I came across this platform in amongst a small reed turf on Phase 2 this morning. Something has been resting here, but what....
Did anyone have a guess at this? I suspect it is either an old nest or a resting/roosting platform built by a coot. The structure consists of a collection of twigs and old reed stems flattened to form a platform, covered with mud and droppings of the inhabitant. Size-wise it is about 30cm in diameter and is fairly circular in shape.
Coots build platform-like nests such as this, often located as this is, in clumps of reed or other emergent vegetation. However, they will also build platforms for resting and/or roosting on - the male birds seeming to take part in this practice more so than the females.