Checking Fish Stocks

Many of the breeding birds using Kingfishers Bridge rely on good fish stocks in the spring.  At the end of each year we trap using double ended Fyke Nets in all of the main water bodies, to record the breeding popultions of fish giving an indication of numbers available next year. 

The very dry summer conditions and exceptionally low water levels in the lake has led to concerns about surviving fish numbers.

Thank fully most fish species have faired well, with Rudd numbers only slightly lower than normal and Tench recorded for the first time in the Lake.  Unfortunately Common Eel numbers are very low and may require restocking.  There are still several areas to net so Eels may be available to breeding birds in other areas of the Reserve.