After getting thoroughly soaked every day last week, it was a pleasant change to have some lovely weather for our monthly Sunday work party yesterday! 12 people were greeted with glorious sunshine and 20C+ temperatures for a day of fencing and polytunnel work.
Over the last few weeks we have been installing sheep netting along the Phase 1 scrub fence line to provide protection and reduce disturbance for breeding birds using the scrub block. This will benefit ground nesting and near ground nesting species such as willow warbler, blackcap and whitethroat. Whilst half the group were busy with this, everyone else was working in the polyutnnel – or I should say outside the polytunnel on such a hot day! A large part of polytunnel work in the summer is separating out the very young seedlings into groups of 2-3 plants for growing on. This is important to reduce competition, enabling each seedling to grow on healthily. Many of these seedlings will be planted out at Langford, however some will be sold to other sites for their developing reedbeds.
And as always, there was some good wildlife to be seen, with the first painted lady of 2014, chimney sweeper and yellow shell moths, again both firsts for the year and a stunning ruby-tailed wasp seen and photographed at the viewing screen by volunteer Mark Bell.
Thanks to all for another productive and enjoyable day.