Last week ahead of the busy Easter weekend our fantastic team of volunteers,
working alongside the staff team, have been undertaking a range of tasks around
the reserve to get it into tip top condition. Last week the team were busy
cutting our network of footpaths around the reserve with the allen scythe,
before trimming up the paths with strimmers. The hides were also cleaned and
tidied, the notice boards updated and the car parks litter picked. This week
our volunteers have been busy once again, helping us in the reserve bee and
butterfly garden, by weeding, pruning and planting up with additional nectar
rich species. In the morning we also managed to spend a few hours helping
out our YWT partners, by tidying up some of the post and wire fencing through
the reed bed near Swantail Hide – making it better for visitors to access but
also to help protect the reed bed itself. At the end of another productive day
a quick look was then had in the meadow to admire the newly emerged
Snake’s-head Fritillaries.
Many thanks to everyone involved in helping making the valley such a great
place to visit.
As well as spotting the
Common Frogs, spawn and Smooth Newts present in the base pond, we also came
across this Common Toad, tucked away under one of our logs piles. At this time of year, some of our toads may still be
travelling to ponds in order to spawn, as they often mate a couple of weeks
later than frogs. Their spawn can be easily identified as toad spawn, as it
appears laid down in long double strings rather than a mass like that of the
Common Frog. After spawning the toads will then disperse away from the
ponds and seek out dark, damp and sheltered spots to spend the summer, whilst
feeding on a range of insects and slugs. Toads and frogs can do a great
job of helping gardeners keep on top of troublesome slug populations –
providing a small pond, compost heap and log pile is a great way to encourage
them.
Not only have our team being doing a great job at Bank Island, they've also been hard at work carrying out a spring clean at our visitor facilities at North
Duffield Carrs, ahead of what will hopefully be another active spring season
and a popular visitor time. As well as litter picking the car parks, painting
the hides, strimming and spraying the paths, the team also helped repair the
boardwalk, replacing a small section which had collapsed due to the constant
wetting and drying out over the last few years. Hopefully all this hard work
will add to our visitor’s enjoyment when visiting the reserve over the next few
months, many thanks as always to our team for another productive day.
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