New Scrape Takes Shape

Wednesday, February 3rd 2016

Today saw our new habitat creation at Foxglove completed.  Our scrape has now taken shape!  It has been interesting to watch it develop over the last 8 days, from just a big muddy depression in the ground to the nicely contoured scrape that we now see.   

We hope it will attract species of wading birds like Lapwing, Curlew, Snipe and Redshank from the surrounding area onto the reserve.

All the mud around the periphery is good because waders and their chicks require a constant supply of high protein invertebrate food throughout the breeding season. A rich supply of insects will also help other birds such as Reed Bunting and Yellow Wagtail, which also rely heavily on insect food for their chicks. The conditions created by the fluctuating water levels of these types of water bodies attract a limited but specialised range of invertebrates. These often occur in very high numbers due to reduced competition and few predators. The water body is often nutrient rich because of the levels of organic matter, which encourages high rates of invertebrate reproduction, particularly of midge larvae, which are a valuable food source for waders and their chicks.

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