So I'll start with our big news story of the week. The Heronry Hide at Swell Wood is open! On Thursday I cleared the path (including a large fallen tree), put up the new signs, cleaned the hide and took down the barrier. There are of course some restrictions on how you can use it.
Please read the signs at the entrance
Please use the hand sanitiser and wear a face covering in the hide
Please don't sit in the middle seat otherwise no one else can sit down without being within two metres of you.
And lastly, the maximum occupancy of the hide is two individuals or one household. In busy times, please limit your stay to 20 mins to allow everyone a chance to get in.
These restrictions are in place for everyone's safety. Thanks in advance for complying.
You may be wondering when the hides will be opening at Greylake. Well, I spent a full day there with two volunteers on Wednesday and we've made a lot of progress but there was a lot, and I mean a LOT of work to do to make the hides both accessible, and safe, which I'll tell you more about when the hides open. We're very close now to being ready and I'll update you as soon as they open.
We've also been working on opening the Scarp Trail at Swell Wood and that too is almost ready. However we found that the steps on the loop need a bit more attention to make them safe for visitors again. We'll sort them out as soon as possible and again, I'll update you when it opens.
Now onto the wildlife news for the week. It remains reasonably quiet out on the moors at both West Sedgemoor and Greylake. I think while working in the Greylake hides, I may have seen a couple of coots and mallards but that was about it. Harry (Site Manager) told me on Tuesday that he heard the first golden plover of the autumn, so it won't be too long now before the big flocks start to arrive.
Swell Wood on the other hand, was teeming with birds in the car park when I was eating lunch on Thursday. I had just filled up the feeders, of course. They may be more common birds that you get in your garden, but I still enjoyed watching them and from your car, you can get some great photos.
This nuthatch posed nicely
There were lots of coal tits about too
I also had some birds visit me at home this week. After an absence of several weeks since the last chicks fledged, the pied wagtails returned to the roofs of the farm. There were two of them and I'm fairly certain they were young (first winter) birds, because they had a yellowish colouring around the head and breast. Adult birds are purely black and white. They were probably two of the youngsters which fledged earlier in the year so it was great to see them doing well.
And while I was getting photos of them, this robin showed up, so I took a picture of him as well because hey, who doesn't like robins?
In non-bird news, this caterpillar was hiding underneath one of the clipframes that I removed at Swell Wood on Thursday. I have identified it (hopefully) as a grey dagger moth caterpillar. It was probably planning to spend the winter under there but will have to find another hiding spot. They are a common species in the UK but I thought the name was pretty cool and it has nice markings.
If you don't like spiders, look away now. When I was doing some electric fencing on Monday, I went to put the reel onto the post and almost squashed this very large spider hiding inside. Luckily I spotted it and gently persuaded it out onto the grass.
The four large white spots identify this spider quite easily as araneus quadratus, although the colouring can vary quite a lot. It is the heaviest spider we have in the UK, potentially reaching up to 2.5 grams and is known to have a voracious appetite to grow so large in a single season. It is usually found in a large orb web. It is relatively common but its distribution is patchy.
So that's all for this week. Take care until next time.
Kathryn
West Sedgemoor Residential Volunteering team