Log Piles and Barn Owls

It's been a glorious sunny day on the reserve, and what felt like the first proper day of winter with a cold wind and frost on the ground. 

The first job of the day involved taking away some temporary fencing which had been put up on the wetland to protect some planted reeds while they established themselves. The Foxglove team were not alone on the windswept wetland as staff members from Coxon Brothers  had begun to carry out some wetland restoration works with some impressive machinery!

A drive around the Training Area to collect the fencing meant we could have a look at the fruits of our foresters labour, quite an impressive log pile is building up from the tree felling in the conifer block!

Later, Raye visited with a handsome Barn Owl that he has been caring for which was found by a member of the public having been knocked by a car. Fortunately, vets found no injury so it was ringed and will be released later today or tomorrow depending on the weather conditions. A happy ending for this beautiful bird in what has been a rather poor year for this species. One theory is that the dry summer lead to a decrease in the mouse and vole population leaving the owls with a scarce food supply.

It was then Sophie's turn to do the tea and cake round up to the contractors in the woodland!

What was left of the afternoon was spent felling a couple of large Birch trees behind the Field Centre. Ian aimed them perfectly down the path and managed to avoid several small Oak sapplings and Hawthorns! This will significantly reduce the number of future Birch saplings in the Willow Carr.