The end of the year is fast approaching and so too the end of our re-development works. Our contractors are now on the final stages of the project, re-profiling the balancing pond. The balancing pond is an area at the very north end of the site that was quarried out at the very beginning of the quarry's life, but was left unlandscaped when Phase 1 was originally created.
The work being conducted now will take material from the steep banks to produce a shallower incline and re-shape the edges of the pond. This will greatly improve the quality of the reedbed in this area, making it more attractive to a wide range of reedbed species.
Also this week, we have installed four new concrete drop-board sluices and gauge boards for monitoring water levels. These structures will enable us to gain better control over our water levels in the new Phase 1 and Phase 2, again creating ideal conditions for key reedbed species such as bittern, marsh harrier and reedbed invertebrates and flora.
Wildlife sightings from this week include –
kingfisher on Phase 3
Cetti’s warblers singing regularly from silt lagoons 4 and 6
female sparrowhawk hunting starlings roosting around the silt lagoons
peregrine hunting over Phase 1
150 fieldfares feeding on the public footpath by the river
flocks of bullfinches by the viewing screen
tree sparrows, reed buntings, greenfinches, chaffinches, blue and great tits at the feeding station by the viewing screen
male stonechat on phase 2
the first goldeneye of the winter arrived on Monday 12th, with 2 males on silt lagoon 1
regular group of 3 roe deer on Phase 3
and if you needed any more proof of the unseasonally mild weather we have been experiencing, take a look along the public footpath in the woodland at the elder trees coming into leaf!
One of the new sluices installed on the new Phase 1 area.