And a quick thank you to Canterbury local RSPB group for your recent generous donation of £500 towards the new hide.!

Update 1/10/22: Burrowes Pit New Island Completed!

The island work on Burrowes Pit has been completed this week and we think it looks fantastic. The islands will be closer to the new hide than any others on the reserve and are now at a height where they will be accessible to birds in any weather and water level.

We had to work quickly on this project to capitalise on the low water levels we are currently experiencing. As part of the project, we have also created the platform upon which the new hide will sit as well. We have fenced this off to keep visitors safe from the edge of the lake and to ensure the platform has the opportunity to bake hard and settle in the coming months.

These islands cover an area of 2500m2 and form some of the biggest islands on the lake and we are confident that they will provide a wildlife spectacle in the years to come. The completion of this island creation has brought to an end a productive summer for the team in creating islands for seabirds, waders and wildfowl with the exciting island repairs on ARC which is already delivering for wildlife. We have real optimism for the reserves wildlife moving into next year as we now have 57 islands around the reserve for wildlife to use.

We would like to thank Kent Ornithological Society and the other donors for the generous support to allow us to undertake this project.

Update 28/09/22

Work has progressed well over the last week on the island creation on Burrowes Pit South and will be completed within the next couple of days. This will include the installation of a temporary fence/dead hedge to provide some cover and allow the new lake edge, which will form the foundations of the new hide, to set hard. These four islands will provide shallow feeding habitat throughout much of the year and create a wildlife spectacle once the new hide is installed. Work will progress on creating an anti predator fence around these islands this winter.

Update 01/09/22

Whilst evaluating the feedback from the consultation on the replacement of Makepeace Hide, it has raised the importance of improving the provision of having shallow feeding habitats in front of the hide. Initially this wasn't considered as a possibility in the hide replacement project as it was thought to be outside of its remit. However, after many discussions, some of the plans have changed.

We strongly believe that the best potential area for shallow water feeding habitat is southwest of the old hides location, this is something we are keen to create more of around the reserve anyway and with this in mind we have been working on plans and designs for this development which are as follows:

We will create four islands which will cover an area of approximately 2500m2 and vary in height. The primary concept of these islands is shallow feeding habitat set higher than the sand in front of Firth Lookout, but low enough that it will have inundation depths of about 10cm in bad years. This will still be usable by some long-legged species but will also ensure that some vegetation growth is suppressed to maintain the open habitat.

We will be constructing a wide ditch adjacent to the shore to provide a lot of the material for the islands and ensure they are as protected from mammalian intrusion.

The islands will be built up between 1.28m and 1.75m to reach the desired height. See below the blueprints for the island plan.

Some of the challenges we faced with shallow feeding islands in front of the old hide location is the water depth, we have known this to be some of the deepest water in the lake (6m deep in July 2022) in comparison to the southwest of the old hide location which is much shallower. Also, the cost of finding and piling material in 6m of water would have been a lot more expensive and time consuming, and is harder to justify, especially with prime habitat adjacent to this.

With all the exciting plans to develop a new shallow water habitat, it brought into consideration the angle and aspect of the new hide. We know and appreciate the benefits from up-close nature viewing rather than watching distant birds on islands and we understand the need to create a close-up spectacle to enthuse and excite our visitors like that seen in Hanson hide

We have also realised that the view from Makepeace hide is like that seen from Firth Lookout and that, realistically, strong optics are needed to be able to see any wildlife, which excludes a good proportion of the visiting public from receiving the benefits of the hide. With all these elements considered we have decided that Makepeace hide should be moved to a new, nearby location which overlooks this shallow water habitat and is closer to the water level and even closer to the wildlife and provide much better viewing opportunities. The hide itself would be created by pushing through the bank and using that material to create some solid foundations.

We are going to take advantage of the lower water levels we are currently experiencing and plan to undertake the island work in the coming weeks as this is something that would need to be completed prior to the hide being installed. As a result, this will leave a gap in the bank which we will have a temporarily screen to enable viewing of this fantastic new habitat.

These are exciting times for the reserve, and we will keep you informed as we progress with the island work. We will advertise when we have firm dates for the work to commence, please keep an eye on our social media.

Help Replace the Makepeace Hide at Dungeness

RSPB Dungeness is celebrating our 90th birthday this year!

Built in 1994, the Makepeace hide has been an important part of our history. After many years of weathering and severe structural damage, we are reaching out for your support for a brand-new hide to offer fabulous views across Burrowe's Pit for all our visitors.

RSPB Dungeness hosts nesting wading birds, winter waterfowl and birds of prey all year round. We also offer spectacular skies, rare insects and botanical beauties!

We hope that you will consider supporting our project and give as much as you feel able.

If you would like to discuss making a donation of £500 or more, please contact Leah Mitchell in the RSPB Philanthropy team on 07935 014965 or email philanthropy@rspb.org.uk.

Should we be unable to secure the funding required to realise this project, your donations will be used to benefit other work on site at RSPB Dungeness. Details of this work will be published on the linked page below.