As always it’s been a busy time here at Ham Wall, so busy in fact that I missed my blog slot in October. However Steve C is off today so I’m sneaking my November management blog into his usual Friday slot, with a few sightings and an important notice about a road closure in at the end to try and keep everyone happy!
Car Park workMost noticeable to many of you will be the work that has taken place in the car park area, which Steve C touched on last week. The wildflower islands have been strimmed and raked up. A huge amount of vegetation was cleared.
Hopefully lots of nice wildflower seed has fallen during this process and will be ready and waiting for next spring.
As well as the strimming and raking we have: re-staked some of the trees on the wildflower islands; added guttering to the lovely shelter in the Mini-Marshes; started clearing alder saplings from the edges of the ponds and ditches; trimmed the hedge underneath the powerline; finished the planter behind the screens in the wildlife garden and filled in a LOT of potholes in the carpark. A huge amount of work over the past couple of weeks. Big thanks to the volunteers for doing all these tough physical jobs!
Habitat ManagementFurther down the reserve we’ve finished work on the area in front of the first viewing platform and in Waltons reedbed, a combined effort from our weekday and weekend work parties plus a corporate group visit. As well as that first island nearest the railpath, the area in front of Tor View Hide has been strimmed and raked again, as has the end of the island opposite the hide. The first island is looking particularly good, we’ve cut strategic tracks through the reeds and left patches of cover too, which should give some good views from the first screen on your right if you head down towards the hide. Now the work is finished, we have opened up the pipe between the two Waltons compartments to get water moving. We had pumped a lot of water out of Waltons West into Waltons East earlier in the year and now need to bring the water up in Waltons West and down in Waltons East. This will then create some nice splashy areas on the newly cut islands, so keep your eyes on those!
The willow viewing screens around Waltons have also been given some attention recently, by Sunday and Thursday volunteer groups. The old willow has been removed, nearby trees pollarded for new whips and those have been weaved in. The screen along the South side needed quite a lot of re-working and the Sunday team did a fantastic job, as you can see in volunteer Vicki's photo below:
Willow screen round Waltons - Vicki Bruss
Reedbed rejuvenation work If you’ve been to the reserve recently you may have noticed a lot of activity in the large reedbed area on the north of the reserve, between the first viewing platform and the path to the Avalon Hide. Known as Phase Two High (Ph2H), this is the second reedbed compartment currently undergoing rejuvenation. The first area, for those interested, is the large compartment to the North visible from the second viewing platform, known as Phase one (Ph1)!
Over the past few years Ph2H has been dried out, cut, grazed and flooded at various points. All this is done to reset the clock in the reedbed. The final step before flooding was a final cut of the reed growth and clearing the reed from the ditch edges.
Phase two High - cut and cleared ready for flooding
The flooding process aims to kill off the reed growth, leaving a much more open area with more varied edge habitat – how Ph1 looked a couple of years ago before the reed growth started to pick up again.
The exciting news is we have now started to bring the water levels up in Ph2H! On Tuesday Site Manager Steve H and I visited a number of sluices to ensure boards were in and out where they needed to be before we started moving water about. The water is coming from Looks Rank reedbed which is North of Ph1, through Ph1 and into Ph2H. We had to check and/or alter nine sluices in total across the North of the reserve to make sure the water ends up where we want and doesn’t go into places it shouldn’t – ie a different compartment or into the Ham Wall Rhyne which eventually pumps out into the canal. The water level will come up slightly in Ph1 during this process but only by a couple of inches before the water then spills over into Ph2H.
We were out again today checking to see how our sluices were holding up against the rising water levels (a few leaks needed plugging – very messy job involving clay and very cold water!) Such a lovely morning to be out and about though – stonechats and snipe seemed to be all around us and we saw a number of water pipits in Ph2H.
We’re aiming for a really nice splashy habitat which should be great for wildfowl, egrets and herons amongst other things. Hopefully it’ll draw in quite a few birds for feeding and roosting. You might be thinking it’s a shame all these birds will be drawn into an area that you can’t normally see from the public trails….but we’ve thought of this already!
We’ll be putting up a couple of temporary viewing structures in strategic locations, so that you’ll be able to get closer to this impending spectacle. You should also still get good raised views from the canal bank and rail path in places. When we can see where those good spots are, we’ll get the screens up and the new trails open as soon as possible.
Bearded tit surveysWe carried out two bearded tit surveys at Ham Wall, one late September and one mid October. Pinging had been heard all over the reserve prior to the September survey and we were quietly confident the count could be a high one, with Site Manager Steve H holding out for a count near the 200 mark. The volunteers and I spread out across the reserve on an absolutely perfect morning in September and got counting.
As we all gathered at the end of the survey to discuss our transects it quickly became clear it had indeed been a very active day across the site for bearded tits. After cross checking all the locations and timings of sightings to avoid double counting, our final total for the day came in at an amazing 236 birds! Almost 100 more than the previous highest count from 2012. The total would have been 237 birds had a hobby not snatched one of them during the survey, witnessed by volunteer Simon A and his daughter!
The October survey unfortunately proved to be a washout, with un-forecast rain calling an early end to the proceedings. A mere 28 birds were recorded but it didn’t matter, the September survey had been so perfect and we’re all so chuffed with the total that even an unexpected soaking couldn’t dampen our spirits.
Important notice – road closure next weekFrom Monday 20 November until Friday 24 November there will be no access to the reserve from the village of Ashcott. Somerset Highways will be carrying out earthworks just south of the reserve entrance. The reserve will still be accessible from the North, via Ashcott road from the village of Meare.
Please visit www.roadworks.org for further information on the alternative route.
And finally….Sightings!It wouldn’t be Friday without at least a few sightings and photos from our volunteers and visitors.
On Saturday morning John Crispin reported a tawny owl calling from central wood, near the Avalon Hide. He also saw three Marsh Harriers flying simultaneously over the area in front of the hide, while one ruff and two great white egrets were on Ph1. Visitor Simon Lewis took this stunning shot of a great white egret on Sunday.
Great white egret – Simon Lewis
Female marsh harrier - John Crispin. John's photo really highlights the impressive wingspan
On a frosty Monday morning two great white egrets were seen flying into Loxtons West before the starlings had departed. On Wednesday a green woodpecker was seen and heard calling in the Waltons pond area, along with a great spotted woodpecker in the same area. A bittern was reported flying on Waltons West and a wisp of 20 snipe were flying around and finally landed in Looks Low, in front of the first viewing platform. Thanks for these John Crispin!
Drake wigeon moulting out of eclipse - John Crispin. The flank feathers are just beginning to show and there is a slight hint of the creamy-yellow crown
Little grebe in the early morning sun - John Crispin
Lots of geese can be seen on the move at the moment. On Sunday morning John had c40 greylag on Ph1 along with c150 lapwing. Steve C and I had c125 greylag over the carpark during our Thursday volunteer work party. The Wednesday volunteer group reported a yellow-browed warbler near the picnic benches in the Mini-marshes area while they were on their mid-morning break. Later on three meadow pipits were seen in the same area, while the Thursday volunteers had three bearded tits pinging around them in the Mini-marshes ponds.
That’s it I’m afraid for sightings this week, normal sightings service will resume next Friday but I hope you’ve enjoyed the management blog instead. To finish off, here’s a stunning photo of the starlings dawn lift-off from Simon Lewis, taken on Sunday - thanks Simon!
Starlings at dawn - Simon Lewis
Have a lovely weekend everyone!