For our volunteers, March marked the beginning of the survey season with two willow tit surveys at either end of the month. The willow tit (pictured) is a specialist of wet, scrubby woodland but has seen huge declines due to a combination of habitat loss (land drainage and deforestation), nest predation by woodpeckers, and competition from other tit species. Willow tits create their nests by burrowing into decaying tree trunks, which takes a lot of their energy. If their nest is predated by a woodpecker, or if a great tit or blue tit commandeers it, they usually don’t have the energy to have a second attempt. All of this leaves the willow tit, which at one time was a much more common sight in the local area, in a precarious position. However, on both surveys a willow tit was spotted (or heard at least) in two different locations, which could mean there are still a couple of pairs in the vicinity of the reserve. A positive result!
(Photo courtesy of RSPB)
Though the willow tit surveys are a sign of things to come for summer, the second week of March saw a return to some of the hard labour necessary throughout the winter months. A group of hardy volunteers were tasked with putting out gravel in the gateways to some of the fields (pictured) and in the potholes on the lonning. This work is important because it enables tractors to access the wet grassland and carry out crucial habitat management, such as rush cutting, for the benefit of our breeding waders. It also helps our graziers access the fields to put out the cows – that do a great job in maintaining the habitat quality throughout the summer – or take a hay cut at the end of summer to feed the cows when they are taken in for the winter. Improving the surface of the lonning also improves access, for tractors and visitors alike! It wasn’t all blood, sweat, and tears, however, as the volunteers were treated to the year’s first sand martin on the reserve whilst they worked. By a mere two days, this is the second earliest sighting ever at Campfield Marsh in a given year!
Finally, the third week of March involved more shovelling. This time, though, it was gorse chippings (from the gorse removed from the salt marsh edge this winter), which is far easier to work with than gravel! The volunteers spread the chippings on sections of the red route path that have become very wet and muddy over winter. With the wet spring we are experiencing, it was decided to use the chippings to firm up the paths for visitors because it may be a little longer than normal before it dries up naturally. Again, hard work did not come without reward as the volunteers were treated to great views of the pair of marsh harriers displaying and nest building as they toiled. Meanwhile, a splinter group took to reseeding the Discovery Zone and car park (pictured) in the wake of contractors having to dig up parts of the reserve in the process of undergrounding overhead powerlines. A wildflower seed mix was used so hopefully the area will soon be back to its attractive best and a haven for pollinators for years to come!
We are always on the look-out for new volunteers to join us at Campfield Marsh (and Hodbarrow). We meet on Thursday mornings. If you are interested in helping with the sort of tasks mentioned above, meeting new people, developing new skills, and enjoying the outdoors, click on the following link to find out more and apply: Practical Reserve Work (Campfield Marsh, Bowness On Solway) | RSPB Volunteering.