Well sort of!
At the weekend the wardening gang got a new member for the day - Caroline our Catering Manager!
At the weekend we let Caroline out of the Visitor Centre to help the wardening team (Nicole our Warden, and Jamie a member of our volunteer wardens) - as they headed out into the middle of the reserve!
After getting though the electric fences and shooing away the curious cows and one bull, squelching through mud and puddles they were ready to get to work! The gang were out there doing some amazing work - looking after and changing the water levels out on the Aveley Flash - an area of the reserve that you can see from the Northern Boardwalk. Water level management is key to looking after wetlands - at this time of year we are draining the water level a little to expose the muddy edges that are good for passing passage waders.
Lots of birds like muddy edges as they can find minibeasts hidden in the mud.
While Nicole and Jamie were changing the levels of the sluices on the reserve Caroline told - "just stand here and keep the cows away!" (We've got about 35 cows out there at the moment!)
Either way Caroline came back grinning happily after having a great time out in the middle of the reserve!
The Aveley Flash can be seen here near the Ken Barrett Hide and the two large viewing platforms (top middle watery area!)