If you have visited over the past couple of weeks you may have seen some changes around the nature trail, and if you're planning on visiting over the next month you're likely to see plenty of activity too. So, I thought it would be worth a bit of an update.
You will have probably noticed several very large muddy puddles around the wetland trail over the past few months. Well these 'puddles' have now been clay-lined (using clay from the floodplain that we obtained whilst creating new ditches) so will hopefully now develop into great wildlife ponds. The clay lining will enable these ponds to stay wet for longer into the summer and hopefully provide a habitat for dragonflies, water beetles and newts and provide drinking and bathing opportunities for birds. It's amazing how quickly the ponds are populated - our main dipping pond outside the visitor centre was created 4 or 5 years ago and is now has an incredible variety of wildlife - all 3 species of newts, hawker and chaser dragonfly larvae, whirligig beetles, great diving beetles and water stick insects to name a few.
This southern hawker dragonfly has just emerged leaving its exuviae behind on the rushes. (Photo by Russ Tofts)
Next week, we'll be starting work on a new raised pond in Fattengates courtyard. We're hoping that the new pond will be a great focal point in the courtyard and again provide a home for wildlife - it will be designed to echo the courtyard wall and existing water trough (which many of your will know is home to newts). The raised pond will also enable us to offer an accessible pond dipping experience for wheelchair users. Whilst the work is being undertaken the courtyard will have to be closed.
Out on the heathland, we'll be dealing with some of the bracken. When the ground has been cleared, bracken and birch are one of the first things to colonise bare ground and they out-compete the heather that we're so keen to encourage. Both the heather, and areas of bare ground, are vital habitats for our heathland wildlife - check out the solitary bees and wasps on the sandy soil of the heathland zig zags - so we do need to get the growth of bracken and birch under control. As nothing will eat the bracken, we'll be using a bracken specific herbicide to treat some of the areas on the heath. As we undertake this we'll be closing off specific areas of the heath for a couple of days. We'll be spraying in black wood to begin with and this area (including Hail's View) will be closed for the next couple of days. We'll also be working on the central area of heath and the triangle so please keep an eye on the signs and do not enter marked areas. The public footpath and outer loop will remain open throughout.
But the main task that the wardens will be carrying out over the next few months is 'topping'. So if you visit in the next couple of months you will almost certainly see at least one of the wardens out in the tractor mowing the grassland. This is essential work and helps us to keep the vegetation or sward height right for our wintering wildfowl and our breeding waders. We have to manage the water levels in coordination with this work - you'll have noticed that the water levels are quite low on the North Brooks at the moment - this helps us to complete the work without getting the tractor stuck in the mud. We also manage the water levels to try to ensure there is plenty of mud which entices in any passing waders.