silhouetted oak

silhouetted oak
Originally uploaded by bowsawblogger

Volunteer Sunday

So Sunday means half a day with volunteer help on the reserve and we were out in the light rain. The morning was spent continuing to burn the previously collected up biomass. Apart from maintaining the fire the morning was also spent controlling the crowds using the hide close by as there had been a couple of bittern spotted on the pond and with a couple of large groups bittern fans on sight it proved a popular spot.

In the afternoon I continued to burn the lumber whilst trying to keep the numbers in the hide flowing and the queue outside minimum. There was the odd person that decided to try and sneak round the front by climbing a muddy bank but these had to be stopped both for their safety and also so they did not scar off the birds they were all there to see.

Still iced over

Still iced over

The morning was spent bagging up more food for the weekends sales and tidying up and putting out the recycling.  The afternoon was clearing up the previous weeks tree felling.  As there was so much biomass piled up along the path it was decided the afternoon would consist of building a fire and then burning as much of this as possible whilst keeping the fire small its foot print limited.

York - Flooded pub

 the pub that floods
Flooded pub
 

Everyone from the trust had to go to York for the day, for an all day meeting.  There was a series of talks on what different parts of the trust get up to as well as where the trust is going.  Mid afternoon it was time to finish and a quick pint was had in York’s famous pub that floods, the water from the Ouse was still on the river path and the front door boarded up with its flood gate but the side door was open and the fire lit.  A quick pint later and then it was a long wait at the station to go home.

Misty oak tree

 oak tree with owl box
Misty oak tree

Volunteer day

The day was spent continuing to clear the side of the paths and also mark out using birch trunks.  I took two assistants with me and went out to one of the levees separating the pond cells and cleared some trees that were blocking a view point over the points and also to a oak tree containing a owl nesting box.

The afternoon was then spent back continuing to clear up after the mornings tree felling.

winter fungi

 Jelly ears

We continued to clear trees from the side of the path as well as removing old rotten fencing and its associated wire.  The area that had been marked off by wire fence was to be marked out using the trunks of felled silver birch.