JMNR 17th January 2015

Two members braved a chilly start to this month’s work party but were rewarded later with pleasantly ‘warm’ sunshine. All of the reserve’s bird boxes were checked and cleaned out where necessary. We then moved on to the Big Garden Buddleja which had suffered from significant snow damage. Heavy pruning back was the prescription, and a slap on the wrist for listening to last year’s butterfly-loving ‘nay’ sayers. The final task was to rake the ‘thatch’ on the hibernaculum roof, resulting in yet another resolution for 2015 – to discourage the grass and encourage the flowers in this area.
Despite the cold the most bird activity was early on: Blackbird (4+), Blue Tit (3), Bullfinch (1 male), Carrion Crow (1), Goldcrest (1), Great Spotted Woodpecker (1), Great Tit (1), Magpie (2), Mallard (6), Robin (1), Woodpigeon (1), Wren (1).
Mammals: Fresh Mole hills and recent activity by Badgers. The highlight of the day was finding sleeping Wood Mouse (2) in two of the bird boxes.