Hello All
Surprisingly as i write this the sun is actually shining, lovely! But alas it will not last, more rain is due this evening and over the weekend so thought it was best to give you a heads up on the state of the reserve.
Coming in to the capr park this morning i was surprised to see the little pool that has become a feature near the picninc area for the last few months with all this rain, had flooded right through the willow structure and over the path to the car park, see bleow picture. The wildlife garden and pedestrian gate were also under water, so some of the lovely snow drops that were just emerging under the hedge are now under water. Although these floods are attracting in a couple of grey wagtail which are venturing very close to the centre, so thats good.
Elswhere on the reserve apart from a few puddles and muddy patches along the trails the only flood we have is as you come off the boardwalk heading towards the kingfisher hides. The water here is coming through the boardwalk and running down the path, sadly we can not stop this as the water in the ring ditch which normally flows out of the reserve is actually flowing back in. The river Lea, which runs next to the kingfisher loop is very high and less than a foot from flooding on to the reserve at this point and with the EA (environment Agency) having issued a red flood warning and the rain that is due over the weekend this area is a key one to watch for us. Another are we will be keeping an eye on is the trail as you approachj the warbler hide with the flooded toll stream on one side and the ring ditch on the other, water has come up to the path in places but where we had the path relaid and raised a few years agao has currently stopped it actually flooding but again after the forcasted deluges this may be a different story.
And last but not least the HMWT section of the reserve. If you are intending to go through the turnstile from the RSPB part of Rye Meads to the HMWT section you will need wellies as there is a sizable flood there. The meadow is well and truly flooded (se below picture) but this is offering the wildfowl great habitat to feed on so good numbers of duck are often out here. Lucky the Konick pony and Bufalo were moved off for the winter! Water is still rapidly flooding in to the meadow from the toll stream so levels are likely to increase here over the weekend.
While checking the flood situation this morning i had a very enjoyable wonder round the reserve and came across a ringed plover from the gadwall hide which is a good record for us this time of year. Lapwing numbers were only at two to three hundred as they generally build up to the six to seven hundred during the day. But snipe numbers were good with a minimum of 25, I think the meadow is now a bit too flooded for them! There were also 4 shelduck, 45 gadwall, 15 shoveler, 52 teal and pied wagtail to mention a few. Along the trails i had 2 sightings of bullfinch one a pair and the second a male calling in the bushes just past the Draper hide. Red kite and kestrel flying over but no sign of the peregrine hunting the lapwing today. Cettis warbler were volcal from a number of locations and water rail was heard calling from the reeds. Well i think thats the highlights.
Keep dry
Vicky