HIDE and seek
A round up of our remarkable reserve volunteers activities over this last month
Our reserve team & volunteers have been very active over the last month or so. Tasks have included cutting back encroaching vegetation from pathways, scraping plant growth from the path surfaces and the edges were strimmed. Some serious hard work and dedication was put in (under a very hot sun and surrounded by clegs) and the paths are now much more accessible and looking a lot smarter! As well as the clegs there were a lot of young frogs around too which was pretty cool.
The wardens completed this season’s fixed point photography. This is a conservation tactic of taking pictures at certain positions (North; West; East; South) from places that have good viewpoints of the site e.g. Farmhouse Tower, Saltcot Hide and Avenue Tower. We take these photographs quarterly and the idea is to take the picture in the same position (or as close to) as it was last taken. We do this because it allows us to quickly observe habitat changes on the reserve, for example is scrub growing in areas that it wasn’t this time last year? Is the type of vegetation that is growing changing? Are our grazing impacts changing the environment?.
Seed heads have also been collected from the Wild side meadow trail for future seed spreading in the wildlife garden and centre entrance, the plants of choice include Yellow rattle, Birds foot trefoil, Greater knapweed and Oxeye daisy.
Nest box checks have also been ongoing– there is still quite a bit of activity in the centre area boxes but things have quietened down, especially down Saltcot and the Avenue. We've also set up the wildlife cameras in some new locations, hoping to capture otter & owl activity!.
Hide and building checks were also completed on weekly bases. We still have some cheeky House Sparrows using the House Martin nests on the side of the Peter Scott Observatory, and some Swallows nesting. House Sparrows are very numerous and active around the centre – notably a very dedicated House Sparrow father bringing a big beak-full of green caterpillars to his screaming charges.
The pathway to the Folly Pond Hide was given some much needed maintenance time with encroaching vegetation cut back and swept. Additionally, construction has begun for future Little Owl nest boxes.
The picnic area, courtyard and around the Farmhouse have been weeded, hoed, scraped and swept in . Not only has this made these locations look much smarter, it also helps to protect the buildings and infrastructure from damage and damp.
On the hottest day of the year on record, our intrepid volunteers started building a new Green Screen Hide on the Avenue Loaning, led by Miriam. They did an amazing job of digging the posts in and fixing the screen in place. Temperatures on the Reserve reached 28.9C and we are extremely grateful for our volunteers working hard in these most unusual conditions. Some more work has since been done in following weeks, adding the side panels and green screen.
Wardens Lucy, Jake and Sandy went out onto the merse with Suzanne, Andy and Adam from NatureScot to talk about Saltmarsh condition assessments and learn some saltmarsh plant ID. Lucy and Jake will be undertaking Saltmarsh Condition and Vegetation surveys, and are very grateful to NatureScot for their time and advice. There is a lot to learn, but the plants are fascinating and beautiful!
Lucy and Jake have also made plans for and commenced butterfly monitoring for the season. The Butterfly transect near the Back pond and along the Lochar was started. There are plenty of Meadow Browns about, but also a few Ringlets, Large Skippers and even a Common Blue hanging on. Further transects for both vegetation & butterflies have been done on the Saltcot merse.
Recent hide and building checks around the centre have shown the last few House Sparrow broods are busy feeding their chicks and a pair of House Martin around the Farmhouse Tower. Nest boxes checks and it is likely the final broods of Tree Sparrows for the season will be ringed.
