Close Encounters of the Owl Kind

Nick Carter,  Wetland Project Officer

I paid my first visit of the year to the Wissey Wetland on Wednesday and had an immediate surprise. As I drove down the entrance track a short-eared owl flew across in front of the vehicle. I stopped and thought I might get a decent flight image but the bird then very co-operatively landed the other side of the ditch running alongside the track. It allowed me to get very close and take some of the attached images. The bird obviously spied something flying over at one point, which I didn’t see. 

Short-eared owls have been recorded occasionally on the Methwold and Hilgay sites before but this gave the best views.  After visiting the very wet Hilgay site and checking all was ok I saw a barn owl which I wasn’t able to photograph. However the short-eared owl was still hunting around the access track quite near the entrance so I stopped to watch it. I then realised that there were two short-eared owls hunting. So a nice welcome to the site for 2016 and another surprise on leaving it.

Methwold & Hilgay updates

Nick Carter, Conservation Officer (Fens)

The fine weather and the all-clear on the archaeology side have meant that construction work by Fen Group is progressing well at Methwold, the joint project with Environment Agency to provide compensatory reedbed. 

Perimeter bank and ditch, photo by Nick Carter

The perimeter bank and ditch, installed as a flood-defence measure, should be finished this week. It is interesting to compare the very sandy soil in this area with that over much of the rest of the site, which has the deep peaty layers. This higher, drier sand island was inhabited by Neolithic people. Simultaneously work is progressing with the main reedbed embankment. Soil is being moved across the site from deep pools to form the key trench below the embankment and its inner core. The deep pools will act as fish refuges and also provide the vital edge between open water and reed that bitterns favour for feeding. 

The first of five water control structures has also been installed. This will control the flow of water between the two main reedbed compartments. The work has to be completed by the end of October and so we are hoping the fine weather continues to enable the work to proceed without delay.

On the Hilgay site the breeding season for some species still seems to be in full swing while for others the autumn migration is underway. The five pochard ducklings are growing well and are now nearly as large as their mother and I also saw four tufted duck broods, including the one with 10 young. 

Great crested grebe and young, photo by Nick Carter

Two pairs of great crested grebes have young while a third pair is still on a nest, as are several pairs of little grebe. The black-headed gull colony is still very noisy and there is a range of ages of birds present. The avocet pair has one remaining chick out of a nest of four eggs while lapwings have finished breeding and have flocked up, with over 80 on site this week. Three ruff remain and redshank, oystercatcher, little ringed plover, green sandpiper and greenshank are still on site. At least 19 little egret were around too and herons were still busy feeding on the site.

Latest Aerial Images from Hilgay and Methwold

Photo by Hexcam

Nick Carter, Conservation Officer (Fens)

The latest images, taken in mid-June, highlight the progress of works going on at Methwold by Fen Group. They show that Fen Group has constructed the main embankment and ditch all the way along the access track, approximately 1km, and are turning to head back northwards.  Work is also now progressing on the smaller, flood protection perimeter ditch and bank (top right) after the archaeological study of the buried Neolithic soils has been completed. The water control structures have been constructed and are ready to be installed to regulate the flow of water between the two reedbed compartments and from the reedbed onto the adjacent grassland. The aim is to finish the construction work by the end of October this year.  Some reed planting will take place in late summer.

Wissey, 2013, photo by Hexcam

The images from Hilgay show the raised water levels that have been achieved at that site although levels had been steadily dropping prior to the drone flight by Hexcam. The before (taken in 2013) and after clearly show how much wetter the site is now which will aid the spread of reeds from the naturally occurring patches and the planted areas. Further reed planting will take place this summer. The lagoon area in the foreground at its maximum depth of water would be completely flooded.  All of the future reedbed areas have reached their maximum water levels and are still wet despite the current very dry conditions.

Wissey 2015, photo by Hexcam

Close Encounters

Nick Carter, Conservation Officer (Fens)
 
It is always exciting going onto the Hilgay and Methwold wetland creation sites because as the habitats change you never know what you will encounter next.  

As I drove onto the Hilgay site I noticed some white blobs in the distance and realised there were eight little egrets standing on the perimeter bank. Eight is a record number for the site and is a big increase on the one or two that have been present on site over the winter.  My attempts to photograph all eight together were hampered by the misty conditions, well that’s my excuse anyway, so I only have a reasonable shot with seven of them showing. They were just standing around on the bank with a flock of crows so not sure if there was a particular prey item present or if they were just resting.

Later in the day while putting out some remote cameras to check usage of potential badger outlier setts on the Methwold site I stopped the vehicle next to a ditch with a badger sett. Looking out the window I spotted a barn owl sitting just a few yards away from me in a willow bush looking at me. Much to my surprise it did not fly away immediately but allowed me to turn the camera on, operate the zoom and then open the window. It stayed put while I took a few photos and then decided it had had enough and flew off allowing me access to the badger sett to put the camera in place.

Two unexpected encounters and I wonder what will be there on my next visit?

Hilgay - Almost There

Nick Carter, Conservation Officer (Fens)

I checked the water level in the Hilgay lagoon yesterday and found it had risen to 11.57 (i.e. 1.57m above sea level) an increase of 7cm from the previous week. This means there is only 2cm to go to reach the target level of 11.59. With yesterday evening’s rainfall and more forecast for Thursday I am confident that we will reach the target very soon. The lagoon is now almost completely flooded with just a short stretch of the central island sticking out of the water.

The higher water levels have attracted a greater diversity of duck with wigeon, gadwall and shelduck joining the mallard and teal that have been around all winter. Diving ducks have also been in evidence with pochard and tufted duck both being present on the lagoon, together with up to seven coot.

The objective now is to reach the required water level and hold it for at least a month while the embankment is checked for stability. Over the summer water will be let out to keep the rest of the site wet for as long as possible.  In November abstraction from the river can start again to re-fill the lagoon, keep the internal ditch network topped up and flood the fields which will be turned into reedbeds. This flooding will help to kill off the terrestrial vegetation and aid the spread of reeds across the site. It will take several years for the reedbeds to be completed.

Hilgay & Methwold Wetland Developments

Nick Carter, Conservation officer (Fens)

I have been letting water into the Hilgay lagoon and have so far reached 1m above sea level, with a further 0.59m to go to maximum capacity. I have to hold this level for one month and check the lagoon banks to ensure they are stable and there are no signs of leaks or erosion. 

On Wednesday Elliott Corke from Hexcam came out to take the next round of aerial photos using his drone and they show the works at Methwold from a new perspective and also how wet the Hilgay site is now that we have been abstracting water into the lagoon and into the perimeter and internal ditch network. 

The eastern end of the site is the lowest part and is consequently very wet. The main aims over the next couple of months will be to try to get the lagoon water level up to 1.59m above sea level and to fill the internal ditches. This will enable us to graze the site more easily to keep the vegetation under control.

Looking towards Hilgay

North East Corner

South East corner

Looking North West

Looking South East

Barn owl mitigation

Nick Carter, Conservation officer (Fens)

Next year's excavation works at Methwold wetland creation site will get close to the existing barn owl box on the site and so we decided to cap the box this winter and install a new box to ensure no disturbance for any breeding owls.  

Colin Shawyer, of Wildlife Conservation Partnership, visited the site this
week to carry out the work and also to move an unused kestrel box and
re-position it in a better location.

 The site’s female barn owl was roosting in the box. After checking, when she turned out to be very healthy 385g, she was released and flew to a nearby treeline, which was where the new box was erected. 

 

The kestrel box close up

Checking her ring confirmed that she was four years old. Colin moved the old kestrel box from the nearby wood and placed it along the same treeline as the barn owl box. Hopefully both boxes will be used next year.