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Island restoration
This week we've started work on restoring some of the islands on the Rushy and Tack Piece
This week we've started work on restoring some of the islands on the Rushy and Tack Piece.
The islands are the Rushy are carefully managed and landscaped to provide the perfect roosting sites for our winter wildfowl, not least our Bewick's Swans. They also provide great places for our ducks, gulls and waders to breed in the spring too. Each year we aim to resurface one of the islands here to provide a fresh gravel surface which is then colonised by plants over a couple of years. Our workload in recent years and the pandemic have left us a little behind on this work so its great to get on top of this.
The material being removed from the island this year is being reused over the fence on the Tack Piece to upgrade an island created a few years ago when the scrape was extended towards the Estuary Tower. The island, opposite the Stephen Kirk Hide, wasn't quite right so we've raising the level so it is present for more of the year, and adding a gravel top which could be attractive to Avocets to breed. We're also creating a second smaller island opposite the Robbie Garnett Hide for roosting waders and ducks.
Despite the localised disturbance we still have plenty to see. Bird are even moving back in to the work areas whilst we stop for lunch!
Decoy Hide
Two Mandarin were on the pond again this morning and a Green Woodpecker flew through calling.
Zeiss Hide
A Great Egret was stalking the ditch between the fields, and a juvenile Grey Heron was sat on the rails in the reedbed watching over a creche of Gadwall ducklings in front of the Van de Bovenkamp Hide. A Little Grebe was also present around the duckling creche. Out towards the seawall on the scrape were three Avocet, three Black-tailed Godwit, 11 Redshank, and a Green Sandpiper with six 6 Barnacle Geese roosting on an island. A pair of Cranes flew past heading towards the Kingfisher Hide.
South Lake
The wader scrape held 72 Lapwing, six Ruff, 274 Black-tailed Godwit, two Avocet and 25 Redshank. With the work on the Rushy and Tack Piece the Spotted Redshank and any Little Ringed Plover usually end up here too.
