Hello, Mark here again :-)
This week on the reserves, we have been doing a variety of tasks.
We are continuing the Lapwing monitoring on Exminster and Powderham. There seem to be quite a few pairs of birds on the Powderham side, but they are a little undecided on Exminster. Hopefully they’ll settle down soon so we can get some good numbers.
Illustration of a Lapwing (RSPB images)
We have also undertaken another butterfly survey this week. We had more numbers this time, around 8 butterflies in total along Turf path, compared to four last time. From the number of butterflies that we saw yesterday though, I think there will be quite a few more next time J. There were a lot of Orange Tip, Peacock and Red Admiral butterflies and they were very pretty J. I look forward to undertaking another butterfly survey and will keep you updated! We were re-creating the Willow house and tunnel in the Discovery area at the top of Turf Path yesterday, hopefully we should finish it soon. We have also re-made the Discovery area signs, and Helen (one of our Thursday work party volunteers) has decorated them nicely.
Peacock Butterfly (Wikipedia)
On Tuesday, we were spraying Dock on the arable fields on the Powderham side. This should increase the food available for the birds next autumn and winter and will prevent the Dock from taking over the fields.
Early on Thusday morning, we carried out a breeding bird survey at Matford Marsh. This survey involved recording the territories of all birds observed, that are on amber and red lists of conservation concern. It is a national survey, run by the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology). We saw a Blackcap, which I had never seen before, quite a few Teal, Mallard and other wetland birds, including Snipe. We also saw a lot of Coots and Moorhens, one of which was taking nesting material up a tree.
Illustration of a Blackcap (RPSB images)
We have been to Labrador Bay again this week, continuing to remove the Ragwort, which is poisonous to the ponies and sheep that graze there. This time we sprayed them with herbicide as it is quicker than digging them up, and means that no live roots will be left in the ground. Killing them in the first year should help control them, as they are perennial (live for more than two years).
Thanks for reading and we’ll update you again next week :-)
Mark