a talk by Malcolm Davies on 5 December 2006
This was a talk mostly
about the development of Goosemoor, the recently acquired land adjacent to the
Bowling Green Marsh reserve at Topsham, and finishing with an update on progress
of the management work on the land at Powderham purchased from the Earl of
Devon.
Malcolm began by
explaining how a Regulated Tidal Exchange water control system, had been
installed at Goosemoor as a major part of the work to convert coastal grassland
into tidal saltmarsh. This is new
technology from the USA and has not been tried in the UK before. We were shown slides of the progress of the
earthworks and the impressive machinery used to do the job. A huge pipe was laid through a hole in the
riverbank, connecting to the River Clyst, with some clever flaps controlling
the flow of the water between the river and the reserve. It is hoped that the new habitat will, in
time, attract breeding waders such as redshank or even, hopefully, avocet! The proposed Exe Cycleway is planned to run
behind the bank round the perimeter of the site and this will provide access
and good views of the reserve. The construction of this means that the area
will not be open to the public for at least 18 months.
After the interval
Malcolm continued his talk with some excellent slides, showing both
birds already
resident, and some of those it was hoped to attract to the new habitat.
The evening finished
with an overview of the progress on work at Powderham, including the news that
cirl bunting has been seen several times in the area. It is hoped that they may breed, being a very sedentary bird, a
spread in their range of even a mile or so would be excellent news. It is also hoped other birds such as
linnet, skylark, and possibly woodlark will be attracted to the area.
Malcolm is an
enthusiastic and knowledgeable speaker and this was an interesting and
enjoyable talk.
Liz Saunders