The floods that greeted the arrival of the new decade have finally subsided allowing a resumption, this week, of reed cutting much to the delight of reserve staff and volunteers! Although a bit of a slog at times reed cutting is a satisfying pursuit – a feeling only intensified when the reed returns green and verdant in the spring and then sets good seed in autumn providing a winter long larder for our bearded tits. Speaking of whom, we are now beginning the construction our specialised reed ‘wigwam’ bearded tit nest boxes with view to getting some footage of broods beamed back to the Visitor Centre over the summer of 2010. Our reserve at Leighton Moss regularly has their ‘beardie’ boxes occupied so we plan to look closely at what they’re doing right and (hopefully) replicate it here in Weymouth.
When immersed in floodwater one of the few jobs on the reserve we were able to undertake was the construction of, (what we hope will prove to be) an otter holt, fashioned from the timber and root plate of a large multi-stemmed willow at the top of Radipole. The tree needed lowering as it was collapsing limb by limb and so should benefit from this attention in the long run. Additionally it was providing the sole remaining predator perch in that particular compartment after several winters’ hard graft clearing scrub to convert a very scrubby, non-productive reedbed into a large area of wet pasture.
These alterations appear to have attracted good numbers of wintering duck and waders and it is hoped will encourage snipe to remain into Spring and breed - but the presence of a tree such as this with attendant crows and buzzards we felt would prevent the latter from occurring. Anyway, the pollarded timber built three exterior and two interior walls, on top of which we constructed a latticework of willow to form a roof upon which we will in due course add turf. We think it looks great but it is not really our opinion that counts! We are still finding plentiful signs of otter on Radipole but as yet none have been spotted this year following the otter-spotting bonanza that late 2009 provided us. We remain ever watchful and ever hopeful of a glimpse of these treasured and illusive guests. Watch this space!