 |
| a blue sky day and plenty of work awaits us |
 |
| but wellies are essential! |
Saturday dawned bright and sunny for our work party. A dozen volunteers converged on the cut meadow area with rakes and barrows at the ready. Ian also provided some large builders' sacks as an alternative to barrows for us to try out this year. Many hands made light work and the job was finished in less than an hour! Eleven o'clock saw us back at the hide for a well-deserved cuppa and slice of cake ( or two!) Thank you, Margaret, for providing the refreshments today - very much enjoyed and appreciated. As the task was already finished we could linger and chat but the sky was starting to cloud over and the temperature to fall without the sunshine so about 11.45ish everyone headed for home.
 |
| making a start |
 |
| off to the compost heap |
 |
| making good progress |
 |
| aren't these sacks supposed to hold a ton??? |
 |
| still room for a bit more |
 |
| yes, feels like a ton! |
 |
| just a bit of momentum needed! |
 |
| perhaps a barrow is the easier option after all |
 |
| here comes the next load |
 |
| half way there |
 |
| and the pile once finished |
 |
| another view |
 |
| not much point raking this! |
 |
| job finished |
 |
| smaller of the two frogs, off in a hurry |
 |
| this one was quite large |
 |
| heading for the stream |
 |
| Apparently this is a beetle larva - trying to find out what kind. |
 |
| A very small ground beetle - Carabidae species. |
 |
| a Wolf spider |
 |
| Ah! This is going to be good! |
 |
| time to be sociable but notice the clouds |
 |
| I think we've seen the last of the sun for today |
I know from experience that the piles of fresh compost bring in the birds, as the cut vegetation is full of insects and spiders. So rather than go home immediately I fetched my binoculars from the car to have another walk round and see what had reappeared once the reserve was quiet again. As I suspected the compost heap was proving attractive and I saw a Robin, a Wren and a Goldcrest taking full advantage of an easy meal. There was a Song Thrush on the path nearby and a pair of Chaffinches watching from a branch above. ( All SC208694) A walk through the willows also provided a Wren and a Long Tailed Tit. At the Hide I saw both a Robin and a Wren ( SC209694) When I arrived at the reserve ahead of the work party there were 3 Goldcrests near the entrance (SC210694)
 |
| the Wren was busy on the compost and between the planks |
 |
| the Robin darts down from a branch above, then retreats back again |
But the highlight of this post work party stroll was hearing the Water Rail squealing from the reed bed ( SC209693) - something I hadn't heard here for a long while. I sat in the hide for quite a while hoping it might emerge but all went quiet. Good to know we still have one though.
I am very grateful to all today's volunteers for turning out at short notice to get this job done. It's an annual task and we have seen the condition of the meadow improve year on year following such maintenance. Our reward for this morning's toil will be to see the flowers and the butterflies next summer!
Thank you !
