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A date for your diary . . .
. . . our winter nature trail 21 Dec – 5 Jan
It is a "What do I do in winter?" trail. Some species will hibernate, others will go to Africa and plenty will come to spend the winter here. It will be a chance to test your knowledge and find out who does what.
Now is a great time to see members of the thrush family, such as Redwings and Blackbirds, busily feasting on the reserve’s abundant berries. These birds were easily spotted today in the bushes close to the smaller of the two North Pool hides, but keep an eye out wherever you see berry-laden hedgerows. The Redwing’s ‘chuck, chuck …’ call often gives away its presence.
NOVEMBER – What to look out for on the nature reserve.
See the monthly posts on our website – this month snipe, redwings, berries and more at www.portburywharfnaturereserve.co.uk/november-what-to-look-out-for/
NOVEMBER – What to look out for – Friends of Portbury Wharf Nature Reserve
www.portburywharfnaturereserve.co.uk
Welcome to November! The clocks have gone back, so dusk comes early in November. The first frosts have arrived and the trees are rapidly losing their leaves….but it’s a good time for wildlife spotting. Winter visitors are streaming… Read More
**LATEST UPDATE**
The temporary closure on the bridle path has been postponed and is now scheduled to take place on Friday 1 November – for 1 day only.
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For info . . . temporary bridle path closure today and tomorrow.
Mini Nature Trail in Portishead Library
Just in time for half term we have set up a mini nature trail in Portishead Library. Can you identify the seeds we have put in the foyer?
Pick up a tick card and find the 6 seed posters placed around the library. Then answer the true and false questions on the back of the tick card.
So why not have a go?
Then try to find the seeds out on the nature reserve.
Bird Listening
What a contrast between the fine sunny weather of Tuesday afternoon and the gloomy early morning mist of Wednesday. Tuesday’s trip to Portbury Wharf, made under blue skies, was rewarded with the sighting of twenty eight different bird species, including a magnificent Barn Owl, as it flew across Wharf Lane in broad daylight. The last of this year’s Migrant Hawker and Common Darter dragonflies were still on the wing defending territories and looking for mates. A fox made a brief appearance in the meadows close to the cattle pen. Undoubtedly, a worthwhile trip by any standards.
On the other hand, my approach to the reserve on Wednesday morning was met with thickening early morning mist and visibility levels not conducive to successful bird watching: a stark contrast to Tuesday. I weighed up the appealing option of returning home for breakfast against having a quick look around the hides, just in case. I put breakfast on hold and made my way to the South Pools hide.
The shady silhouette of a solitary Moorhen was as good as it got.
I moved to the middle hide overlooking the North Pools. The mist seemed to have thickened. It was as if the pools’ usual backdrop of Portbury Dock and its imposing wind turbines, didn’t exist. For a couple of minutes, the only bird I could make out was a Lapwing, contentedly settled on the edge of the new scrape. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, the bird started to call as it took flight. Perhaps, two seconds later, a Kestrel flew out of the murk, directly over where the Lapwing had been. It struck me how well the Lapwing must have been attuned to possible danger, even when visibility was so poor. Clearly, the mist was much less of an impediment for the Lapwing than it was for me.
At this point, even though I couldn’t see any birds, I could hear that there were plenty of them about. The male Wigeons making their delightful, constant whistling ‘whee-oo’ call, which was so different from the well recognised ‘quack-quack’ of a calling Mallard. The Lapwing continued with its ‘ee-wit-ee-witting’ as the cantankerous coot occasionally let loose with their explosive series of squawks. The Mute Swans were silent, except when they ran across the water’s surface with much beating of wings and splashing of their enormous webbed feet. Away from the water, somewhere in the reeds, one of the reserve’s seemingly ubiquitous Cetti’s Warblers, released its outrageous, disproportionately loud outburst of ‘cheweecheweecheweechewee’. And so the next few minutes went on. Herring and Black-headed Gulls, Canada Geese, a Robin and Magpie all confirmed their nearby, but hidden presence.
The strange thing was, because of the mist obscuring the birds, a changed atmosphere was created, which was just as enjoyable as bird watching with full visibility. Perhaps, ‘bird listening’ is a better description.
The photographs were taken over the two days. I’m certain that you will be able to work on which day each was taken.
There were excellent views of three Snipe directly in front of the South Pools hide this morning. This one was very obliging.
There can be rich pickings for the heron on the salt marsh, especially on a big tide. As the water rises, small mammals like voles race to reach dry land. So the heron stands guard ready to intercept.
*** SEASONAL TRACK TEMPORARILY CLOSED***
Due to the recent heavy rain the muddy Seasonal Track has become waterlogged so is temporarily closed. This is the track which runs around the edge of the South Pool field shown as a dotted line on this map.
The North Pool was honoured earlier today to receive a visit from this Great White Egret. Whilst much of the time was spent hiding behind high reeds , we got one quick glimpse and for about 10 seconds he /she landed in front of the North Pool Hide before heading into deepest Somerset
Hinkley Connection Project
Hinkley Connection Project
About the project
The Hinkley Connection Project is a new high-voltage electricity connection between Bridgwater and Seabank near Avonmouth. It is a significant investment in the region’s electricity network and will enable National Grid to connect new sources of power to homes and businesses.
The project will play a vital role in delivering electricity efficiently, reliably, and safely and will support the UK’s move to reduce carbon emissions.
There’s a lot to do. Over the next few years in the Portishead area, we’re installing an underground cable, building a new line of T-shaped pylons and, as a result of public feedback, removing the two existing lines of pylons.
Protecting the environment
National Grid is committed to protecting the natural environment and recognises the potential impacts our construction work could have. To reduce and mitigate these impacts, we’ve carried out extensive surveys and discussed the best ways to carry out the work with specialists from Natural England, Historic England, local authorities and many others.
National Grid and our contractor, Murphy & Sons Limited, have been carrying out surveys along the route of the underground cable which includes Portbury Wharf Nature Reserve.
Environmental and ecological mitigation work at Portbury Wharf Nature Reserve
During 2018 and 2019, several ecological surveys have been carried out in the reserve, including those for bats, badgers, great crested newts and reptiles, otters, water voles, and birds.
National Grid is in the process of implementing schemes to reduce disruption to wildlife and animals at the reserve, which includes installing temporary newt exclusion fencing and other specialised methods as listed below.
Bats
There are several bat roosts within the nature reserve. To prevent any disturbance to the roosts close to where construction activity will take place, specialised buffer zones with soundproof barriers will be established. These buffer zones also act as an exclusion zone, preventing any activity or personnel being near the tree that contains the roost.
Badgers
No badger setts have been found within the construction area. As a precautionary measure, mitigation measures will be used to ensure badgers do not become trapped in any excavations or stockpiles during the construction period.
Great crested newts (GCN) and reptiles
There is a medium size population of great crested newts at the reserve. In preparation for starting construction, temporary newt exclusion fencing is being installed along the construction corridor within the reserve. This fencing is specially designed to keep protected species, such as newts, from entering the site. Any newts found will be translocated to a designated receptor site within the nature reserve. This translocation will last for a period of at least 60 days to ensure that the construction area does not contain any newts when construction starts.
Much of the nature reserve has potential to support reptiles, any reptiles found will be translocated, using the same method as used for the translocation of the great crested newts.
Read more at https://hinkleyconnection.co.uk/portbury-wharf-nature-reserve-installation-of-fencing/
Otters and water voles
No otters were recorded during the surveys, but water voles were found in two of the large ditches in the north and west of the reserve. These ditches will not be impacted by the construction works, but as a precaution, a buffer zone will be established to ensure the water voles are protected.
Friends note: while otters have been spotted visiting Portbury Wharf Nature Reserve there is not a resident population.
Birds
The nature reserve contains several species of Schedule 1 birds, including barn owls and Cetti’s warbler. The nesting sites of these species will be protected during construction by establishing specialised buffer zones.
The barn owl boxes will need to be temporarily removed during construction activity. They will be replaced at a ratio of 2:1 on completion of construction.
To prevent disturbance to wintering birds, construction activities (excluding vegetation removal) at the reserve will be avoided during the period from September to April in each year.
Landscaping and reinstatement
Any vegetation removed (trees and hedgerows) during this work will be reinstated in its original location or as close to the route as possible (subject to landowner agreement) on completion of construction.
To help reduce the overall impact of the new connection and enhance local landscape and biodiversity, National Grid is running a scheme for landowners to host additional native tree and hedgerow planting. Further details can be found here on the Hinkley Connection Project website.
Construction of the underground cable
National Grid has appointed, Murphy & Sons Limited, to carry out this work.Over the next few months, Murphy’s will finalise the exact route, design and timetable for construction of the underground cable.
Ahead of construction starting in January 2020, National Grid will be inviting residents and businesses along the route to attend public drop-in events during autumn 2019.
Community Relations Team
National Grid Hinkley Connection Project
www.hinkleyconnection.co.uk.
See also:
Frequently Asked Questions
Recent posts:
Hinkley Connection Update September 2019
This is a briefing we have received from the Community Relations Team of the National Grid Hinkley Connection Project. We are posting these briefings so you are kept up to date with the work being done on Portbury… Read More