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Upton Warren (19 Viewers)
- Thread starter andythomas
- Start date
The Hairy Birder
The Hairy Birder
Work Party
Hi there,
Am I right in thinking ther's a work party at Flashes tomorrow?
Cheers,
Si
Hi there,
Am I right in thinking ther's a work party at Flashes tomorrow?
Cheers,
Si
Phil Andrews
It's only Rock and Roller but I like it
Hi Simon - apologises, havent got round to texting everyone. Yes, work party at the Flashes from 10am tomorrow. Please see post #7750 for a list of the intended works.
Phil
upstarts1979
Well-known member
B
The Hairy Birder
The Hairy Birder
upstarts1979
Well-known member
More than a record shot Dave...very evocative, at last some waders back on the Flashes.
WORK PARTY
PLENTY OF QUALITY BISCUITS AND DRINK..WEATHER LOOKS GOOD.
Morning session will involve moving the last of the shingle to the muddy areas for breeding waders.
Also if needs be we will dig a few channels.
Once that is finished a quick check on Fox fence by 1st Flash reed bed where I think there is a hole in the fence. Checking for jack snipe on route.
Later working on creating dead hedge and coppicing and pollarding trees/bushes along track from bridge to 1st flash hide. A lot of the hawthorn and elder is falling down by the bench we will layer this to prolong its life and 'thicken it up'. If time allows we will also start on the line of bushes on the adjacent education reserve, in the climbing frame field.
see you in the morning
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Sy V
Well-known member
Phil Andrews
It's only Rock and Roller but I like it
Work parties at the Moors Pool are every Tuesday; those at the Flashes are usually the first Sunday of every month although additional ad hoc events do take place on other Sundays. They normally run from Sept / Oct to March so not to interfer with the breeding season.
Phil Andrews
It's only Rock and Roller but I like it
Yes - our first venture into assisting the management of the County Council's Education Reserve. All help very gratefully received on both Tuesdays and Sundays.
Phil Andrews
It's only Rock and Roller but I like it
Great work today by the 17 lads on the Flashes work party - Dave (Woodchat), John (Upstarts), Mike (Wheatearlrp), Des (UW82), Graham, Phil, Simon (Hairy Birder), Guy, Tony, Paul A, Paul (Beyonder), Bob, Derek, Barry, Glen (gh1), Ray and myself. We created a new shingled area approx 6 foot by 6 foot in the area favoured by the breeding LRP last year as well as rejuvinating a number of the older, smaller islands to also assist LRP.
We then moved on the work in the area between the Hen Pool and the feeding station hide. Two of the large willows had several sizeable overhanging branches removed to (a) mitigate any Health & Safety risk and (b) let more light into the adjoining hedgerows that were being crowded / shaded out. The main bulk of the work was concentrated on the hedgeline adjoining the transmitter field where the hedge has now been properly layered with a number of dead trees removed and a nice dead hedge built up in front. The benefits of this will be several-fold: allowing those trees still vibrant space to grow, allowing more light in to the hedgerow to stimulate growth at all levels and the promotion of new areas where sizeable bramble patches will hopefully take hold (we have tried to incorporate both bramble and holly into the areas managed today). This is aimed at promoting breeding Willow Warbler and Blackcap but also benefit a wider range of wildlife, especially butterflies.
With the first Sunday in January falling on the 1st, the next Flashes work party will be on Sunday 8th January. Work is likely to include further scrub management between the Hen Pool and Feeeding Station hide, plus any works required to the fox fencing and scrub around the Tower Hide that
will (hopefully!) be completed by then.
Please note that the Flashes' feeding station has now been closed down due to the difficulties in volunteers being able to regularly devote their time to keep it topped up. We will use this as an opportunity to manage the tangled and uninviting scrub behind. If there is a severe winter again we will reinstae it to keep the finches and bunting sustained.
Phil
We then moved on the work in the area between the Hen Pool and the feeding station hide. Two of the large willows had several sizeable overhanging branches removed to (a) mitigate any Health & Safety risk and (b) let more light into the adjoining hedgerows that were being crowded / shaded out. The main bulk of the work was concentrated on the hedgeline adjoining the transmitter field where the hedge has now been properly layered with a number of dead trees removed and a nice dead hedge built up in front. The benefits of this will be several-fold: allowing those trees still vibrant space to grow, allowing more light in to the hedgerow to stimulate growth at all levels and the promotion of new areas where sizeable bramble patches will hopefully take hold (we have tried to incorporate both bramble and holly into the areas managed today). This is aimed at promoting breeding Willow Warbler and Blackcap but also benefit a wider range of wildlife, especially butterflies.
With the first Sunday in January falling on the 1st, the next Flashes work party will be on Sunday 8th January. Work is likely to include further scrub management between the Hen Pool and Feeeding Station hide, plus any works required to the fox fencing and scrub around the Tower Hide that
will (hopefully!) be completed by then.
Please note that the Flashes' feeding station has now been closed down due to the difficulties in volunteers being able to regularly devote their time to keep it topped up. We will use this as an opportunity to manage the tangled and uninviting scrub behind. If there is a severe winter again we will reinstae it to keep the finches and bunting sustained.
Phil
Phil Andrews
It's only Rock and Roller but I like it
The birding was a bit quiet today:
MOORS POOL
19 Shoveler, 58 Teal, 1(!) Tufted Duck - and no Pochard, 4 Little Grebe, 4 GC Grebe (+ 1 on Sailing Pool), 240 Coot, 7 Moorhen, 4 Grey Heron, 21 Cormorant, 35 Canada Geese, 2 Mute Swan, 18 Curlew over late afternoon, an unknown number of Snipe flew out calling at dusk, Coal Tit along the track to the East Hide.
FLASHES
6 Common Snipe, 25 Lesser Redpoll in the silver birches at the rear of the Hen Pool, approx 100 Linnet over.
MOORS POOL
19 Shoveler, 58 Teal, 1(!) Tufted Duck - and no Pochard, 4 Little Grebe, 4 GC Grebe (+ 1 on Sailing Pool), 240 Coot, 7 Moorhen, 4 Grey Heron, 21 Cormorant, 35 Canada Geese, 2 Mute Swan, 18 Curlew over late afternoon, an unknown number of Snipe flew out calling at dusk, Coal Tit along the track to the East Hide.
FLASHES
6 Common Snipe, 25 Lesser Redpoll in the silver birches at the rear of the Hen Pool, approx 100 Linnet over.
upstarts1979
Well-known member
To follow on from Phil's post here are the before and after shots
1 and 2 show the overhanging scrub around the bench at the back of the Hen pool. The hawthorn bushes in this area have become 'leggy' and even falling over, especially those near the bench. So not only for conservation reasons but also for health and safety were some of them coppiced.
3 and 4 show how after the work the area now looks.
The hedgerow will be cut on a 3 or 4 year rotation, in sections. Some old trees will be left for structural diversity, berries and nesting sites.
Some of the taller branches will be pruned to allow sunlight in.
If you look across the stream from the bench you will see that last years scrub management is already showing signs of regeneration.
Pic 5, is the area just past the 1st hide. Here the very large overhanging willow is looking quite dangerous, so we have removed some of its large limbs that had shaded out the nearby hedgerow. The hedge is now out of the shade and with a bit more work will soon be thriving again.
1 and 2 show the overhanging scrub around the bench at the back of the Hen pool. The hawthorn bushes in this area have become 'leggy' and even falling over, especially those near the bench. So not only for conservation reasons but also for health and safety were some of them coppiced.
3 and 4 show how after the work the area now looks.
The hedgerow will be cut on a 3 or 4 year rotation, in sections. Some old trees will be left for structural diversity, berries and nesting sites.
Some of the taller branches will be pruned to allow sunlight in.
If you look across the stream from the bench you will see that last years scrub management is already showing signs of regeneration.
Pic 5, is the area just past the 1st hide. Here the very large overhanging willow is looking quite dangerous, so we have removed some of its large limbs that had shaded out the nearby hedgerow. The hedge is now out of the shade and with a bit more work will soon be thriving again.
Attachments
upstarts1979
Well-known member
The pics show the Flashes, where we have now completed the work, apart from the traditional March island clearing and grass cutting.
Pic 1: shows the view from the upstairs floor of the soon to be new hide.
It shows the new shingle islands and mud islands (8 new islands in all) in and either side of the 'central area' . water level today is at 0.31
Pic 2 : shows how this area looked on the 3rd May 2011 with water level at 0.40
Today the water level is 9cm (nearly 4 inches) lower than it was on 3rd May.
Pic 1: shows the view from the upstairs floor of the soon to be new hide.
It shows the new shingle islands and mud islands (8 new islands in all) in and either side of the 'central area' . water level today is at 0.31
Pic 2 : shows how this area looked on the 3rd May 2011 with water level at 0.40
Today the water level is 9cm (nearly 4 inches) lower than it was on 3rd May.
Attachments
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Surely it will take more looking after if the weather is bad ? this just seems a bit odd, and a bit of a shame generally.
Phil Andrews
It's only Rock and Roller but I like it
Hi Mark,
Our experiences have shown that feeding stations only work when topped up on a daily basis as birds very quickly become reliant on the regular supply of food. We are already heavily indebted to Paul Moseley's generousity in devoting so much time in keeping the Moors Pool feeding station running. The Flashes feeding station is difficult to negotiate with the wet ground and channels and with AFJ's increasing years (and fraility) his regular attendance - and safety when doing so - would be a cause of concern for all.
If we have a harsh spell we will fill the feeders hanging from the willows and move the table feeder forward into a more accessible location but will have to organise some form of rota (but this wont be easy as the food is locked away).
Of course if we had a permanent warden ......
Phil
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toadoftoadhall
Well-known member
though there is no Pochard today, yesterday there was 1 male and 1 female at the right hand end of the far island ( from the east hide). Maybe they are hiding.
upstarts1979
Well-known member
plus flyover Yellowhammer and meadow pipit:t:
