A dry warm start to the month saw the river slow right up again.
There was a lot more work this month with the chainsaws and loppers along some sections of the river bank. This involved raising the canopy, and clearing and thinning out some areas to let more daylight through for the benefit of the wild flowers that will be coming through during the weeks ahead.
All the cuttings and branches from this work were put into habitat piles at various places along the river bank, and some of it was built up along the foreshore just above the high tide mark to give some cover for the ground nesting birds.
There was also more litter picking done in some areas along the tide line, this involved clearing up a mixture of tin, glass and plastic that finds its way down the system over the months.
The spades were out this month for some tree planting up at the fishery, Andrew Lear of the “orchard 800” project kindly donated a variety of old fruit trees which were planted around the place. These trees should help to enhance the biodiversity of the area, as well as benefitting the community.
There was a spring feel about the place, and it was good to feel the warmth from the sun again.
The bumblebees and butterflies have started to appear in numbers and it was good to get an early sighting of a comma, our first for a couple of years. There is plenty toad and frogspawn in some places, and there have been a lot of fly hatches around the fishery to keep the trout happy.
In the last week of the month Carol and Andrew from Woodland Trust joined us for the day out and about on the river.
The weather was kind to us as we spent our time travelling up and down the estuary by boat, stopping off at various sites to look at what work has been undertaken and what work there is to do. It is good to step back from the tools sometimes and appreciate what we have on our doorstep.
It got slightly cooler with odd showers as March ended, and the river was settled after a good dry spell.
Dago
