Hello!
This week we returned to a more "normal" operation as we reopened the shop, takeaway café and hides across the reserves and more of you were able to travel to visit.
The Reserve Team have continued to be busy throughout lockdown 2.0 and this week our wonderful Conservation Volunteer, Ryan, brings us up to date with what has been happening out on the reserves in North West Norfolk. Over to you Ryan:
Reserve Work – What have we been up to?
The biggest news this week has been the return of the Truxor to Titchwell, which visitors may have seen cutting back the encroaching reed around fresh marsh and Fen Pool, along with some ditches in the reedbed. This amazing amphibious vehicle comes on site every year and it plays a huge part in maintaining the open pools and ditches within the reedbed that many species rely on for feeding (bitterns!) and breeding in the summer.
There is always plenty of building maintenance to carryout and Tuesday saw us clearing gutters and putting "Hedgehogs" in to stop fallen leaves blocking the downpipes and soakaways - not real hedgehogs of course!
Ryan fitting the hedgehogs to the Welcome Hub gutters by Lizzie Bruce
A happy job started the day on Wednesday across both reserves at Titchwell and Snettisham – opening the hides after a long month of lockdown. This involved lots of cleaning and scrubbing for the whole team - thank you to hide caretakers Les and Anne who joined Hayley to open all four hides at Snettisham. At Titchwell, although North Parrinder hide remains closed under refurbishment, visitors to South Parrinder (overlooking the fresh marsh) will notice it has had a facelift and is now looking amazing with a new coat of paint - a big thank you to Team Parrinder (John and Terence) for all their hard work!
Jim and I spent the rest of the day on Wednesday at one of our confidential sites where we were felling an area of birch and alder trees. This is to help maximise the amount of sunlight reaching a stretch of sandy cliffs, which will greatly benefit the solitary bees and wasps that make their burrows there in the summer months.
A productive day spent clearing trees to maintain an open area by Ryan Doggart
Towards the end of the week, the weather turned very wintery indeed with heavy rain and even the first snowfall of the year! This has been a great opportunity to get a lot of “inside jobs” done, including organising the workshop and servicing all the machinery. In a small break in the weather we nipped out and installed a new donation cairn by the Welcome Hub at Titchwell, which looks great and should help raise funds to let us continue the important conservation work we do across our reserves.
Newly installed donation cairn, finished just before it started snowing! by Ryan Doggart
I'll be back again next week to let you know what we've been up to.
All the best.
Ryan.