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The Snipe and Lapwing on the edge of North Pool today were keeping a wary eye out for the Marsh Harrier.
I've been out and about this weekend, taking some pictures of our local coastal wetlands. The two days were very different, light wise, but there was still lots to see out there. ![]()
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January was a wet month, but almost half our rain fell on two days so rain only fell on 12 days - its just that on two days there was a lot! We accumulated 94 mm of rain in the month just up the hill from The Royal
There was a new moon earlier this week and, as ever, a few days after both a new and full moon, the high tides peak. This morning thr good news for International Wetlands Day (and weekend!) is that the wet is getting very close! This morning at about 0949 the high tide will reach a height of 13.37 m, which means it's right up the salt marsh so you will find lots of wildlife has been ushered into close proximity. Mice, shrews and voles will ofetn beenm seen scampering into the undergrowth along the top of the sea wall, and lots of waders and waterfowl will be hunting the water margin for asty morsels as they float up out of the highly specialised grasses and plants that live out there.![]()
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With all this wildlife pushed together at the top of the salt marsh it would be great if you could keep your canaine comapnions on leads along the sea wall for a couple of hours - Thanks in Advance, and enjoy your walk!
Did you know it's World Wetlands Day on 2nd February? This is a global celebration of Wetlands and will highlight the significant contribution wetlands make to both diversity and sustainability. When managed well, wetlands play a crucial role in moderating the effects of climate change. We - Friends of PWNR – are doing our bit by promoting the new Wetlands Trail that has been installed across the most relevant parts of our local wetlands. . There are 12 permanent posts in the Wetlands Trail. Eleven are installed by the key habitats on Portbury Wharf Nature Reserve and one post (No. 9) is on the Ecology Park. They tell you about each of the habitats and show you the creatures that you might see there. All the posts are easily accessible on well developed footpaths, so there’s no need to head off piste! You should also keep an eye on our webpages for news of when the seasonal speciality boards get swapped over. The Nature Trail is going to change every few months!![]()
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You can find out all about the Wetlands Trail by going to this web page: www.portburywharfnaturereserve.co.uk/wetlands-trail/
What a lovely day to try out the Wetlands Trail at Portbury Wharf!![]()
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Do you have a picture of the Wetlands Trail that you would like to share?![]()
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#wetlandstrailuk
On such a wet and windy day we thought we would try to bring an instalment of the World Wetlands Day trail to you. . . . fingers crossed this video clip works!🤞 Let us know if you want to see more from the trail.
Its wet and windy out there today, so I am going to hazard a guess that there aren't that many of us out on the Reserve this morning. What a difference a day makes! Yesterday was so lovely. We walked to the Lake Grounds for a change of scenery, and were delighted to see so many water fowl on the lake. The male Tufties and Mallards are in their wooing plumage, dandying about and generally making a nuisance of themselves, whilst the mature swans are getting back together with their partners and rekindling their relationships. There's a lot of neck arching going on down there! Swans mate for life and both take an active part in raising the cygnets, but after that they drift apart for a few months downtime- maybe they head off to a different part of the world but then they tend to return to their old territories and in spring, they start all over again! (BTW, the younger swans may not pair up for their first 2 or even three years) The crows on the sea front are so tame these days. They just fluff out their feathers, hunch their shoulders, and leave you to leave them alone! And finally, as soon as there is any sunshine, the robins all head up to the top of a tree yo shout out that this is their patch! "Gerrorf my laaand!
The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) were ringing birds in the sanctuary when they found an immature sparrow hawk in their nets! I am hoping they will be posting a couple of the pictures they took on here when they get home! You can find out more about these high performing raptors at the BTO's species page ![]()
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BTW, it was their car, with permission, by the Tower Hide this morning (Sunday)![]()
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www.bto.org/understanding-birds/birdfacts/sparrowhawk
Its very grey out there but we still had lovely walk across the reserve this morning. We focussed on the new information panels that are part of the Wetlands Trail that has recently been put together. You can find a guide to the Wetlands Trail here www.portburywharfnaturereserve.co.uk/trail_downloads/winter_wetlands_mobile_2.pdf
What a transformation from a misty morning to sunny afternoon reflections in the Ecology Park!
Ivy
Ivy is an important plant for wildlife
English Ivy (Hedera Helix) is a valuable evergreen ecosystem. As well as providing nesting sites and shelter, it is a source of food and pollen for wildlife. Beneath its leaves insects, birds, butterflies and even small mammals, frogs and toads will shelter. Its nectar rich autumnal flowers and winter berries provide food when there is little else to feed on.
Only mature ivy, distinguished by un-lobed leaves, will flower then fruit.
Even our Portbury Wharf roe deer will dine out on ivy when the opportunity arises.
Ivy is a liana or climbing plant. People often think it is a parasite, feeding off the trees it wraps itself around, but it is not. It gains no nourishment from the tree it clings to so does not kill the trees it grows up. However it may cause some damage by its sheer weight or by shading the tree. It can also happily grow along the ground or up a wall or even stand on its own if thick enough.
Ivy Flowers
Ivy flowers from September to November. Butterflies, bees, wasps, hornets and many others come to feed on the nectar-rich flowers. So popular are the flowers that in late summer you can hear a heavily flowering ivy bush, it buzzes! It buzzes to the tune of hundreds of bees flying from flower to flower.
In November queen wasps, queen bumble-bees and queen hornets come to fuel up before their winter hibernation.
The Ivy Bee and the beautiful white Swallow-tailed Moth are two species in particular which love ivy. You can read more about these species at www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/invertebrates/bees-and-wasps/ivy-bee and https://butterfly-conservation.org/moths/swallow-tailed-moth respectively. The caterpillar of the Swallow-tailed Moth brilliantly imitates a twig. It takes some finding!
Ivy Berries
Many berries start forming while other flowers are only just opening. By December most of these beautifully architectural berries will have ripened to black. Once ripe these calorie rich ivy berries will feed many birds throughout the winter months lasting until April if uneaten. Indeed according to the RSPB, ivy berries contain nearly as many calories as Mars bars!
• “Ale-stakes”, poles covered in ivy, were once used as signs for taverns
Further reading:
Identifying Insects on Ivy Flowers http://www.sussex.ac.uk/lasi/resources/education/ivyvisitors#prettyPhoto
Appreciating Ivy and its Insects also from the University of Sussex https://www.sussex.ac.uk/webteam/gateway/file.php?name=pamphlet-ivyinsects-2013.pdf&site=60
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