Proposed Development at Linford Lakes

I'm sure by now many of you will have heard that yet another planning application (21/02533/OUT Linford Lakes) been submitted in respect of the land adjacent to the Nature Reserve. You can find all the details relating to the proposal by clicking on the link below.

The new proposal seeks to provide 584 units of accommodation, far more than in the previously refused application, of up to 250 units of accommodation, and more than the adjacent Redhouse Park housing.

If you have or are thinking about writing in objection then a massive THANK YOU.

If you are not sure or wonder if it will really do any good, I can promise you (and I have been here a few times before) every voice counts

Profit driven developers and ill-informed planners rely on apathy to get away with - what to some wild life - will literally be murder.

I have pasted below a copy of FoLLNRs letter of objection to MKC Planning Dept. Please feel free to copy from this or use your own words to make your feelings known.

Please also do email your local councillors and ask them to support your objection - their e mail addresses can be found on the MK Council website, you may be surprised how helpful some of them can be.

You can either lodge your objections to the new planning applications by e mail to :

dcadmin@milton-keynes.gov.uk

Or if you can’t see that your objection has been logged you can email Jonathan.Palmer@milton-keynes.gov.uk who is the head planning officer.

(1) Full application for the change of use of 68.65ha of agricultural land to a linear park and a new access road to the Linford Lakes Study Centre with associated works including the stopping up of the public road in Stanton Low and demolition of the Marle Inn; and (2) Outline application (matter of access to be considered, with matters of layout, scale, appearance and landscaping reserved) for up to 277 extra care apartments (Use Class C2); a care home providing up to 70 bedrooms (Use Class C2); up to 41 retirement bungalows (Use Class C3) and up to 196 homes (Use Class C3) with communal amenity space and other associated works. 

If you are going to email please include your name and address otherwise it may not be accepted.

Kindest regards

Tony

 

To: Milton Keynes Council Planning Department

 

Re: Planning Application 21/02533/OUTEIS | (1) Full application for the change of use of 68.65ha of agricultural land to a linear park and a new access road to the Linford Lakes Study Centre with associated works including the stopping up of the public road in Stanton Low and demolition of the Marle Inn; and (2) Outline application (matter of access to be considered, with matters of layout, scale, appearance and landscaping reserved) for up to 277 extra care apartments (Use Class C2); a care home providing up to 70 bedrooms (Use Class C2); up to 41 retirement bungalows (Use Class C3) and up to 196 homes (Use Class C3) with communal amenity space and other associated works. | Linford Lakes Nature Reserve Wolverton Road Great Linford Milton Keynes MK14 5AH

Dear Sirs

We are writing to voice our strongest opposition to the above planning application in respect of the Land at Linford Lakes. 

Our reasons are as follow. 

1.     The proposed development is contrary to the following local policies:

Policy DS5 Open Countryside

 

A. The Council defines Open Countryside as all land outside the development boundaries defined on the Policies Map. Planning permission within the open countryside will only be granted for development which is essential for agriculture, forestry, countryside recreation, highway infrastructure or other development, which is wholly appropriate to a rural area and cannot be located within a settlement, or where other policies within this plan indicate development would be appropriate. 

 

Policy DS6 Linear Parks 

 

C. The Ouse Valley between Haversham and the M1 motorway, known as "Linford Lakes", is part of the Linear Park system.

 

Policy DS6 restricts any development in Linear Parks to leisure and recreation  activities and these should be consistent with the objectives set out in Policy NE3 and Policy NE4. 

 

Policy DS6 states: The wildfowl reserve - Linford Lakes Nature Reserve, based on Stantonbury Lake, and the surrounding lakes and land that fall within the Great Linford Gravel Pits Biological Notification Site (BNS), should be retained as an important ecological resource. 

 

Policy L1 Facilities Acceptable In The Parks 

 

Planning permission will only be granted for leisure and recreation uses, or proposals that are ancillary to and directly support such uses.

 

Policy NE3 Biodiversity and Geological Enhancement 

 

Development proposals will be required to maintain and protect biodiversity and geological resources, and wherever possible result in a measurable net gain in biodiversity, enhance the structure and function of ecological networks and the ecological status of water bodies in accordance with the vision and principles set out by the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes NEP. 

 

Policy NE4 Green Infrastructure 

 

E. The existing network of linear parks and linked parks and green spaces will be extended into the urban extensions and along the Ouse and Ouzel Valleys to the north to provide a well-connected network of green infrastructure that: 

1. Is strategically planned. 

2. Is attractive and enhances the surrounding landscape. 

3. Is safe and well used for recreation. 

4. Meets the needs of existing and future residents. 

5. Is designed to provide a range of ecosystem services e.g. manage flood risk or provide flower rich habitats that supports a diverse range of pollinators. 

6. Is designed to support mitigation and adaptation to climate change e.g. through vegetation for carbon uptake (carbon sequestration). 

7. Achieves a net gain in biodiversity. 

8. Is managed into the long-term. 

9. Where possible improves connectivity with other green infrastructure networks e.g. by linkages to the urban parks. 

10. Where appropriate explores economic opportunities that will support the network’s sustainability – for example in conservation, agriculture, renewable energy or outdoor environmental education or recreation; such activity must not result in a negative impact to the integrity of the network, the ecosystem services provided or on biodiversity. 

Previous decisions in respect of development proposals relating to this land

MKC DCC have reviewed and unanimously rejected all previous applications for the development of the land at Linford Lakes for the reasons that: 

"the proposed development(s), by virtue of its location outside the settlement boundary of Milton Keynes would represent an intrusive form of development in the open countryside which is identified as an Area of Attractive Landscape in the Milton Keynes Local Plan, which would be detrimental to the open, rural character of the locality. The proposal would result in the loss of a substantial area of varied habitat and appearance and would harm the special landscape character of the area in this regard, providing an urbanised character and appearance to the land." 

On 27^th March 2018 The Planning Inspectorate ruled that development of this site:

 “would intrude into the countryside, and into a designated AAL and Wildlife Corridor. It would cause substantial and irreversible harm to the Ouse Valley’s valued landscape. It would permanently destroy priority habitats, threaten important wildlife, and weaken ecological networks. It would also take 15 ha of land from the Linear Park, reducing the scope for informal and passive recreation uses in the future”. 

2.     The Proposed Development will result in serious ecological damage and will negatively impact Linford Lakes Nature Reserve

This proposed development flies in the face of the 2020 Environment Bill by which the Government has strengthened its commitment to protect the environment for future generations.

This Bill introduces statutory guidance for local planning authorities to explain how they should take into account Local Nature Recovery Strategies, to embed strategies for the environment and nature’s recovery into their planning systems.

The Government has committed to leave a richer, more biodiverse environment for future generations with a clear need for action: between 1932 and 1984, we lost 97% of our species-rich grassland, five species of butterfly have disappeared from England in the last 150 years, and indicators showing the state of birds dependent on farmland stand at less than half their value compared to 1970.

The Applicants own Independent Preliminary Ecological Appraisal has identified the following types of habitat within the proposed development area, all of which they rate as having a high protected species potential.

Dense Scrub, Scattered Scrub, Broad-leaved Scattered Trees, Mixed Scattered Trees, Recently Felled Woodland, Tall Ruderal, Swamp/Reedbeds, Running water, Species-poor Hedge with Trees 

Most of the above habitats would be destroyed if this application were allowed to proceed.

The land which the applicant suggest could be used to replace the above habitats, lies directly within the River Great Ouse Flood Zone. This land floods significantly and regularly (photographs are available to substantiate this), it is very different in nature to the area being proposed for building, it cannot be regarded as a similar habitat and could not support the same range of flora and fauna. It would be almost impossible to replicate the types of habitat identified above and any attempts to do so would be washed away or submerged in the winter floods. Even if it were possible to replicate the lost habitat, it would take many years to establish, during which time most of the current species would be lost to the area, probably for ever.

The EIA report which accompanied 17/01937/OUTEIS in 2017 for development of the same area of land concluded: 

"There would be an irreversible loss of habitat and fragmentation of habitat within Linford Lakes Biological Notification Site and Wildlife Corridor during construction" and "a significant negative effect at COUNTY level was classified as certain." The EIA report also indicated that the Zone of Impact that construction work could have, would be up to 2Km and could severely impact Linford Lakes Nature Reserve. 

The proposed development fails to minimise impacts on biodiversity or provide a net gain in biodiversity and/or contribute to the Government's commitment to halt the overall decline in biodiversity, nor does it establish a coherent ecological network that is more resilient to current and future pressures, as required by the NPPF. 

In the last three years over 20 cuckoos have been ringed by the local BTO team on LLNR land adjacent to the development area. This indicates just how vitally important this area is as a breeding site for this "red list" species, which is in severe decline - the UK has lost over half of its breeding cuckoos during the last twenty-five years. Linford Lakes is locally and nationally important to the survival of this and many other "red list" species and any form of disruption should be avoided. (A list of Red List and BAP Species recorded at LLNR since 2012 is included as Appendix 1).

Osprey have become annual visitors to Linford Lakes and use the site as a ‘refuelling point’ as they arrive in Spring and leave in Autumn. Last year one bird remained at LLNR for nearly two weeks and this year birds visited in April and August. This spectacular fish-eating bird of prey is an Amber List species because of its historical decline (due to illegal killing) and low breeding numbers. They are listed as a Schedule 1 species on The Wildlife and Countryside Act.

Linford Lakes are immensely rich in Dragonflies, 11 species of dragonfly have been recorded along with 9 species of damselfly. Dragonflies in the UK are in decline. The loss of wetland habitat due to development, together with run-off and the effects of insecticides are having a devastating effect on dragonfly numbers. The high risk of run-off contaminates during the construction process and then from the housing estate into the lake system along with the loss of habitat and increased human activity, will inevitably lead to a further decline in these species. 

During the last ten years, the Friends of Linford Lakes, along with specialists such as the County Bird Recorder, Moth Recorder, the Parks Trust Biodiversity Officer and the local BTO Bird Ringing Group have built up a great deal of information and data about the wildlife to be found on and around the Nature Reserve. This information clearly demonstrates that for its size, LLNR is probably the richest habitat and most species diverse site in the County. 

The applicants Ecological Desktop Survey (Bird Report) whilst indicating the presence of well over a hundred species appears to consist of only old records with nothing later than 2016. By not including records for the Nature Reserve it has missed many of the rare and priority species which are regularly seen at LLNR. It therefore fails to fully recognise the exceptionally high ecological value of the Linford Lakes complex. The applicants survey team do not appear to have referenced the species records for LLNR which would have helped give a better indication of the true importance of this area for biodiversity and priority species. Records for LLNR maintained by FoLLNR can be found at https://fohescnews.blogspot.com

The applicants own Environmental Impact Assessment Predicts “Significant Effects”. “During the construction phase, the effects will be high. A number of protected and rare species are present. The proposed scheme of works is likely to kill, injure and harm species and habitats at the site should no mitigation and compensation be installed.” As can be seen above it is unlikely that effective mitigation and compensation can be achieved.

The report goes on to say “The site is likely to have a significant impact on species during its operational phase. The increase in traffic levels will ultimately lead to higher road collisions between vehicles and species”.

 Such loss of habitat and disruption to wildlife is not acceptable.  

3.     There is no justification for the proposed development

The applicant has failed to consider the impact of the new Milton Keynes East Strategic Urban Extension which lies around 2 miles from Linford Lakes within the development boundary and which is set to deliver 5000 new homes. This development will according to MKC provide:

“A wide range of dwelling type, size and tenure should be provided creating choice, a varied building form and meeting community needs. 31% of housing should be affordable.”

 “In accordance with Plan: MK policy HN3, the development will be expected to provide an element of supported or specialist housing to help contribute towards meeting the needs of older persons and households with specific needs.”

The MK East Strategic Urban Extension will provide all and much more than this piecemeal proposal can ever achieve, furthermore, it includes all the infrastructure (shops, medical facilities, schools, leisure facilities and parks) that a sustainable development requires. The proposed development at Linford Lakes has no supporting infrastructure and by comparison is unsustainable.

We therefore request that this proposal be refused.

Yours faithfully

A C Bedford

Chair Friends of Linford Lakes

Bird ringing report Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd August

 Hi all,

Saturday

It was a warm and muggy 17°C when I arrived onsite at 04:30am to open the nets. With heavy showers forecast from 10am onwards, I was eager to make the most of the time we had available and it certainly wasn't a wasted effort. We managed to process 116 birds of 23 species, 105 of which were newly ringed before the rain stopped play.

It was another warbler fest  with blackcap numbers significantly up on recent sessions, 22 individuals were processed along with 11 reed warblers, 5 garden warblers, 11 chiffchaffs, 9 willow warblers, a cetti's warbler, a whitethroat, all topped off with 2 lesser whitethroats which are quite scarce at Linford with only 2 previous ringing records.

Other notable birds were 3 new kingfishers, an impressive and noisy 5 new great spotted woodpeckers, and a magpie. A very feisty juvenile male sparrowhawk was a strong contender for bird of the day but he was pipped at the post (or perhaps pippited at the post...)  by a very smart tree pipit which was a new species for Linford.


KINGF 3
REEWA 10 (1)
ROBIN 7 (2)
BLACA 22 (2)
DUNNO 3
GARWA 5
BLABI 2
CHIFF 11
WILWA 9
GRSWO 5
CETWA (1)
LESWH 2
GRETI 2
WREN 2 (1)
MAGPI 1
GREFI 2
BLUTI 15
TREEC (1)
LOTTI (3)
TREPI 1
GOLDF 1
SPARR 1
WHITE 1

Sunday

The predicted thunderstorms finally rumbled through in the early hours this morning, allowing me an extra hour in bed while I waited for the rain to stop and proving the old adage that every cloud has a silver lining...

As far as the ringing was concerned, it was a much more sedate affair compared to yesterday's frantic antics, with a further 41 birds processed of 16 species, 34 of which were newly ringed.

Notable birds included 4 chiffchaffs, 3 garden warblers, 5 reed warblers, 3 blackcaps, 4 willow warblers and another new lesser whitethroat.

Incredibly, another 2 tree pipits were ringed (you wait 7 years for one and then....), and out of 2 marsh tits seen, one found the net making it the 3rd to be ringed at Linford.

Cheers!

Kenny

CHIFF 4
LOTTI (1)
GARWA 3
REEWA 4 (1)
DUNNO 1
BLACA 2 (1)
WILWA 4
TREPI 2
BLUTI 6 (3)
GRSWO 1
GRETI 3
KINGF (1)
LESWH 1
MARTI 1
BLABI 1
GOLDF 1

Bird Ringing 30th May (Second Helpings)

Hi all,

Weather-wise, it was a real mixed bag today. I arrived to a clear, starry sky and it was  a wee bit chiller than expected. As the sun rose, the wind picked up and a thick mist blew in, saturating the nets and making it feel a lot colder than the 8°C my car had indicated on the drive in. The mist gradually burned off and we finished the session in glorious and really rather warm sunshine.

On the bird front, this was the busiest session we've had at Linford so far this year with 77 birds processed of a diverse 20 species, 57 of which were newly ringed. This was helped by the emergence of our first fledglings of the year including robins, long tailed tits, and starlings.

We also had a nice selection of warblers including willow warbler, reed warbler, blackcap, garden warbler, whitethroat, sedge warbler and chiffchaff. A great spotted woodpecker and a kingfisher were nice birds to show todays visitors.

The headliners of today's session were  our first ever jackdaw to be ringed at Linford, and a frankly improbable 5 cuckoos! This included a new male, 2 new females, a retrap male  from 2020 and a retrap of the female we caught in the last session (now carrying an egg).

A female hairy dragonfly was also carefully extracted from the nets.

Kenny

Photos courtesy of Tony Bedford

Bird Ringing Report 1st May 2021

Hi all,

Reports of an impressive fall of migrants at Portland Bill during the week gave us some hope of an influx of new birds and perhaps something a little bit more unusual. As the day unfolded, it started to look like we might have somewhat of a "vanilla" session but things started to improve as the early morning mist began to lift.

27 birds of 7 species were processed, 17 of which were newly ringed. Reed warblers made up the bulk of the catch with 14 birds handled including 9 new individuals and a retrap of a bird originally ringed as an adult in 2016, making it at least 6 years old. Not a bad age but still some way from the longevity record of almost 13 years! Also notable was a control of a bird ringed elsewhere in the UK.

Other warblers included 4 blackcap, 2 sedge warblers and 2 chiffchaffs. A brief hail shower threatened to curtail the proceedings but it moved through and we soldiered on regardless.

We saved the best for last with the final bird of the day ironically turning out to be our first cuckoo of the year. This stunning male was even more impressive as he turned out to be a retrap, and not just any retrap.... This was DT04157, which was the first ever cuckoo we ringed at Linford back in May 2017.  He was an adult bird then, having been hatched at least two years prior, making him at least 6 years old. The current longevity record for cuckoo is just under 7 years so let's keep everything crossed that he makes it back to Linford again next year!

Also seen around the reserve were approx 12 swift, 2 snipe, a yellow wagtail, and a hobby.

Massive Tourist Visits LLNR - But Did You See It?

 

Following a tip off from a well informed member of the Friends Group (thanks Mark) I have done a little research on the interweb and have found the following post on the Roy Dennis Foundation Twitter Feed https://twitter.com/RoyDennisWF, which confirms  that a White-tailed Eagle did indeed roost at LLNR on the 2nd March 2021.

"Apart one brief return flight south to Northamptonshire (as described above), G318 remained in Lincolnshire until 27^th February when it made a purposeful move to the south, passing to the east of Boston at 13:20 and then across the north side of Peterborough at 15:20. It eventually settled in woodland on the Cambridgeshire-Northants border having flown 107 km (67 miles) from the Lincolnshire Wolds. G318 continued to head slowly south over subsequent days, and spent a night at Linford Lakes on the outskirts of Milton Keynes, on 2nd March."

I am advised that it spent the night on Heron Island - which must have put the wind up a few Herons and Egrets and any wildfowl on and around the lake.

The bird which is one of those introduced on to the Isle of Wight is fitted with a GPS tracker and so it's movements and location can be very accurately monitored.

Unfortunately we don't have any pictures of the actual bird so I have posted below one of my own pictures of a WTE taken in Scotland a couple of years ago. I have been fortunate enough to see quite a few of these birds, at pretty close range, on my regular visits to Mull over the last 15 years and can confirm they are truly massive.

Tony Bedford

End of Year Ringing Report by Kenny Cramer

Hi all,

I think we've probably all read and said everything there is to say about 2020 and there are no superlatives or hyperboles left that haven't been applied to this most unusual of years. Despite the extraordinary circumstances, the ringing news is not all bad, in fact there have been quite some highlights which I have attempted to summarise below.

In 2020 we ringed on 38 different days, beating the previous record of 27 visits in 2018 by quite a margin. This was despite the fact that we only managed to squeeze in one session in the first 4 months of the year due to a combination of illness, my expedition to The Gambia and the first coronavirus lockdown. Ringing resumed in earnest from mid-May, setting a new monthly record of 7 visits in June 2020 compared to the previous record of 4 visits in February 2018. This resulted in 1755 captures of 50 species, 1453 of which were newly ringed, yet another new record. We also set a new record for most captures in a day on 10th September with 165 birds handled.

At the species level, we had 5 new entries on our Linford ringing list in 2020 consisting of house sparrow (yes really!), spotted flycatcher, yellow wagtail, skylark and of course, who could forget the glorious long-eared owl last November. This brings us to a total of 61 species ringed at Linford since 2014. This is without any special effort being put into targetting waterfowl on site, something which I hope to address in future years.

When we were able to properly restart our ringing efforts, May - July was mainly concerned with cuckoos, a species we had not encountered since 2017 despite plenty of birds being present and much effort being put into catching them. In 2020 however, we had quite a reversal of fortunes and managed to ring 11 individuals around the reserve with only 1 retrap.

Other individual species that had record years included Redwing with 193 ringed in 2020, smashing the previous record of 104 in 2018. Warblers were also generally on the increase with Blackcap, Reed Warbler, Chiffchaff, Sedge Warbler and Willow Warbler all having record years. This was perhaps helped by the dense vegetation on the bund where we were able to take advantage of some particularly productive net rides before being flooded off at the end of September. Throughout Summer and Autumn, the bund also produced record numbers of Reed Bunting (55 in 2020 vs 28 in 2019), Meadow Pipit (39 in 2020 vs 12 in 2018) and Lesser Redpoll (24 in 2020 vs 5 in 2015). 2 newly ringed snipe were another Autumn bonus with just one previous record, although waders such as jack snipe, lapwing, common and green sandpipers eluded the nets.

After heavy rain and flooding and with the bund now under several feet of water and out of action, we retreated to the bug bank and boundary walk from early October and turned our attention to winter thrushes. As mentioned previously, redwings had a bumper year, but it was also a record year for blackbirds with 42 newly ringed compared to the previous record of 35 in 2016, and song thrush with 21 birds newly ringed compared to 13 in 2017. Mistle thrush and Fieldfare are much harder to catch but we managed 4 fieldfare compared to 8 in 2018, and 2 Mistle Thrushes with 1 in 2019 being the only previous record. Siskins usually winter in good numbers at Linford thanks to the many alders which they like to feed on. Catches can be variable but we managed a respectable 10 compared to the record of 16 set in 2015.

As we moved from Autumn into Winter, we turned our attention to owls resulting in 2 new Tawny Owls plus a recaptured adult from 2017, a new Barn Owl (interestingly, we have yet to encounter any of the birds ringed by Paddy Jackson in the two onsite nest boxes) and the previously mentioned Long-eared Owl.

Other notable captures in 2020 included 5 new Sand Martins (our first since 2017), 3 new Moorhen, 2 new water rails, 2 new Green Woodpeckers, 2 new Sparrowhawks, our first Marsh Tit since 2014, and our second ever Grasshopper Warbler. 2 new Siberian Chiffchaffs were perhaps the rarest encounters yet at Linford.

On the negative side, species that seem to be in decline include Bullfinch (just 2 ringed in 2020 vs 14 in 2015), Chaffinch (4 ringed vs 17 in 2017), Dunnock (21 ringed vs 40 in 2017), Great Spotted Woodpecker (1 ringed vs 7 in 2014), Greenfinch (3 ringed vs 40 in 2018), and Treecreeper (4 ringed vs 14 in 2017). We failed to attract any sand martins to the "Sand Castle" for a second year, here's hoping that it will be third time lucky!

Recoveries included a chiffchaff ringed at Linford in August 2019 which moved 739 km down to the west coast of France in 55 days. (This was not reported until 2020.)

A starling ringed in May 2019 was recovered in April 2020, sadly having been found dead within 3km of Linford.

A reed warbler ringed in August 2020 was re-caught in Icklesham, East Sussex having moved 164km in 11 days.

Controls included a reed warbler originally ringed as an adult at Marston Vale Millenium Country Park, Beds in April 2017 which we recaptured in May 2020 making it at least 4 years old.

A cetti's warbler ringed as a juvenile in July 2019 at Brandon Marsh, Warwickshire was recaptured in July 2020.

A garden warbler ringed as a juvenile in September 2018 in Bolea, Spain was recaptured in August 2020 after 707 days and a movement of 1091km.

Two blackcaps ringed at Hillesden, Bucks as juveniles seemed to go the wrong way, moving 20km north east in around 40 days, and were recaptured within a couple of weeks of each other.

A goldcrest ringed as a juvenile in October 2019 at Beachy Head, East Sussex was recaptured at Linford almost exactly one year later, presumably heading south to cross the channel for a second time.

A reed warber ringed as a juvenile in September 2020 at Wilstone Reservoir, Bucks was recaptured 22 days later, having apparently gone the wrong way and moving 32km north!

A lesser redpoll ringed as a juvenile in October 2020 at Marston Sewage Works, Lincs was recaptured 4 days later having travelled 99km south.

A siskin ringed as a juvenile in September 2020 in Telemark, Norway was recaptured 71 days later having travelled 1025km south west.

Thanks go to all the helpers who contributed by scribing, carrying equipment, filling feeders, clearing net rides or simply providing good banter, your help is vitally important to our work and just as important (if not more so) than additional pairs of ringing pliers, so a massive thank you to Tony for all his bad jokes and amazing, high speed release photos, Martin and Margaret R for keeping the feeders full and putting up with all of our early morning clatterings, Amy J for walking all the way back from the far hide to scribe a tit flock and showing great trainee potential, Jessica and Aimee for their excellent net setting skills (sorry about the snake!), Jim for sharing his pics - look forward to seeing you again once lockdown has unlocked.

To Sarah the bramble slayer - I'll always remember our scrub bashing sessions on the bund with fondness, it won't be the same without you.

Extra special thanks goes to Keith for tirelessly tagging along and showing amazing dedication and commitment by weathering the early mornings, long set-ups, double sessions, sweltering heat, bitter cold, multiple tiers of lockdown, and learning how to tame the beast... and all of this with a dodgy ankle! 

I also have to thank Martin K and everyone at the Park's Trust for allowing me the great privilege of ringing at the best wildlife site in Milton Keynes. I look forward to many more years of partnership and friendship.

Last but not least, I have to thank Bob, our new and beloved Linford mascot, who brought us great joy and much entertainment between net rounds over the past few months. May your mealworms be ever fat and juicy (and watch out for that sparrowhawk!)

Cheers,

Kenny