The breeding season so far...... plus a swan update.
Unfortunately we have not had a very good breeding season on the reserve at Martin Mere with many of the species suffering from heavy rain washing away their nests, most notable was the sad news that the two Marsh Harrier chicks did not survive which would have been a first for the reserve.
Recent surveys have also shown a large decline in butterflies and dragonflies on the reserve. We also have undertaken a plant survey over the last week and I will put the results on this diary as we have been doing a long term monitoring project to see what plants we have on the reserve.
We have also asked for an update on the swan breeding season in Iceland. Information from Oli is that there were fewer pairs with nests at Skagafjordur this year because of flooding in mid-late May, but that pairs which did breed had normal clutches/broods by early June. We can only wait and see now how many return to Martin Mere in October.
