A Surprise Visitor

The Thursday gang started work on another of our winter jobs today; clearing invasive Silver Birch regeneration from sections alongside the access track. This work will help the trees we planted here two years ago to flourish.

We had a surprise this morning as a soldier came in with a Water Rail that had be found in one of the tank garages just off the reserve. Once ringed and all the biometrics had been taken the bird was released into the scrapes, our wetland area between the Field Centre and the Lake.

These secretive birds are widely but thinly distributed through the country. They are found in well vegetated shallow pools where they skulk in the margins feeding mostly on a wide range of aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates and their larvae. Many birds fly in from continental Europe to overwinter, and it is during this period they are most easily seen.

Many thanks to everyone who has helped here on the reserve today.