Natural England and Defra Volunteers at the Moated Manor
Natural England and Defra Volunteers at the Moated Manor
The sun was shining on the morning of the 14th of October, while volunteers from Natural England and DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) arrived on site for a day of conservation volunteering. After morning teas and coffees, local ecologist and wildlife champion Alison Fure gave a wildlife and historic talk about the site. Telling the volunteers of the rich history that the site has to offer, dating back to the time of the Doomsday, including, as the nature reserves name suggests a medieval moated manor which was part of a farming settlement.
The site also offers a rich fauna and flora and a wide variety of habitat types in a relatively small area. Throughout the day we watched kestrels hover above the meadow in search for small mammals which include short tailed vole, wood mouse, pygmy shrew and common shrew. We got a fantastic sighting of a greater spotted woodpecker, and a tit flock of blue tits, long-tailed tits, great tits and coal tits fluttering through the tree canopy throughout the day.
However, the day was not just about spotting wildlife, but also some essential conservation work. The volunteers worked hard on continuing our dead hedge which one day we hope will surround the site, making it a safer refuge for wildlife while also creating some fantastic habitat which birds and small mammals can nest in.
Therefore, the volunteers had to help clear the route for the hedge, navigating around native trees such as hawthorn, oak and ash, as well as the very important dead wood which is essential habitat for an array of invertebrate species. The team also painted our compost toilet, ensuring that it will last long into the future, which I am sure many volunteers in the future will be ever grateful for!
We would like to extend our thanks to Natural England and Defra Volunteers and hope to welcome them back to our local nature reserves in the future. We would also like to thank Alison Fure for the really interesting talks she gave throughout the day.
