Yesterday was the first of our ‘Conservation Experience’ days here at Langford, an initiative designed to get people more involved with their local reserve. We are really pleased to be taking part this year and on Sunday, welcomed 8 guests onto site for a day of reed planting and controlling willow on silt lagoon 7.
Despite the very blustery conditions, the group got stuck in straight away planting out some 3 year old reed seedlings. These seedlings are 18 months to 2 years older than the normal seedlings we plant out, therefore reducing the need for fencing to protect from grazing. It wasn’t long before all 1400 seedlings were planted and we were able to move onto some younger seedlings, creating several new fenced areas of growing reed and extending some existing ones.
Willow control is also an important aspect of effective reedbed development. If left unmanaged, small willow saplings can soon begin to take over the area and out-compete reed. By removing saplings when they are small, we ensure that the developing reed is given the best chance to grow on efficiently.
By then end of the day the group had planted a total of 2400 reed seedlings and removed a large builders sack full of willow saplings – a huge effort by everyone involved and a massive thank you for a very productive and enjoyable day.
And a few recent sightings from the last week include….
Dunlin and redshank on phase 1, grey wagtail on phase 3, jay and green woodpecker in the woodland, 4 green sandpiper on phase 3, a nice record of 10 grey partridges seen by our Conservation Officer Carl and another record (also from Carl) of JL the little egret (see Carl’s Forum post from earlier in the year). This is one of the egrets fledged from the NWT reserve at Besthorpe this summer and has been seen at Langford several times recently.