On Sunday 7th February we all met at Fowlmere RSPB to learn about what it takes to manage the nature reserve. The warden was on hand to give us a guided tour and he took us off the footpath and into the depths of the nature reserve to see first-hand what habitat management work has been carried out.
First of all we went into the reedbeds where the warden told us all about what he needs to do to keep the reedbeds in good condition. Reedbeds need regular maintenance to stop them from drying out and eventually turning into woodland. To achieve this the reeds need cutting down every few years and clearing away, any material left on the ground is then burnt to ensure that nothing is left behind to smother the new reed growth. The water levels on the nature reserve are also managed to ensure there is enough water around the reeds throughout the year so that they don’t dry out.
Around the edges of the reedbeds you will find wet woodland and scrub which also requires managing to stop it from becoming too dense. In any woodland it is important to manage the trees and the shrubs to allow light in to encourage plants and grasses to grow underneath and to have different age structures amongst the trees. We learnt about the different techniques that the warden uses and we were shown the difference between pollarding and coppicing trees. We were also told about creating dead hedges around the cut trees to stop the deer from getting in to graze off the new growth.
A lot of species are what we call generalists and they can survive in a wide range of different habitat types. There are other species that are specialists and they require very specific habitat types such as reedbeds. The reed warbler for example, spends the winter in Africa and then migrates into Europe during the spring to breed, some of these make it to Fowlmere RSPB. The nature reserve is an oasis amongst a huge swathe of farmland and there is nothing else like it for miles around and it is therefore, quite amazing to think that these reed warblers make their way to the nature reserve every year.
As we learnt it takes a lot of hard work to manage the nature reserve to keep it in the best possible condition for the range of different species that live there. Many of the species that visit the nature reserve they depend on the work that the warden does.