th December 2014

Saturday 2 February 2013

World Wetlands Day

Water Street, East Lambrook, Somerset, Jan 2013 (Photo by M Werkmeister)

This photo was sent to me by a family friend recently, apparently the road is called 'Water Street'...I know!

So today is World Wetlands Day - a virtual hands up who knew that? Ah maybe you did, maybe you didn't...the main thing is you do now. It marks the day in 1971 when the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance was signed in the city of Ramsar in Iran. What we now know as the Ramsar Convention has since taken massive strides in highlighting the importance of wetlands and shaping how they are conserved around the world. This year the theme is water management.

Writing this now from a hilly and residential South London suburb, wetlands seem far removed from everyday life. But those marshes and mudflats at the mouth of the Thames and those rivers and reservoirs threading through the wider landscape, allow us to live much as we do. They are alternately a sponge, soaking up the power of the high-energy waves and the vagaries of inclement weather; they are a fundamental and free-flowing source of hygiene and survival, they are simultaneously a natural drainage and storage system. They are many other things too.

As well as our reliance on them, wetlands are also unique and fantastically biodiverse habitats, home to a bewildering number of flora and fauna species and used by many more. I spent today doing my best to share the joys of one such place in West London, or at least, giving the punters what they wanted and showing off some pretty birds.

Kempton Nature Reserve is a relatively new reserve, created in the last decade of so by Thames Water. As a former working reservoir, water is the influencing force here and through time and careful management, a charming, rich mosaic of habitats has formed. Today we saw Reed Buntings flitting over a reedbed and a handsome Gadwall bobbing like a cork as it dabbled in the velvety blue pools. A Snipe did nothing save cast a shadow as it froze on an island to avoid detection. A Kestrel flew in and began hovering over one of the muddy banks, keen eyes looking for invisible trails or the twitch of a mousy tail. At one point the hide was full of kids and I asked them what they could see, "SWANS!!", "FISH!", "DUCKS!" were the answers yelled back at me. It was cold and overcast and February, but the place was still full of life...and I guess that's ultimately what World Wetlands Day is about. As photos like that at the top and recent news articles show, it is vital that sensitive wetland management is taken seriously by politicians - so much depends on it.


Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) North London, Jan 2013


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