Well, the end of our first week without Ryan and Phill, our long term residential volunteers. So I am on my own in the house for a few days. However, exciting times are ahead with three new volunteers starting up with us in the next couple of weeks, so I wish them all well.
This last week has been mainly taken up by infrastructure works on Exminster marshes, with the ongoing fence and gate repairs which have been damaged by the stock.
On Wednesday we had a mornings work undertaking running repairs on the predator exclusion fence on the Powderham side of the reserve, this was because the fence voltage readings beforehand had been particularly low. This was needed to be done to enable us to keep the mammalian predators away from ground nesting birds on the reserve. The job in hand was a case of locating the damage on the cable and digging it out and replacing it or winding some insulation tape around the split in the casing. However, the cable had been broken completely so, the replacement was the only option.
We have also been undertaking footpath maintenance works, which predominantly means that we have mown and strimmed the public and permissive footpaths around the reserve to maintain good access for the members of the public. These works have been followed up by some gate removal along one of the footpaths on the reserve. This will enable access for wheelchairs and pushchairs to be easier.
Large tussocks of soft rush and tufted hair grass out on Exminster Marsh.
Other works that have been undertaken were some vegetation management on the Bowling Green Marsh reserve. We cleared some vegetation from alongside the main water features on the reserve, targeting mainly the soft rush, tufted hair grass and creeping thistle, so again, this was needed to be done in order to stop the encroachment of these problematic species. This work was only undertaken after the breeding bird survey was concluded, so we are confident that no birds have been disturbed by our work.
Steve Cooper