It's the time of year when our wardens are busy out on the wet grassland enjoying themselves with the big machines!
To get the meadows in the right condition for both the wintering ducks and the breeding lapwings, the habitat has to be carefully managed. We use cattle to graze the meadows throughout the spring and summer and then mow or 'top' the fields in the autumn. There's a fairly narrow window of opportunity to get this work done in the autumn, as once the pools start to fill up and the ground starts to get boggy, it is much tricker to get out and about in the tractor (without it getting stick in the mud!) Most of the 'topping' has now been done, creating a mosaic of grassland, some with closely grazed and mowed vegetation and other areas with more rushes and tussocks. As well as creating great habitat for nature, the wardens have also beem removing vegetation in front of some of the hides and viewpoints to improve the sight lines, so you should be able to enjoy better views of those tricksy waders without them disappearing behind clumps of rushes!
The other big machine that you could spot on the reserve over the next couple of weeks will be working on the ditches. The meadows are criss-crossed with a network of ditches which are home to special aquatic plants and animals. They are also crucial to our management of water levels across the reserve. The machine will be de-silting some of the ditches. We do this on rotation so that some ditches are relatively clear and others most densely vegetated.
Our volunteer work party on the other hand have been using more basic equipment - wheelbarrows! Amongst other tasks, these wildlife heroes have been resurfacing sections of the nature trail so we can all enjoy our walks around.