Work for Later

Bird News: Ibsley Water - lapwing 100+, goosander 1 redhead, pintail 1 duck,

Ivy Lake - Cetti's warbler 1 calling.

A remarkably unremarkable day, very quiet for birds, as the list above shows and too cloudy for insects, apart from mosquitoes.

Despite what I have said above, it was a very busy and productive day. Four volunteers came in and we worked near the Goosander hide beside, on and in, Ibsley Water. We cleared the banks to improve views and the flight lines for the martins in front of the nesting bank. I also put out some perching rails on a shallow bank out in the lake.

Incidentally I came across a few plants of viper's bugloss, a plant I had not previously found at Blashford. It is a bit late in the season and the plants were a bit tatty, but I got a picture anyway.

Tomorrow we will be clearing the island at the north end of Ibsley Water. Although this does cause some disturbance, there are not that many wildfowl about yet and it does improve the conditions for the birds nesting next spring. Fortunately we don't have to do that many days management work around the lake so the disturbance is limited. Also as the water is so large the birds can always move to other parts of the lake.