From Black Desert to Silver Meadow

An illustrated talk by Damon Bridge,

(RSPB Warden of West Sedgemoor and Greylake Reserves.)

Thursday, 30^th October 2008

As many members will know, Greylake is situated between the Ham Wall and West Sedgemoor Reserves on the Somerset Levels. 70 hectares had been drained and used for arable crops, and latterly set-aside, and 45 hectares was grassland when the RSPB purchased the land in 2003. The objective was to create suitable breeding conditions for waders. As the site was not of any special value to wildlife at that time, it would be possible to experiment with new ideas and techniques, which would not have been the case had there been restrictions due to designations such as S.S.S.I. It also has good access.

Having been drained for many years, the peat had shrunk and the raising of the water level had to be done gradually, over years rather than months. 25 scrapes were created, also 16 miles of new ditches, giving 32 miles of ditch banks for waders to forage upon! Willow trees were removed, to reduce corvid depredation and to open up the landscape. Grassland was re-established on the ex-arable areas and weeds controlled. Cattle were reintroduced in 2005 when set-aside restrictions expired. A boardwalk made of recycled plastic pillars and oak planks was installed to gain access to the new hide, which doubles as a classroom. Screening is provided by withy beds and reeds. A small area has been sown with millet, to attract finches. As water quality is poor, a reedbed filter has been started and this will remove nitrates and phosphates.

Wow – what a lot of work! And is it proving to be worthwhile? We had to wait until after the break to find out, but the answer seemed to be, overall, yes. Lapwing, redshank, curlew and snipe now breed at Greylake. But not without some problems, mainly of the predator variety. In 2007, 16 pairs of lapwing all attempted two broods, but all failed. Cameras at nest sites showed the main culprit (85%) to be foxes. So 3.5 kms of fox-proof electric fencing was installed in February 2008, at a cost of £8,000, funded by a lottery grant. Badgers are also excluded by the fence, which will be in place during the breeding season only. It protects approx. half of the reserve, and 5 pairs reared 20 chicks there. It is therefore hoped that the fencing can be extended to protect the whole reserve in future years. Radio transmitters have been fitted to check where the birds feed, which seems to be, as anticipated, in the scrapes and ditch edges.

Other birds successfully breeding in 2008 were skylark, reed bunting and yellow wagtail, also water rail for which it was a first at Greylake .

Raptor numbers are also increasing, with kestrel, buzzard and peregrine being joined by merlin in autumn and hobby in spring, also the occasional hen harrier, short-eared owl and barn owl.

Whimbrel pass through in spring, and green sandpiper visit. In winter, you will find teal, wigeon, snipe and lapwing. Water vole numbers have increased and there are stoats under the boardwalk!

And the future? Storks and cranes perhaps, or glossy ibis breeding? And definitely a good place for visitors to enjoy as the reserve becomes established.

So, if you haven’t already visited, put it to the top of your list!

This was an interesting talk, well delivered and with excellent slides. Sadly, it was poorly attended, despite being a joint meeting with D.B.W.P.S. This was probably due to the freak storms in the areas the previous night with some flooding still causing problems.

Pat Thomson