In April we completed the Willow clearance we started in March in compartment C19 at the Lecomber seat viewpoint with all arisings suitably stacked ready for future disposal. The work was to improve the views from the viewpoint and habitat improvement to encourage more water edge marsh plants.
We then went on into the nearby compartment C18 to complete some further Willow and Bramble clearance from the water edge (See pic below) for further marsh plant habitat at the water edge, again with all cuttings suitably stacked ready for future disposal.
Whilst still in C18 an area of Bracken and Bramble was also cleared where we have some Yellow Ant hills to help retain the hills, and hold back the encroaching bramble scrub and retain an open area for wildlife in this area.
In compartment C4 of main study area we repaired the footbridge loose handrails over the stream and replaced the steps down to the bridge to make it safe for volunteers access and for our members walk that we had in April.
On Pintail bank C1 we cleared the bramble and unwanted vegetation at the Wader scrape both on the island and around the edge to encourage waders to visit. A large Willow tree which had fallen and was growing horizontally along the water edge in front of the wader scrape area was suitably cut up and cleared with all arisings again stacked ready for future disposal.
At the West End our Tern rafts had maintenance carried out ready for the Terns arrival, guano build up was cleared and several bags of stone was added to freshen the stone nesting area as needed.
Any Canada Geese nests were removed to deter them from nesting. These nests would fail if left as any geese chicks would die as the young cannot get off the rafts to feed, which are specifically designed for Common Tern use.
In Whillet’s C9 we removed several Willow trees growing next to the bridge into the back meadow C11 the trees were now leaning towards the bridge and causing access problems for the machinery we need to use for grass cutting and these were suitably felled and again all arisings were stacked ready for future disposal.
At meadow Pond, we found we had a leak at the pond near the overflow outlet. We dug out the bank to confirm the leak position and then carried out clay repairs to seal the leaking bankside.
