Whisby Nature Park, 4th October 2009
The task today was to make an island, or rather to extend the channel we had
dug the previous year to separate a peninsular in Grebe lake from the
mainland, keeping out predators and hopefully making it a more attractive
area for nesting waders.
The
original channel was still evident, but was devoid of water, either because
it had silted up, or the water level in the lake had fallen. Eleven of
us reported for digging duty, including four new volunteers, a warm welcome
to Jennie, Alice, Mike and Robert, plus Jennie's dog Grace who came along to
supervise. Able seaman Jeff ferried us across Grebe lake to the
'island' and we set about digging out the sandy mud and slinging it into the
lake either by the spade full or loading up barrows for someone to throw at
the lake, the trick being not to let go of the barrow at the crucial tipping
point.
The work progressed at an impressive pace given the heavy nature of the
work. The weather was warm and sunny for the time of year so spirits
were high. We periodically waved to the bewildered visitors in the
bird hide who had to be content with watching our activities rather than any
interesting wildlife.
After
lunch, spent eating, chatting and pulling out annoying barbed seed pods that
had attached themselves to our clothing, we returned to complete the channel
and open it out at either end to let the water flow in. By the end of
the day, we had completed the work with a 3ft wide channel to show for our
labours, wide enough to keep out all but the most determined predator, or at
least reassure the nesting birds that they will be safe on their nests.
Julian
(More photos on the LCG Picasa website)
