Working With Wildlife

Volunteers have been carrying out many different conservation tasks both on and off the reserve. Owl box monitoring has been very disappointing this year with several of the Tawny Owl nests failing. Only four healthy chicks have been found in the boxes that have been checked so far.

By dissecting owl pellets it is possible to find out how what the owls have been feeding on. There were plenty of small mammal skulls in the Barn Owl pellets that were examined today which suggests that the food supply is good. Could the extreme cold night time temperatures explain the unsuccessful start to the breeding season?

In one of the large boxes a Stock Dove had made a nest. It was ringed and returned carefully.

Dam repairs have been the main focus of work on the reserve with the installation of plastic pilings to prevent leakage from some of the ponds.

The weather has thrown everything at the team from sunny spells to heavy rain showers and hail.

Finally, this Large Red Damselfly emerged from the classroom aquarium. It was released back into the wild by the Forest School pupils. Hopefully, it will survive the cool temperatures. It is the only one to have been sighted so far.