Weekly update from residential volunteer Belinda
Another week is over so that means another blog post.
This week has been busy completing the smaller jobs on the reserve. The reserve team have now managed to clear some of the reed on Patsys reed bed which allows there to be clearer views of the pool with the hope of making it easier to spot Common Snipe and Jack Snipe feeding on the edges.
Now the cutting has been finished we have started the burning of the reed so please be aware there may be a slight disturbance to the birds on the Patsys from the smoke. This should be completed by midweek depending on the weather conditions (the dryer the better).
Also clearance has been done in front of the café where the bird feeders are located. This has been done to enable café user’s better views of the goldfinches, chaffinches, and greenfinches etc. who regularly use the feeders. This clearance has also left the area open so there is now the potential option of reconstructing the pond that used to exist there.
Other jobs that have been done are the weekly hide and bird feeder cleaning as well as a litter pick of the reserve.
Snettisham
At Snettisham we have had the biggest Pink footed Geese count of the season so far with a total of 27,750 being recorded. There has also been a Red headed Smew at the reserve all week and around 1000 widgeon on the pit.
The remainder of this week is going to be another busy one. We have the truxor arriving which will be cutting reed around the fen hide and clearing the ditches which will allow the movement of water around the reserve.