July on the Reserve

July seems to have whizzed by, with heatwaves & heavy rain all added in. A big focus during the summer months is controlling invasive & dominant plants & our amazing volunteer team, with help from two Corporate Teams, have been hard at work with removal. Himalayan Balsam and Monkey Flower are two invasive species, originally introduced in the 19^th Century, which both have a negative impact on watercourses. At Pensthorpe we are lucky that a few days’ hard work each year keeps on top of these two ‘baddies’.

Halfway through the month, our attention turned to hay making. After a very dry few months, the grass growth wasn’t tremendous, however, a start was made on two of the wildflower pastures. To give you an idea of the droughts’ effect, in previous years where 70-80 rectangular bales can easily be made, just 15 were collected this year. The bales will all be put to good use, feeding our Longhorn Cattle on cold winter days. In August, once flowering is over, the wildflower strips on the driveway will all be cut & baled (fingers crossed for dry weather!).

Another key job was the complete replacement of supports & tread boards on Dragonfly Bridge. This well used bridge is a great stopping off point to watch the river life, but water ingress had led to the boards slowly rotting. The team did a great job over two days, pulling up old boards and screwing down new timber (over 500 screws required!).

The recent mix of rain and sun is having a great impact on the Wensum Wetland & Waderscrape, churning mud, full of inverts for passage & resident birds. 20 Green Sandpiper, Greenshank, Redshank, 10 Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff & Dunlin have all been seen feeding in the shallows. The Wensum Wetland has performed well for breeding birds, where Little Ringed Plover & Water Rail chicks have been sighted. Summer butterflies have done amazingly well with high numbers of Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Ringlet & Common Blue, with additions of Small Copper, Small Heath & a site record of two Silver-washed Fritillaries! An insect lifer for the reserve was recorded on one of the dragonfly transect surveys where male & female Lesser Emperor Dragonflies were seen on Makins Mere, with the female observed egg laying.

We always appreciate your wildlife sightings from the reserve, so please continue to submit those, either in the sightings book (located in the Viewing Gallery) or letting the Shop/Reserve Team know.