We have had incredible weather here at Langford in the last week or so, with tempertures hitting 29C by the end of last week! This has been a welcome extension of summer for us, but there are also some definite signs of autumn about the place too. Haws and sloes are now very visible on the hedgerow by the public footpath, as the trees loose their leaves and there are some lovely autumn colours developing too along the hedgerow and in the woodland.
We had a very successful volunteer Sunday this weekend in beautiful weather! We took the opportunity to get into the Phase 1 reedbed and remove some of the larger willows that are invading the reedbed. The group soon got to work, cutting back the scrub and burning the brash. This work will prevent the scrub from encroaching further into the reedbed, causing eventual drying out of the wetland habitat we have created. We also started to dismantle the old reed bays from the old polytunnel and transport the reeds and materials down to the new polytunnel. In the next few weeks, the new bays will be built inside the new tunnel and our reed growing operations will finally be underway again. Paul also led a successful guided walk for Derby local RSPB members group, taking 12 people around the site. The highlight of the day was a wheatear, seen by Paul’s group on Phase 1.
Check our photo gallery for some pictures from this Sunday’s work party, courtesy of volunteer Barrington Randle.
Bird wise, it’s fairly quiet at the moment, due to low water levels on site. But we are seeing kingfishers regularly on the silt lagoons and Phase 2, green sandpiper on Phase 3, pintail on lagoon 7 and increasing numbers of tufted duck and teal on Phases 1 and 2. Insects still flying include migrant hawker and common darter dragonflies, red admiral, small tortoiseshell and green-veined white butterflies, especially in the unseasonally warm weather we have been experiencing in the last week or so.