A Watery Day

Tuesday, February 28th 2012

The wetland  looked bleak in this morning's dreary damp weather.  It was cold and there were no signs of frogs in the ponds.  Pipes and sluices control the flow of water so that the water, in theory, goes where we want it to go.  Unfortunately the Water Voles have other ideas and dig holes through the bunds.  Adam found the entry to one of these holes this morning and a surplus of water just where we didn't want it!  This will be dealt with, but the voles will doubtless soon dig another tunnel!

From one watery task to another, cutting the reed bed.  For these tasks we always take a before and after photograph, so here is the 'before' photo!

The reeds need cutting back about every 4 to 5 years to keep them healthy.  They provide nesting sites for Reed Bunting and Moorhen.  Adam and Sophie were soon busy cutting the reeds and quickly made a noticeable difference.

Whilst they were working the Moorhen was calling from another part of the reed bed and the frogs were croaking in the long  pond.  Once the reeds were cut then started the task of raking them up.   By the end of the afternoon the area looked completely different as can be seen in the 'after' photograph

As has been said before, when this type of work is carried out the area always look very sorry for itself, but as Spring is hopefully just around the corner it will recover quickly.  As for the net ride on the right - well we won't go there!!  Perhaps the ringers will give it a miss for a bit!

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