The general view of university students is one of late nights and subsequent lie-ins, especially at weekends. Well last weekend this misconception was blown away when we hosted 18 students from the University of Birmingham Conservation Volunteers group. This was the second visit to the reserve this term and what a lot they did. They joined force with a number of our regular volunteers and after carefully ferrying them over to our island in front of the Lakeside hide, we asked them to improve the various habitats found on the island.
The enthusiasm was overwhelming and a flurry of vegetation scraping, water edge smoothing and general tidying up ensued. The results of their hard work has been evident this week as over a dozen common snipe have enjoyed the revitalised feeding facilities and comfortable roosting areas.
The island is now ready to face the worst of the winter weather and should sustain our usual seasonal visitors.
Well done BUCV!
See you on the reserves,
Best regards,
Chris Edwards