Woods to Lapwing Hide

 29 Dec 11.15 1 hr litter pick to Lapwing Hide.  2 black necked grebes there.  Goosander pair on Mockbeggar and male on Clearwater.  Male goldeneyes displaying on Ibsley Water from Tern Hide.  Mistle and song thrush singing.

No issues.

Nicky

 28/12/2024  9.00  -  12.45  Blashford North   Usual bramble and nettle check but so much less with recent clearance...thanks guys. Lapwing hide ramp and boardwalk look great without the leaves.....the boardwalk is however very slippery.  Red jacket found on bench at west end of cross path  - now in the classroom. Fence panel at substation 'Con Ibsley', by the path at the east end of the Hanson Plant, appears to have been damaged. Broken mug also inside. Inappropriate item found at back of open area beside path from road to Tern Hide. Discarded into waste bin. More info from Catherine if needed!!

Woods and Ivy N

 23 Dec 11am 1 hr litter pick to Ivy N, woods and Tern Hide road crossing.  Wet tablecloth still there as too heavy for the bag. 

Merry Xmas!

Nicky

December 18th 2024, Northern circuit as far as Lapwing and returning via Merganser, then the Holly walk to Tern Hide. 14.10hrs to 15.45hrs

Rain interfered with my route but large numbers of wildfowl was a joy to see. Pintail appeared to be the majority species and after counting them in Merganser Hide 'bay' I would guess numbers on the east side of Ibsley Water probably topped 500 birds at least. From Merganser Hide I also noted 6 Mergansers – 5 males and 1 female. On the footpath at around W3W 'curated.ketchup.regaining' I was literally accosted by a young Fallow buck. He came very close and pulled the corner of my jacket towards him. With that I told him to 'sod off' while grabbing an antler and pushing him away. As I walked off he followed but lost interest as I speeded up. I would be concerned that this sort of behaviour could be intimidating to young children. Just a thought. Nothing to report from Tern Hide as visibility was getting worse.

 21/12/2024  9.00 - 13.00   Blashford North  Usual path trim and clear, and hide check. No obvious problems except for leaves on ramp to Lapwing hide and boardwalk. Strong winds tomorrow may change that!!  

Flock of siskin seen along eastern path to Lapwing. GWE on western shore, one goosander in front of Goosander hide and pair of Golden Eye in front of Tern hide. NW wind meant a lot of the birds were to the west and north west of Ibsley or sheltered by spit island in Goosander Bay. 8/9 fallow deer in Hanson Plant, led by the white doe.

 17/12/2024  9.00 - 13.00  Entrance to Reserve and Blashford North.  Drainage ditches cleared at main entrances to the reserve. North side paths and hides checked. Bramble trimming and twig/branch removal where necessary.. 

Circuit of Rockford Lake

 11.30 am 1 hr 16 Dec litter pick to road entrance then round Rockford Lake via Ivy Lane.  

Saw a muntjac deer close to Ed Centre car park.

Nicky

 14/12/2024  9.00 - 13.00  Blashford North   Usual vegetation trimming. No obvious problems apart from leaf litter on ramp to Lapwing hide and the boardwalk.  

Plenty of pintail, shoveler, widgeon etc on Ibsley. Great white Egret  moving around the spit between Lapwing and Goosander hide and Spit island. Fox active along the bank to the south-west of Goosander hide, disturbing the Egyptian geese etc in the bay.

Potholes in the main track to the Centre increasing ++. Robin recommended a repeat levelling before Christmas at his last visit. Is that booked?

 10/12/2024  9.15 - 13.00  Blashford North  Bramble trimmed plus twigs and small branches cleared from paths and path verges. Leaves could do with removing from ramp to Lapwing hide and boardwalk, when leaf blower back on site.  Balloon in the tree north of the bench at the west end of the cross path. 

Is a 'No Access' sign due to be replaced on the new gate by Goosander hide?

Northern circuit

 9 Dec 11.30 1 hr circuit to northern hides.  Removed litter especially near pull-in and fallen twigs and small branches from paths after storm.  WTE eating kill on far bank from Lapwing Hide.  Marsh tit seen by Pete and Kevin at Woodland Hide.

Nicky

Tern and Ivy N

 2 Dec 1hr 11.45 to Tern and Ivy N Hides some litter at road crossing and Tern C P removed. 

Nicky