Managing the Mosaic

Foxglove Covert is well known for it's mosaic of habitats. These are very labour intensive and far more difficult to manage than one large habitat of woodland for example. This makes for varied work! Yesterday the team was up in the woodland, today it was out on the wetland! Gorse and rushes were cut with a brushcutter to make the pond margins more welcoming to wading birds.

The bitter northerly winds provided a challenging environment for raking up cut vegetation!

The wetland is a complicated system with seven different water levels. These are managed by a series of inflow pipes and dams which also require maintenance work. Pipes were unblocked and dams checked to ensure that the water levels are optimum for the wildlife.

Spring is on the way and before we know it Snipe will be heard drumming over these pools!