Its a good day to write the first ever blog entry for the Dee Estuary Reserve, the Sun is shining, the birds are singing and the wardens are busy leading a team of volunteers in the planting of over 4000 reeds!
The planting continues the development of our fledgling reed bed which, has already seen over 7500 delicate reedlings placed strategically around the 5 hectare site that lies between Inner Marsh Farm (IMF) and Burton Mere. Seeds from reeds already growing on site were sent away and propagated at one of our very own reserves in Nottinghamshire - Langford Lowfields, by the banks of the River Trent.
The creation of a reedbed at IMF is part of the wider work of the RSPB to restore wetland habitats across the UK and it is hoped that once our reedbed grow, matures and develops that it may attract some of the special wildlife that call this habitat home such as reed warblers, bearded tits, marsh harriers and ... ... (drum roll please) ... bitterns! And believe it or not we haven't had to wait to long for our project to work its magic as a bittern has spent the best part of winter at IMF and has been seen flying in and out of our young reed bed on several occasions!!!
The bottom line is this - none of this could have ever happened without the hard work and support of volunteers and members - Nature is Amazing and YOU help keep it that way.
BTW - If you're the visitor who took the picture many thanks!