Well, we're very much coming to the end of the breeding season now for 2018. The Heronry has done exceptionally well with the hot weather, and we have seen not two but THREE broods in two of the nests, with all the youngsters finally taking to the skies. The one nest which had previously failed each year, finally produced three healthy chicks, and two of these successfully fledged and took to the skies (sadly one did die in the nest).

The small birds have also done well; in fact ALL of the nestboxes have been occupied at least once, and many have reared two broods this year. Thankfully the springs which feed the reserve ponds clearly run very deep, and even in the dry weather this year they have continued to flow - bringing the life-blood through the whole of the reserve, to keep everything in flux.

The photo in this report shows one of the bird boxes which wasn't protected with a metal hole-plate; clearly one of the squirrels hibernated in it last winter, and this year two of our robins have successfully made use of it twice this year to product broods of four and five healthy chicks - now flying freely round the reserve.

Nigel