After a break in December, the Weymouth Wetlands Round-Up is back for January.
January has been a busy month for both our wildlife and our staff teams. From more flooding of Radipole to wildlife spectacles at Lodmoor, there's been much going on across our wetland reserves.
For a quick wildlife shout-out - seeing hundreds of golden plover at Lodmoor has been a brilliant addition to the reserve. While at Radipole visitors were treated to a flock of six bearded reedlings right outside the Discovery Centre terrace. Some lucky individuals got some amazing photos!
On a different note, Radipole has had it's fair share of flooding again this month. Thank you to all visitors who exercised caution while walking around the reserve, keeping to areas of the reserve accessible in wellies or walking boots. Thanks also to everyone who shared images of the flooded areas on Twitter and helped to keep everyone informed of where the worst of the flooding was. Thankfully, the reserve paths are all now accessible, though sturdy footwear is still advised as there could well be the odd puddle or muddy patch!
The warden team have been busy cutting back sections of vegetation, scrub and reedbed as part of the winter management plan. Reed is the key feature of the reserve; it provides a home for Radipole's iconic bearded reedlings and marsh harriers as well as a whole host of insects some of which are reedbed specialists. To maintain the reedbed for wildlife, we cut sections of reed on rotation, to create patches of different ages of reedbed - different species prefer denser or younger reed habitat. We also know some visitors like to see through the reeds into Radipole Lake and the pools at Lodmoor. While we can only cut reed between October and February in order to protect breeding birds, we cut 'sight-lines' - sections of reed cut back to allow better views into the reserve. The warden team have been busy doing this over the course if this month.
This month we have also enjoyed the start of two new Birdwatching for Beginners courses at Radipole lake. Despite some challenging weather conditions on the first session and a bit of flooding, everyone has had an amazing time learning more about the birds of Radipole. We have seen everything from reed buntings to marsh harriers. Everyone was enchanted by the long-tailed tits and the lovely charm of goldfinches on the buddleia loop. Visitors were especially lucky on Saturday to see several bearded reedlings showing off right by the Discovery Centre. We even saw one right in front of the viewing window. Everyone got a really clear view of their beautiful moustaches! Volunteer Ethan, who is helping out on the course, captured these stunning photos. The courses are continuing over the next couple of months and we are hoping to run some new courses very soon – so watch this space!
Photos by Ethan Price during one of the Birdwatching for Beginners sessions, at Radipole Lake.
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Website: Radipole Lake
Website: Lodmoor