A message from Roger the Manager at Fell End Nature Reserve
12 April 2021
“The Spring has Sprung
The Grass is Ris
I wonder where them birdies is?”
So goes the little ditty I learnt when I was very young. The answer is that some of the birds are at Fell End Nature Reserve and more are arriving or passing through as every day passes.
Over the winter we have maintained a resident birds feeding regime at both the Wilson and Cowie hides. It has been very successful. There are now a great many very healthy Robins, Marsh, Blue and Great Tits, Dunnocks and Nuthatches etc. seeking out good nesting spots whether in the hedges, or the provided nest boxes, all over the reserve.
Other jobs over the winter have included dam maintenance, so the water levels can be maintained, and we have also carried out one of the most important jobs we have to do each winter, creating bare earth nesting areas for our regular Lapwings. We are lucky to have a good breeding population that is getting bigger each year. We hope that these areas will also attract nesting Curlew, another species whose numbers nationwide have suffered.
Lots more work has been done in the wood to open up areas to let more light in and the creation of new hedging, all with the aim of making different habitats for the flora and fauna that we hope will be attracted. In the areas where we cleared over the last few years, Spring is definitely on the way with many more Primroses and Bluebells poking their heads out, and many other plants for all you botanists to identify.
So we look forward to all you nature lovers visiting the reserve, please remember to keep to the footpaths, keep as quiet as possible so to avoid scaring the deer. Leave nothing behind and take nothing away except your footprints and your memories of the delicious quietness and the lovely and remarkable things you have seen and heard on your visit.