Out on the reserve today
April showers have meant that large quantities of water have entered the Ouse washes catchment area and as a result the flood plains that create out reserve are currently flooded. Access is only [...]
April showers have meant that large quantities of water have entered the Ouse washes catchment area and as a result the flood plains that create out reserve are currently flooded. Access is only possible to the main observatory but there was still a cuckoo calling this morning and a flock of swifts, house martins and swallows both over the main observatory and around the visitor centre. Several marsh harriers have been seen scanning the river banks today and a short-eared owl was reported this morning from the surrounding farmland. Any waders that were using the reserve to feed and nest on may move over onto Lady Fen and Bank Farm over the weekend.
Moving on from birds, one of our water voles on the pond between the visitor centre and the car park has been very active all day, collecting fresh green reeds, swimming arcoss to the dried reeds to sit upon its platforms and munch away. We have had water vole activity on these ponds for a couple of years now, always about this time of year. But we are yet to see any evidence of young, so fingers crossed for this year.
