The shallows may still indeed dry out in hot weather but I was surprised to learn that this can actually increase biodiversity. However, the dragonfly larvae ( and other water invertebrates) will be able to retreat to the deeper area and await the return of the rains to refill their pond.
Accordingly, on Monday morning we welcomed back Colin Tinnion with his mini digger and watched him deepen the pond in no time - something it would have taken our volunteers several hours to do by hand with picks and shovels.
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| déjà vu? |
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| new pond from the boundary path |
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| finished pond levels |
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| Colin heads off to his next job |
Having waved a grateful farewell to Colin we next measured up the pond as a preliminary to ordering the liner ready for the next stage of our endeavours. Then before going home I decided to walk round the reserve to see what all the tweeting was about. The drizzle which had tried to dampen our spirits earlier had stopped and the sun almost came out! Here is a quick bird list for the morning:
SC209693 Robin; male Blackbird; Blue Tit; Great Tit.
SC209694 two Song Thrushes trying to out compete each other in song. Only one seen; Robin; 5 x Goldfinch; male Blackbird.
SC208694 7 x Goldfinch; Goldcrest, Robin, Wren all picking over the compost heap; Great Tit;
SC209695 male Blackbird.
Light conditions were poor for photography near the compost heap & with the Goldfinches in silhouette in the Alder, but what follow serve as records shots.
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| eating upside down is no problem for a Goldfinch |
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| the seeds in the Alder cones seem to be lasting well |
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| distant Wren on compost heap |
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| A tiny Goldcrest also on the compost heap |
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| Robin near the hide |
please click on photos to enlarge them
