I don’t know about you but I love these really cold, crisp, sunny days, it certainly shows the reserve off well.
Woodland Trail by Pam Dalley
If you’ve visited recently, you’ll have noticed that we’ve been doing lots of clearing all round the reserve. Thanks to our amazing band of volunteers, we’ve been able to fit in more conservation work parties, which has helped us to keep ahead of ourselves with all the winter work required.
We’ve just about finished clearing the islands in the wetlands ready for the breeding season.
Fishers Mill by Pam Dalley
We’ve cleared lots of brambles and saplings in the woodland which has opened up lots of glades for the bluebells, and other flowers, to flourish.
We hope we’re making the approach to the reserve more attractive (once you’ve got past the quarry). The line of oak trees looks amazing! A bit further on, towards the reserve, on the opposite side from the oaks, we’ve being doing lots of tidying up.
We’re trying to encourage our visitors who like to feed the birds, to leave only natural foods such as seed, suet or worms. You’d be amazed what we find left out for them. Did you know that if you give birds a lot of bread, crisps, etc., they become overfed and undernourished; it’s like giving a child pizza all the time. The salt in crisps is particularly bad for them. With all these “bad” foods, the birds don’t get enough vitamins and minerals, become unhealthy and die.
Enough preaching but staying on the feeding of the birds; it’s quite interesting at the moment to put some food out at the “Robin Bridge” and watch the resident robin trying to keep all the foreign visitors off. It is quite obvious which one lives there all year round.