For most of the day anybody watching the main lake on Thursday, from the visitors centre might have been surprised to see us, in the water.
The reed beds and banks along the lake are establishing themselves and showing us all this year that things are flourishing across the reserve. The mixed species that make a reed bed are growing well this summer but allowing them to grow without any intervention could create a problem for other plants along the lake, also it might take away the view people can get from the visitors centre of the wide range of birds that can be seen.
The estate team generally are used to the mud, and maybe even like the mud...
We walked along the edges of the lake but it didn’t take long for it to become difficult to walk around in, our job was to remove sections of reed growth from this year to bring shape and diversity to the main lake. Unfortunately it was too risky for me to take my camera with me but everybody had a covering of mud which could of made a good picture.
If you visit the Wildlife watchpoint hide you can clearly see the difference in the water levels covering the land. As little as a month ago the water was receding and soon the wading birds were walking on what was dry and cracked ground. The water levels are not as high as other years but since the water has returned it makes a difference to the view.
The migrating birds will be flying to different regions as the autumn approaches and we hope to get some passing through Saltholme but currently some of the birds on the reserve include tree sparrows and water rail at the wildlife watchpoint hide, a glossy ibis and the sparrowhawk were seen on Thursday. Even a young weasel was searching around for food right in front of me; unfortunately I didn’t have anything but my phone camera so the quality is poor.
- Josh McGowan