APRIL 2008
This month started with showers and cold winds blowing along the estuary, but over-all it was a very dry month and the river dropped back towards summer level as the month came to an end.
On the bird front we saw movement on the river, with shellduck starting to appear further up the estuary. The over-wintering swans are starting to move on, large skenes of geese are heading back north, and the teal are all but gone. There were arrivals on the river too, with our first common sandpiper returning on the 10th and on the same day we got our first sightings of the swallows and sand martins. On the 12th there was a rare sighting of the great crested grebe.
Work this month on the riverside has seen new wildlife ponds being dug out to enhance the bio-diversity of the area and the planting of blackthorn, teasels and snowdrops to the area.
The chipper was kept busy with the thinning out of areas of scrub and suckers.
The warmth of the last few days has helped bring on all the plants after a colder than usual spell, with wild garlic and summer snowflake doing well, fly hatchings and butterflies were to be seen making the most of it.
On the 29 the osprey was seen taking a decent sized fish from the river. A trip in the boat at the end of the month gave us a good view of the river banking that had been planted out with wild primroses, it is always great to see areas that have been worked on and added to in the past looking so well.
Dago
