20th March is the day we celebrate the Common Eider! Traditionally associated with St Cuthbert, the iconic ‘cuddy duck’ is easy to identify around our coasts at this time of year.

To celebrate, we are teaming up with Space for Shorebirds to deliver 3 FREE events for anyone to come along and learn more about the life of the eider duck, the habitats they need to survive, and how we can all help protect the UK’s largest sea duck.

Booking is essential for events – see below to secure your place!

09:30 – 11:30 Rocky shore ramble at Amble
Discover the hidden world of the rocky shore with a guided tour of the world between the tides, and discover how protecting this habitat helps eider ducks and thousands of other birds survive the winter

Book here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1982425855098?aff=oddtdtcreator

13:30 – 15:30 Eiders, Art and History guided walk and watercolour workshop
Stretch your legs and artistic skills in the afternoon with a guided walk around Beadnell with history and wildlife experts, followed by an outdoor watercolour workshop with artist Sofia Barton, to capture some of the memories from the walk in a piece of art to take home.

Book here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1982431599279?aff=oddtdtcreator

17:00 – 18:30 A Duckling’s Journey Family Walk
A short walk around Seahouses perfect for little legs, where we will go and meet some eider ducks in the harbour, then head to the beach to learn how eider mums build their cosy nests for their eggs, and where ducklings go to find food! There will be nest building games, rockpooling challenges, and some storytelling as the sun goes down. If we’re lucky, we may even spot a few stars!

Book here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1983070105067?aff=oddtdtcreator

Northumberland County Council are currently recruiting for a Senior Wildlife Ranger to work on their new Coastal Mitigation Service.

Senior Wildlife Ranger (Coastal Mitigation Service)

Contract Type: Permanent
Working Pattern: Full time
Hours per week: 37

An exciting opportunity has arisen to implement and lead the Northumberland Coastal Mitigation Service (CMS). As Senior Wildlife Ranger you will take a strategic approach to tackling recreational impacts on internationally important wildlife sites on one of the most beautiful coastlines in the UK. With responsibility for managing a Wildlife Ranger and local volunteers, you will undertake a variety of roles, including ornithological monitoring, education and awareness-raising, enforcement, designing solutions for disturbance hotspots, nest protection and control of pirri-pirri bur within dune grasslands. There will also be opportunities to develop habitat management and creation projects.

Effective public engagement is key to the success of this project and, as well as engaging with people on the coast, you will be responsible for developing a compelling social media presence, telling the fascinating story of coastal wildlife through the seasons and increasing public appreciation of and support for it.

We are searching for a candidate who combines an excellent understanding of ecological issues and a deep commitment to nature conservation with the tact, diplomacy and assertiveness to influence people’s behaviour, pursuing enforcement action when required. You will have experience of ecological survey work, habitat and access management and public engagement, and will have excellent written and verbal communications skills.

This challenging role is an exciting opportunity to shape and lead an important initiative to conserve valuable wintering and breeding bird populations and dune grasslands, in a stunning location. Frequent weekend working will be required, as well as access to a car for work purposes.

We are offering:
– A starting salary of £27,905 per annum (Band 7)
– Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme (or other pension scheme)
– A wide range of staff benefits including a competitive annual leave provision
– Flexible working arrangements

For further information about this vacancy, please contact David Feige on 01670 622653 for an informal discussion.

Northumberland County Council is an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from all sectors of the community. We recognise the difficulties that transgender applicants in particular may face during a recruitment process; if Trans applicants have any concerns regarding the process please contact Rebecca Harding (Trans HR Support Officer) on 07770975678 or rebecca.harding@northumberland.gov.uk.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria. All applications to work on a part-time will be considered in line with the requirements of the post and the needs of the service.

If you have a disability and would prefer to apply in a different format or would like us to make reasonable adjustments to enable you to attend an interview please

To view the Job Description and Personal Specification please click here

Closing date 7 October 2019 at midnight

Interviews will be held on Tuesday 15 October 2019

Photo credit: Iain Robson/Northumberland Coast AONB

The creation of a new Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) off the Northumberland coast was announced by the Government on the 31st May. The Berwick to St Mary’s MCZ is one of 41 new MCZs and brings the number of inshore marine protected areas along the Berwickshire and Northumberland coast to 11.

The site has been designated in recognition of its nationally important numbers of eider duck. The eider is a species of sea duck which feeds on marine molluscs. It can be found on the inshore waters of the Northumberland coast throughout the year. The Farne Islands and Coquet Island are important local breeding sites for the bird.

The site stretches from Berwick-upon-Tweed in the north to St Mary’s Island in the south and covers an area of 634 km2. The southern part of the site overlaps with the similarly named Coquet to St Mary’s MCZ which was designated in 2016 for a range of tidal and subtidal habitats.

Please follow the links below for:

MAP of the MCZ

Factsheet about the MCZ

Designation Order