Good morning. Unfortunately, technical issues have been hindering us all week so recent sightings will have to wait until Sunday. However, we still have plenty of news to share with you.
The main part of this post is about what was going on last week, so over to Dave Rogers, Senior Site Manager:
Since Ali moved on, we have struggled to write a regular blog keeping you all informed about the work being undertaken on the reserve. However, Emma, our new Warden, has now started with us so we hope to get back into a regular weekly blogging routine. The plan is Katherine and Emma will concentrate on writing about what we have been doing on the reserve whilst I will blog about work we are planning to undertake and why. So to kick off, I’m going to say a little about what we were up to last week and then talk about some of the things we have planned to undertake over the winter.
Last Thursday, our trusty volunteers completed the new hedge near the pond dipping platform. It is a lovely mix of hawthorn, blackthorn and dog rose so as the saplings develop, it should provide a great nectar source in for insects and a bonanza of berries in the autumn and winter for the birds. Roger B, Mark, Nigel and Robert planted the remaining trees and put up some fencing to protect the bushes from browsing mammals.
Meanwhile, Roger H and Rob were checking and cleaning out the bird nest boxes around Brandon Fen ready for next year’s breeding season. Emma, assisted by Phil and Richard finished felling a couple of poplars on the sandy area in Brandon Fen and tidying up the cut brash and logs. Why have we have removed some of the trees here you ask? Well, the sandy Brecks soil is more valuable for wildlife such a rare plants and insects. The poplars around the car park on the peat soils are staying.
Also on Thursday, we had a visit from colleagues from RSPB Headquarters. Graham and Matt are two of our ecologists who provide advice to reserve staff on species and habitats. They are both wetland specialists and Matt’s particular area of expertise is fish. They had come to undertake our regular fish population health check by “electrofishing” parts of the reserve.
We undertake a range of survey work to help guide our management and fish are such an important part of the food chain here at Lakenheath Fen. Electrofishing is a way of sampling the fish population without harming the fish. An electric current is passed through the water from a hand held electrode which stuns any fish it passes close to. These can then be netted into a bucket for later identification, weighing and measuring. From research, we know that rudd of a certain size are very important food for birds like bitterns. They are the right size for a decent meal and swim in areas where bitterns can catch them.
We had never had the visitor centre pond surveyed so Matt and Graham started there and caught a nice range of species. We knew there were pike in there as we had seen small jack pike in the summer but Graham netted some nice rudd. The fact that kingfishers and bitterns have regularly been using the pool indicates that there is a good fish population in the pool but now we have proof!
Matt paddles the boat while Graham sweeps the electrode through the water:
Graham holds a big rudd:
Image credits: Dave Rogers
Despite rain stopping play in the afternoon, they managed to sample fish in Joist Fen North and Norfolk Fen. Matt indicated that he thought that fish populations had improved since last year so it looks like the refuges and restocking have worked. However, we are still concerned that the distribution of fish across the reserve is quite patchy so we are looking into measures to improve the opportunities for fish to move around the site. This may include some new sluices and ditches in places but I will keep you posted on progress.
On Friday, three of our volunteers were trained to use our brushcutters. One of our colleagues Ian came over from the Broads to teach Sue, Darren and Phil the finer points of brushcutter maintenance and operation. Everyone passed and we look forward to them putting their new found skills to the test out on the reserve.
Also, there are a couple of things from me: Firstly, our Christmas opening times can be found here. Secondly, please note that the Christmas party on Sunday has been cancelled due to a lack of bookings. We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused. We hope to see you soon!