It's taken some time but the final works for our Natural England Stewardship scheme are now completed. The rills have been opened up to the feeder ditches and filled for the winter, the result is fantastic. Combined with the existing waterways these new rills give a comprehensive range of island types and sizes, it also allows us to maximise the water coming into the site from the River Cam, hopefully keeping the area wet well into the summer, essential for breeding waders Many thanks again to Multi-flight for the photography.
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The Rills are finally completed and are ready to be connected to the feeder ditches which run from the River Cam into the washes. The water table in the past has been governed by the aquifers that run through the limestone and occasionally join the surface soil keeping the area wet. When the Cam floods however water flows over the surface of the soil but the clay lining of the ditches does not allow the water to flow away. By joining the new rills to the ditches and in turn the island scrapes to the rills even slight increases in River level can be used to fill the waterways. Simple non-return valves where the ditches join the River Cam stop the water flowing back out again. Hopefully this will ensure we have good areas of water well into the summer, just when breeding waders and their chicks need it to feed.
Since July our water buffalo have grazed out nearly everything green from reed bed compartment 5 where they have been fenced in. As well as continually eating the new reed growth they have stripped all of the existing reed bare and trampled the litter layer to prevent the waterways becoming choked. We have had 5 Buffalo in there this year and they've done a brilliant job again. We are expecting another calf very soon so keep watching for pics when it arrives! For more information on the grazing of the reed beds see the Management, Grazing section of the website.
Whilst we have the Bulldozer on site we have cleared the waste spoil and brash from the old peat mounds to create new habitat for Little-ringed plover. These small waders regularly visit the site and have attempted to breed in the past, however we lack the large low vegetated areas near shallow water that they favor. By clearing the peat from the area and an area of topsoil down to the natural limestone we should have an area of sparsely vegetated dry lime with fine alkaline wildflower meadows surrounding it. One end of the limestone scrape has a small area of clay, this has been used to make a slightly lower area which is impermeable, holding rainwater and surface runoff from the rest of the area as a shallow pool. The last of the landscaping works on the Cam Washes has begun. This work forms part of the Capital Works agreement with Natural England's Higher Level Stewardship Scheme. As part of this we are creating a number of shallow (~0.5 meter) ditches or scrapes that will connect the existing water-bodies we have previously made with the ditches that feed the area from the River Cam. By making the ditches wide they have large areas of shallow edge which remains wet and muddy, perfect for feeding waders and their chicks. Historically these features would have been made by river flood waters cutting across the flood plains, however, now we have to use a bulldozer! The soil under the vegetation is mostly peat over river silt but there are isolated pockets of 'pug-clay' , a slimy water-logged clay which makes it very difficult for a bulldozer to get any grip on to clear the surface material.
I shall try not to post too many videos too soon but this was just great to watch. It appears that it is too much for a Great tit to take in when the food you give is too big for your hours-old chicks to swallow! Both the House Martins and Great tits have started hatching this morning. The first Chick was out at 6.05 this morning with a second Great tit chick soon after. The House martins are more reclusive but have been throwing bits of egg shell out of the nest since 7am. Enjoy the clips bellow and friends can log into the camera server using the link in the Friends area to see the action live. The Barn Owl chicks are very close to fledging, the 2 older ones in particular just look like tatty adults now! We shall be ringing them tomorrow morning all being well so keep an eye out for pictures of that. As you can imagine it's getting very cramped in there, especially when the chicks are testing their wings, so the adults now spend what little time they have not hunting in the second box nearby. The Great tit is also doing well, the female spends nearly all of her time sitting on the eggs only leaving for 10-15 minutes a few times a day. The 6 eggs are due to hatch within the week now The Barn Owl chicks are growing fast, all 5 are still doing well with the largest now getting their adult feathers through on the backs of their necks and tails. You'll see from the video that they are starting to test thoeir wings, it's going to get pretty cramped in the box before they fledge! The Female is now out hunting most of the time too which helps with space also in previous years the adults have roosted in the second box nearby as the chicks grow. The Great tits laid their first egg last night, the female will lay a number of eggs before beginning incubation. The House martins are doing their best to disturb the view of their nest by continuing to wall up the entrance! And finally the Barn Owls continue to grow and get more hungry. Both parents are now out hunting most of the time to feed them, even the younger two are growing quickly, fingers crossed all 5 make it to fledge this year |
James MossReserves Manager at the Kingfishers Bridge wetland creation project in Cambridgeshire. Archives
February 2021
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