Five hardy volunteers helped with the conservation work on Tuesday 18th October and achieved a lot in a short time, removing unwanted vegetation from two areas and installing more nest boxes.
We started by clearing birch saplings from the heather patch and the Reserve Manager used a brush cutter to remove the young gorse. This will reduce competition and encourage heather growth. Then we moved on to trimming the vegetation along Tabley Road as it was overhanging the pavement and encroaching into the pedestrians’ space.
Joe Pimlett, the Cheshire Wildlife Reserve Manger, brought seven nest boxes with him, all made by a local volunteer. Joe said “Nest boxes are a great way to add value to a nature reserve, especially in a young wood like this where there are few really mature trees”. We put the boxes up at the locations indicated on the map, numbered 7 – 13 (boxes 1 – 6 were installed during our previous work day). The boxes are suited to small passerines like tits, apart from box 13, which is the first bat box installed on the site.
As the weather was showery we decided to rest on our laurels at lunch time and call it a day.
Thank you to Cheshire Wildlife Trust for running the event and to our volunteers for your time and effort.
Kevin Griffiths
