It’s been another incredibly busy autumn managing the reserve (helped in part by the ongoing drier than normal conditions), which have allowed us to complete our ditching programme as well as improve some of the scrapes and breeding wader habitat for next spring. We’ve also been working with the local farmers to ensure suitable sward heights for our wintering birds when they return, and ensuring good meadow condition through second cuts and grazing.
Our fantastic team of volunteers have also been hard at work managing scrub and tree works around the site, to maintain the open landscape and view lines from the hides and platforms, as well as removing the last of the fencing and scrub at North Duffield Carrs. Elsewhere on the reserve we have been managing scrub at Wheldrake Ings and Thornton Ellers, and continuing to improve our wildlife garden and ponds at Bank Island – with time also found to extract timber to log up and sell to raise vital funds to do even more conservation work around the site next year.
We simply couldn’t have got through so much of our work programme without our incredible volunteer group – the Grafters, who turn up each week (whatever the weather or task), and always with so much enthusiasm and good humour, so a huge thank you to our brilliant team for their efforts and for helping to make the reserve as good as it is. If you’re interested in nature conservation and would like to work alongside like-minded people, why not get in touch and join us on the reserve on one of our task days – contact Lucy.Murgatroyd@naturalengland.org.uk for more details.
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