Notification: I must point out that I have special permission to be on the Eversley quarry site of Fleet hill farm, Manor farm and the Hampshire part. These are not open areas for general access. Public rights of way are being incorporated into the sites to enable people to enjoy the new reserves.

Please bear this in mind. Although I refer them in my blog as reserves, they are still, technically, part of an operating quarry. So please keep to the existing public rights of way, and wait for the new ones to be adopted. Also it is will be even more important to stick to the public rights of way when they do become reserves so as not to disturb the wildlife.

Update: Apparently Cemex and RSPB have been working together to restore 1000 hectares of ex-gravel works to prime habitat. The aim was to achieve this by 2020. They actually managed the 1000th hectare in 2017.

Eversley was the first hectare to be restored under this partnership; actually the Moor Green lakes and surrounding area e.g. Horseshoe lake. This youtube video features scenes from Manor farm which regular readers will be familiar with.  Here is an explanation on the RSPB's website, and here is one on the Cemex website about them being runner up in the MPA Quarries from Nature awards due to their work on the Eversley quarry restoration.

27th Jan 2018 - we get a mention in The Telegraph: 50 disused quarries turned into wildlife habitats to help Britain's endangered wildlife. "Eversley Quarry in Hampshire was the first to be completed following three years of work by wildlife and conservation experts."  Ahhh, they missed phase 2, the subject of this blog.

This blog is about a proposed nature reserve on the Cemex gravel extraction works between Finchampstead and Eversley. There are three parts to the reserve.

1. Moor Green Lakes.  This reserve already exists.  It was restored by Cemex some years ago.
2. Manor Farm.
3. Fleet Hill Farm.

Initially, this blog concentrates on the restoration efforts Cemex engaged in prior to handing over the reserve to a conservation group for day to day management.  Once this happens, I would then hope to chart the efforts required to turn the raw restoration into a fully operational nature reserve.

That being said, there is already a wealth of wildlife inhabiting the site, mostly as Cemex have ceased extracting gravel, and appears to be a mecca for bird watchers.  We often encounter them as we walk around the footpath, humping their tripods, spotting scopes, cameras and binoculars or perhaps exchanging notes with each other on what they have spotted that day.

Although I live about three miles away from the proposed new reserve, I only learnt about it recently. I started to photograph the efforts Cemex are expanding in clearing the gravel works and, as is the nature of such endeavours, realised I had a photo journal before I knew it.

Extent of entire reserve

The plan below shows the extent of the reserve.  It stretches for 2.2 miles along the Blackwater river.

Moor Green Farm is already a nature reserve, namely Moor Green Lakes nature reserve. For more details see here Moor Green Lakes Group or here RSPB entry. Perhaps you could join us on one of our work parties to aid in the conservation of this reserve.

Fleet Hill farm is supposed to be ready as a reserve by end of summer 2017. Apart from a few sub-phases, this appears to have been achieved.

Approximately 18 months later, Manor Farm will be incorporated into the reserve. A target date in a planning application I read suggested that restoration of Manor farm should be completed by 31st December 2018. Personally, as of 7th October 2018, I can't see this happening unless the scale of infill is altered drastically or a lot more resources are thrown at the restoration effort.

You may notice, dear reader, quite a few differences between the various plans and google earth images of the reserve displayed below. I am not sure why.  I suspect that some of the differences are due to extraction of gravel. This is certainly true of the Fleet Hill farm portion of the reserve. Note: I have since discovered that the plans for the restoration were fairly fluid and subject to numerous alterations.

Update: I am keeping my speculations for historical reasons. Part of the 'fun' of keeping this blog is working out what Cemex and Inert are up to.  Well, the later posts show that they are infilling Finch pond. They may also modify Cormorant and Manor farm lakes to look more like the plan.

Plan of proposed Manor Farm part of reserve and image from Google Earth

NOTE: I've finally got around to updating the google earth image with the expanded reference points. Hopefully, this will allow you to navigate my text a little better.

The plan below is the Manor Farm extension. Below that is a Google Earth image as of March 2017. Note the difference between the it and the plan.  Particularly Finch Lake, which is now huge, and what I have been calling Cormorant Lake which is supposed to be joined to the bigger lake to its right.  The Pump Station area, currently on dry land, would be in the middle of a lake, according to the Cemex plan.

As described above we start our walk at the Moor Green Lake car park, located in the top right hand corner of the map. The details shown in this map are the proposed public right of ways, and possibly some further landscaping. As an example, currently there is a sizable lake at the point I call the Pump Station.  This lake is not shown in the map.

There are large areas of this new reserve I have not photographed as we have tended to keep to the current public footpaths.

We cross the Longwater road at the culvert/entrance to the reserve  to get enter Fleet Hill farm immediately opposite.

Plan of proposed Fleet Hill farm part of the reserve and image from Google Earth.

This is the Fleet Hill farm extension showing proposed structure and public right of ways. Below that is a Google Earth as of Sept 2017.

Stone Crusher lake is a small manky green lake. The plans below suggest that it will be filled in.

Swan lake is also a small manky green lake, which according to the plan will get bigger.

There is a large part of this extension that I have not really photographed as we have tended to stick to the footpaths. Most all the restoration had been completed by the time I started photographing the works.

Update 7th October 2018. I suspect that apart from a few small pieces of work (e.g. completion of bridle path) Fleet Hill farm is pretty much restored. One of the planning applications I read said that tree planting will occur in the year after restoration has been completed. As this happened earlier on in 2018, this would suggest that, apart from a few sub-phases, restoration is complete.

This post shows how the Fleet Hill Farm and Manor Farm parts of the Cemex Eversley gravel works has changed over the years since 1999.  Credit has to go to the Google corporation for their Google Earth initiative and also for developing Googe Earth Pro.  This free application allowed me to explore a history of the images Google have taken of our planet since 1999, and to also save images.

I would recommend you download Google Earth Pro.  It allows to you to zoom in to see an incredible amount of detail.

As well as showing the evolution of the area, the images also demonstrate the evolution of the techniques Google used to photograph the landscape.  If you look closely you will notice that Google had problems stitching some parts of the images together.  They also either went through a number companies to do the fly over and photography or simply garnered images from different GIS companies over the years.

The images below have been reduced considerably in size from the Google Earth images. It would take ages for this blog to load across the network if I left them at full resolution.

Note. I've used Google Earth as was readily available and convenient to use.  There are other GIS sources available, which may provide even higher resolution images or greater quality.  You pays your money and takes your choice.

Several times in this blog I mention the complex geology of the area.  I found a map, courtesy of my old College, that goes part way to showing this complexity. Greater detail can be found here Eocene sands and iron map a natty title that sort of rolls of the tongue.

I've taken the liberty of inserting a much reduced image in this blog. The vertical red line marks the Longwater road. If you zoom in you may just make out the words "Cemex works" to the left of it. This is actually on the Fleethill farm part of the works. To the immediate right of the red line is Manor farm. Count two large lakes to the right and you reach Moor Green lakes.

Quite a landmark are our works.

With no discernable activity taking place on Manor farm, this week's moderately 'exciting' update concentrates on the end results we can expect from the restoration. Dismay not, those who hanker after any developments on Chandlers farm. Inert were working away most industriously on the southern edge of this site. I'm quite surprised at the amount of stuff still being shipped in and bulldozed in this part of the site.

Strangely, the outflow from the settlement ponds was quite rapid, even though the pump on Manor farm was most resolutely off. Obviously there are pumps operating on Chandlers farm (it was the original quarry site), and it is possible that some further extraction is taking place. I need to check on the works buildings. I read somewhere that 50,000 tons of gravel was to be extracted from the ground where the buildings stood.

OK, on to the slides, most from Moor Green Lakes.  I took my 'proper' camera as Wednesday morning was brilliantly sunny, with little wind. Conditions were not ideal. There was that slight haze you get when it is particularly sunny and not bone dry. However, interesting photos did result.

Let's start with an Oyster Catcher chick. I photographed, some weeks back, an Oyster Catcher sat on its nest on Plover island - an island we clear of weeds and vegetation every autumn. It then dutifully disappeared, but no sight of chick or mother was to be had. Well, hardly surprising as I tend only to visit the reserve once a week, and then for a fleeting few minutes only.

This week I took a speculative for subsequent inspection at home on my laptop. Sure enough, in one of the photos, I found mother Oyster catcher and chick.  A bit fuzzy, but my lens does struggle at 600mm at distances over 75 yards.

Hopping over to Manor farm, some more Oyster Catchers, and a cheeky Blue Tit.

Heading back to Moor Green Lakes, a Common Sandpiper made a welcome appearance on the sand bar in front of Colebrook hide. Whether this bird breeds on the reserve is a different matter.

Tern island is cleared of vegetation by MGLG volunteers every year. This used to occur in early January - normally on a bleak, cold, drizzly wind swept day. Last year the event was moved to October, in the hopes of kinder weather. It was mild, but with a torrential downpour of epic proportions.

This didn't stop MGLG volunteers from clearing the shoreline near Colebrook hide, but it did prevent them doing Tern island. Clearing the island was deferred to...January. Luckily the weather was kinder.  I tend not to take the boat to Tern island.  It's only a small thing, and tends to sit so low it is possible for water to lap over the gunwales. I do the sensible thing and stay with the shore party and hack back willow and such like from the shore line.

Here are some photos of the fruits of our labours.  Black-headed gulls seem to be the main users of Tern island. There are a number of ducks and geese, but on Wednesday I finally photographed some Terns.  I'm not very good at identifying gull type birds, so may have not noticed the terns before now. No idea what flavour of tern they are.

Also in this slide show are a couple of courting Great Crested Grebe and the ever present Cormorants.

Two weeks ago, I noticed a steady stream of gulls flying between Tern island and the north bank of Colebrook lake (north). I thought, at the time, that the gulls were feeding. It had rained heavily, and I figured the ground was nice and soft allowing earthworms and other grubs to be near the surface.

This week, armed with my proper camera (due to it actually being sunny), what the gulls were up to was revealed when cropping them out of photos. They were gathering nesting material!

I was getting a little worried about the recent dry spell we've experienced, and getting concerned we would have a repeat of last year. Well, the rains finally came, with a few days of deluge. However, the ground was so dry, the rain soaked straight into it, bypassing the mud stage.

My Thursday stomp (car was in the shop for a recall repair on Wednesday - only took them four goes to fix it) revealed Inert firmly ensconced on the southern edge of Chandlers farm. There is a tremendous amount of activity, with plenty of tipper trucks, diggers and bulldozers trundling around.  As usual, Inert are flitting about the site.

Our pump was resolutely off, even though there was a trickle of water flowing from the outflow. I reckon this was simply run off from the recent heavy rains.

I only took my bridge camera with me - it was gloomy, and I also had to dodge showers. Just as well as there wasn't much in the way of wildlife around. It's quite normal - some days are good, some days are quiet.

The gull type birds on Tern island were behaving in an interesting manner. There was a constant stream of them flying to and fro between Tern island and the grassy banks to the north of Colebrook lake - next to Plover island. I can only assume there was a worm feast to be had on this shore, due to the rain.  Anyway, my bridge camera wasn't up to taking decent photos.

I will pin this near the top of the posts, as this entry is really reference material.

I have largely ignored Chandlers farm over the years. Partly as most of the restoration will be (and has been) given over to sports facilities, and partly as it is still an operational quarry. I believe there are some 50,000 tonnes of stuff still to be extracted once the site buildings are demolished.

A small area of the site (the north west corner) is to be given over to a nature reserve, and I'm sure I read in one planning document that there was to be a community growing area. Another name for these could be allotments, perhaps. We need more allotments, especially considering the waiting list, and the need to do something to save this planet.

I present to you, courtesy of Google Earth Pro (a free app well worth getting hold of) the changing face of Chandlers farm - the original Eversley Quarry.  Manor farm and Fleet Hill farm are subsequent extensions to this quarry.

I'm deeply suspicious of both the imagery and the dates attached to them.  The earlier ones exhibit particular problems, typical of a fledgling service. Imagery has come from various sources, with varying degrees of quality, and they have been stitched together with varying degrees of accuracy.

I'd certainly take the imagery dates with a large pinch of salt. The year 'might' be correct, but the date is not always correct e.g. images dated 31st December or 1st January show deciduous trees in full leaf!!!

Consider the 'settlement ponds' in the top right hand corner of the site.  These three rectangular ponds are, I believe, where water (pumped out of the various ponds and lakes) are passed through to allow sediment to settle out, before the water is put into the Blackwater.  The photos for 1999/2000 show these ponds. The ponds are missing from the photos dated 2003, only to reappear in 2004.

I hadn't appreciated how much restoration had already taken place on Chandlers farm. Note the football pitches - rather poshly flood lit at night. I thought they had been there before the quarry. But no. They were one of the first parts of the quarry to be restored.

You will also notice the stop-start nature of the restoration. Not readily apparent from the large gaps in the imagery data, but quite normal as I have reported in this blog.

Still, it looks as if Hampshire county council is putting pressure on Cemex to get Chandlers farm completed, judging by the all out effort put in this year. Alternatively, it might be Inert flitting around the various sites, as we have seen over the past couple of years.

However, at least this is being done. Hopefully, the surrounding communities will benefit greatly, and hopefully a small fragment of this planet will be saved for wildlife and future generations.

Enough ramblings, on with the show.

No prizes to learn that Inert continue their restoration efforts on Chandlers farm.

There is this enormous spoil hill on the north edge of Chandlers farm, just to the west of the Bailey bridge. It's been relatively dynamic, over the past 2 years, as Inert remove and then add spoil to it. Various boulder sorter outers (screeners) are seen to work on and around it.

On Wednesday (yep, no Saturday stomp) there were two diggers at work. One was on it, and appeared to be loading lorries. The other appeared to be digging a trench: I'm not entirely sure on this. However, we have seen this sort of activity before. Inert did dig a drainage channel a year or so ago, only to then fill it in.

Manor farm remains resolutely untouched. With the pump still silent, water levels are getting back to their normal levels. Apart from Manor lake north. It is draining into Cormorant lake, and its levels are some of the lowest I have seen for many moons. Large swathes of mud flats are now exposed, which are well liked by Lapwings and gulls type birds in particular.

Part of 'gull pipe' is now floating. This will prove popular with the gull type birds, once water levels have risen to surround the pipe.

There doesn't seem to be anything using the scrape. Which is rather odd, considering its isolation, as it used to be quite popular. There seemed to be more birds on it when it was larger and less cut off from the mainland.

We received a 'Finchampstead Parish Council' leaflet which provided updates on what the council's main priorities are for the coming year. I noticed two entries pertinent to this blog.

1. For 2018/19, under Rights of Way: "Encouraging the completion and opening of the new nature reserves at Fleet Hill and Manor Farms and the rights of way on the sites"

2. Plans for 2019/20: "New nature reserves and rights of way at Fleet Hill and Manor Farms"

I have talked to one or people about what the plans are for the site. Strangely, they do not know what is happening on the site. Granted, some do, as one or two actually helped design the layout of the new reserves.  Most were more concerned about having the noise and dust from the workings finally coming to an end. Which is understandable, but the sand, gravel etc used to build their houses and local infrastructure has to come from somewhere.

Sadly, others were only interested in the restoration as simply to provide them with a recreation area, particularly to walk their dogs!  It's not like they don't already have miles of areas and fields to walk their dogs. Well, unless the reserves are securely fenced in, I reckon you can kiss goodbye to the Skylarks, Lapwings et al, currently nesting on the site.

A couple of the Cemex/Inert workforce I chatted to made the observation that a fully operational quarry, where people are kept out, has a highly diverse and vibrant wildlife. Those converted into 'Country parks' witness this wildlife being devastated. Simon's wood and surrounds is a fairly good example.

Anyway, what chance have Inert of completing restoration efforts in the next year, particularly on Manor farm. Hmmm, it is touch and go, I think.  The infill of Finch pond was a major exercise. Inert were at it most of last year, and it still isn't complete.

Cormorant lake isn't as big, and some progress has been made on filling it in this year. It must be noted that Cormorant lake has already undergone a considerable amount of infill - reducing it to almost half its former size. I believe that Inert are staying away from Cormorant lake because of the breeding season, which means they will not return until mid to late July at the earliest; giving them five months to meet the last completion deadline I saw, namely Dec 31st of this year.

It will be close, especially as all the rights of way have to be established and fenced in, plus the car park at the Longwater road entrance has to be built and the entrance remodelled.  Quite a tall order for five months.  But then again, the deadlines have been extremely fluid over the past few decades.

We still do not know who will be taking over the site.  Presumably a combination of Blackwater Valley Countryside Trust and an extended Moor Green Lakes Group. Both underfunded and understaffed.

Still, it will be a great day when I can hang up my stomping boots, and re-purpose this blog to a, more relaxing, narrative of how the scars of restoration transform into a vibrant nature reserve.

Cor blimey, that's a bit philosophical for a Saturday morning.

Onto the slide show, what little there is of it.

Now onto the wildlife, well bird life.

It is probably quite amazing I manage to get as many photos of birds as I do, seeing as I do not stay still at any one place for very long. I normally storm through the sites, starting at MGLG car park and walking to the middle of Manor farm; sometimes to Longwater road entrance, and back. Thus, it is testimony to the richness of the wildlife on these sites that I can get so many photos.

The highlight of Wednesday's stomp was photos of a Little Ringed Plover. A birder motioned me over and pointed out this bird to me. He had already spent quite a bit of time photographing it, and said he had seen it on a couple of occasions the previous two days.  Only spotting the one, we didn't know if the bird was simply passing through.

It was awfully tame. We couldn't have been more that 20 feet away from it. The birder said it had come even closer.  He must have reeled off hundreds of photos of the bird on his high end Canon set up. I took about 50 photos (very easy to do with a modern digital camera), and then left him to it.

Plover island seemed somewhat light on birds. I couldn't see any plovers on it, but then again I do not spend sufficient time in any one spot.

The eagle eyed amongst you will notice that this update was written on a Friday. This means no Saturday stomp around Manor farm. Partly as the weather is expected to be foul tomorrow (storm Hannah is barrelling in), but mainly as not much has happened on Manor farm.

Plenty going on with Chandlers farm. I suspect that this is where Inert will concentrate their efforts over the coming couple of months due to the bird breeding season in full flow.

This week Inert appeared spread all over Chandlers farm, particularly the western half.  It is all looking decided flatter. A couple of bulldozers were clanking away, plus a couple of tipper trucks and diggers.

The Bailey bridge is now looking rather splendid with its snazzy yellow sides. I wonder if the sides will survive the heavy plant crossing the bridge during the remaining restoration of Manor farm.

With our hard working pump now silent, water levels in Cormorant lake and what is left of Finch pond edge ever higher. It's quite unusual seeing them so high.  I don't think they have yet reached their fullest. The pipe, which the gull type things love sitting on, is still on the mudflats. A couple more feet of water are needed to get it to float.

My old nemesis, the mud, is now dry and hard, and being churned into fine dust by all the plant chugging about.  It was being blown into dust clouds by the brisk wind.

I saw a vehicle moving eastward along the old south shore of Finch pond, whilst on the school run on Thursday morning. I thought that perhaps Inert had returned to Manor farm. My afternoon visit (I didn't do my normal Wednesday morning stomp as my car was in the garage being repaired) revealed this vehicle to be a water bowser.

What was really odd about this vehicle was how it filled its tank with water. Firstly, there is a pond on Chandlers farm. I have seen a water bowser filling up from it.  Secondly, it chugs over to Manor farm to fill up from Cormorant lake.  However, the it does so at the north end of the eastern infill!  This requires the bowser to reverse some 75 yards or so, along the east shore of Cormorant lake.

Most peculiar. Inert seem to like having vehicles reverse long distances.

Anyway, I didn't bother hoofing it all the way over to the Longwater entrance to see if Inert had filled in the tank assault course. I was too knackered after swimFit, plus by the looks of things, from the south footpath, nothing had been done as all the spoil heaps were still intact.

There is a surprising amount of wildlife around, considering it is the middle of the breeding season.  The Skylarks didn't seem as plentiful on Thursday. Possibly due to it being mid afternoon, and it was a tad breezy.

There were all sorts of intriguing rustling noises coming from the side of the path, during my walk. I couldn't tell if it were bird or mammal. Though I wish I could recognise bird song.  I do know quite a few, but there were a whole host of intriguing warbles I could not identify.

I think I might have discovered where another Oyster catcher pair are nesting. They appear to be on Sandpiper island, in Colebrook lake (south) on the Moor Green Lakes reserve. I did notice them flitting about this island earlier on in the year. But on Thursday, I managed to photograph an Oyster catcher landing on the west shore of the island.

Alas, there was too much vegetation to see if my hunch was true. The MGLG do not appear to have this island on its winter schedule.  Unlike Plover island, where I do have photographs of an Oyster catcher sitting on its nest.

I did, however, manage some splendid shots of the Oyster catcher coming into land. They are fast birds, and difficult to pick out from background noise. Only one photo came out completely in focus. The others were useful for action shots, if not detail.

Finally! Wednesday was nice and sunny. I took an extended walk, starting at the MGLG car park; wandering down to the Blackwater; turning right and hoofing it along Manor farm, past the Bailey bridge and sewage works; across to the Longwater road entrance and back again.

In the near future, new footpaths and bridle paths should allow a circular journey, allowing one to walk along the north edge of Manor farm back to the MGLG car park.  That in itself will be better than the Moor Green Lakes reserve, where there is no footpath along its northern edge.

Much was happening on my little stomp.  Our pump was not pumping. I wonder if it has run out of diesel? Subsequently, lake levels in Cormorant lake and Finch pond were on the high side. Manor lake, however, was on the low side - exposing the mud flats on Manor lake north. These were promptly taken over by gull type things, Lapwings, etc. Mudflats are desperately popular with all sorts of birds. The ones on the west of Cormorant lake are particularly popular.

Workmen were installing more of the snazzy sides to the Bailey bridge. I wonder if insufficient were ordered first time round or perhaps the delivery was short? In any case not only were the yellow sides being welded into place, the paintwork was being touched up. Now that is attention to detail.

Seems odd to be installing these bridge sides now - assuming they are the final design for the bridge once restoration is complete. They are subject to possible damage as various heavy plant trundle across the bridge.

Moving on swiftly from that contentious statement. I hopped over the gate on the Longwater road to take a good look at what was happening with all the piles of soil I could see from said road.  NOTE: normally I wouldn't do this on a week day, due to the heavy plant trundling around the site. However, this particular morning it was obvious there would be no lorries, diggers or bulldozers on Manor farm; partly due to the two transits sat on the Bailey bridge.

Inert have been exceedingly busy gouging out deep trenches and building heaps of soil around the Longwater road entrance. The whole thing reminded me of a tank assault course; heighten by the caterpillar tracks along the sides and top of one of the spoil heaps. I know travellers are a pest, but these 'defences' are on a truly heroic scale...or are they?

There used to be a large slab of concrete a few yards in from the Longwater road entrance.  I often puzzled over it, as well as taking a short respite from all the mud by walking over it. I could never work out what it was, why it was there and, more importantly, why it hadn't been dug up. Perhaps the mighty trench and considerable quantity of earth movement are a clue. Was it, we wonder, not merely a slab of concrete but, instead, some sort of large storage structure?

Chandlers farm was surprisingly quiet.  There was one bulldozer merrily trundling around the north west edge of this site, but compared to previous weeks, all was deserted.  This is not to say that a mighty amount hadn't occurred earlier in the week or that activity picked up after I had returned home. Then there is the question of Easter - perhaps the workers had taken a well earned rest.

More will be revealed next week; perhaps.

I know there are some that visit my blog for updates on wildlife. Well, my Wednesday stomp proved particularly fruitful for me. I like the challenge of BIF (Bird In Flight) photography, and there were a lot of birds flying around. There were also a myriad of other birds, most I could not recognise, regardless of a fleeting glimpse or from their bird song. However, seasoned birders would probably get quite excited by the rich diversity of bird life on and around Manor farm.

There appeared far more Skylark around this year then in previous years.  The air was full of their song. Which is good, considering their endangered state in this country. Lapwings were having a good territorial fight - I think there is a nesting pair on the north part of Cormorant lake, up by the grasslands.

Oyster catchers are nesting on Plover island on the Moor Green Lakes reserve - all our hard work on winter mornings, clearing the islands and shore line, has paid off.

I've been a bit tardy with this week's update. Decorating, you see. I wasn't looking forward to painting doors and skirting boards. Oil based gloss stinks to high heaven, takes ages to dry and can yellow quite quickly. Low odour, quick drying (aka acrylic) paints are a nightmare to apply - you can't get rid of the streak marks...until now.

I used Dulux trade paints, their low odour, quick drying high gloss white, and white undercoat. What a revelation. Their flow characteristics are amazing. Seems like Dulux have formulated them with a whole load of flow enhancers. You can brush over the paint several times as you apply it, even ten or so minutes after applying paint to surface, and it doesn't streak or lift. I even used a roller on the flat bits of doors! It's amazing to see the brush and roller marks slowly merge into a smooth surface.

Decorating the remainder of the house is no longer a daunting prospect of tempered frustration, fighting with acrylic paint that enhances brush marks.

Well, enough of my wittering on about decorating. What has been happening on Manor farm?

Hmmm, this is where it gets a bit tricky. My Wednesday visit revealed nothing. Chandlers farm was still a hive of activity, centred around the north west part of the site i.e. to the west of the Bailey bridge close to the Blackwater. A lot of stuff was being dropped by lorries, then spread around by both bulldozers and at least one digger. This leads me to believe (probably quite foolishly) that Inert may be completing the latest phase of the restoration of Chandlers farm.

Moving over to Manor farm.  I've been walking down from the MGLG car park, on my Wednesday stomps. Thus, I do not see what, if anything, is happening on the west side of Manor farm.  I did notice that the north gates across the Bailey bridge were open on Wednesday, but simply assumed Inert were fiddling about around the pump; which, by the way, was vigorously chugging away and reducing water levels - particularly in Manor lake north.

However, I had cause to drive past the Longwater road entrance on Sunday, and noticed changes around this area. I stopped briefly on my way home - I was actually in a hurry, as I wanted to watch 'The seven ages of stars' on tele.  Inert had blocked off the Longwater road entrance with a mighty mound of soil - and I mean mighty. It looked at least 6' (1.8m) high.

The only time you tend to see that is when travellers are about, and is meant to keep them off a site. There might be a more innocuous reason for the mound. A brief glance over the mound, from the Longwater road itself, did indicate some other mounds of soil or sand. All rather tantalising.  I'll find out more on my stomp tomorrow.

I'll have a bash at posting some photos, from last week, later on today. We do have the gas man coming to try and sort out a duff radiator, which means I may have to assist e.g. clearing mess out of the way.

An early update as I have decorating to do this weekend. Yuk!

My foggy, Wednesday morning stomp revealed signs Inert are preparing to return to Manor farm quite soon.  Though from experience, such pronouncements need to be taken with a huge pinch of salt.

Firstly, the pump was chugging away. Indeed, so vigorously the out flow into the Blackwater was the highest I have seen for some months.

Secondly, there was no activity to the immediate west of the works building. There was a lone digger putting more stuff onto a gigantic spoil heap that has been a feature of Chandlers farm for as long as I can remember. There may have been more vehicles to the west of the heap, but I didn't see or hear any; partly as I didn't go further west than the Bailey bridge.

Thirdly were these yellow things, I spied last week, piled up near the Bailey bridge.

I couldn't work out what they were. Crowd barriers, perhaps?  All was revealed this week.

Barriers on the Bailey bridge.  I can't work out if they are for vehicle traffic or for pedestrians when the area opens as a reserve.  My suspicion is the latter. Vehicle traffic has been happy using this bridge for decades. The are rather snazzy and bright.

You can just make out a digger in the right most photograph, piling earth onto sand that had covered the gigantic pile.

A quick drive by peek, this morning, showed no activity on Manor farm; despite water levels being much lower than last Wednesday. I reckon water levels need to be at least four feet lower before Inert will consider returning to Manor farm.  Perhaps next week.

I was somewhat unnerved on Wednesday morning.  As I set off south from the MGLG car park, along the footpath, I heard sirens going off. For those who do not know the area, Broadmoor Prison (used to house the most dangerous and psychotic of prisoners) is located near Crowthorne, a few miles east from MGLG.

There are air raid sirens located around the area; one of which is the Shell garage on the London road in Wokingham. They are triggered if a prisoner escapes from Broadmoor i.e. to warn residents to go into lock down.

Thing is, they are normally tested every Monday morning, I think about 11:00 am. Firstly, there is the air raid warning sound. After a couple of minutes this is replaced by the all clear.

What concerned me was the warning sound kept going for the 15 minutes it took me to walk to the Bailey bridge. I kept scanning for anyone that might looked liked a crazed axe murderer!

Relief was mightily felt when I reached the Bailey bridge, and the all clear sounded. Strangely, only a couple of times.

I did read that there were proposals to do away with the early warning sirens. They were to be replaced with announcements via social media, email, possibly phone calls (e.g. to schools), and radio and tv messages.  This appears not to have happened, as I still hear the sirens on Monday morning: if I am out and about at the correct time.

Once again, dear reader, work continues apace on Chandlers farm, but nothing has happened on Manor farm. There appeared to be two bull dozers working away just to the west of the works buildings, along with a digger and a plethora of lorries. As usual there was a huge amount of noise around the east of the works buildings. Alas, this area of the site is screened from view.

Weather conditions were gloomy on Wednesday. I didn't even bother taking my DSLR, hence no interesting wildlife photos.

Although Saturday was, unusually, sunny, I took the chance to prep for decorating t'house.

It is 8:15 on Saturday morning. Normally I'd still be stomping around Manor farm, with a view to heading home. This morning, however, I elected not to pop down for my regular early morning exercise; instead having a few extra moments of kip before getting up on a bright, if somewhat windy and cold morning.

My usual Wednesday jaunt revealed a silent Manor farm but for two diggers. I spotted them having a conflab near the pump station, before they took off and trundled south to Chandlers farm.  As best I can make out, they flattened the long bank of spoil they created when they dug out the drainage channel some weeks back.

I could not see any evidence of any other work being carried out on Manor farm this past week.  Even the piles of spoil which were around the parked bulldozer, which I photographed last Saturday, had not been pushed into Cormorant lake. It was a scene reminiscent of the Marie Celeste i.e. everything suddenly abandoned.

There appeared to be muted activity on the west side of Chandlers farm. Inert appeared to be continuing to operate on the crater (i.e. former lake) near the sports ground. I can't see the east side of Chandlers farm (i.e. by the works buildings) from the south footpath, so can only gauge what is going on by how much noise is being generated.  I admit I am not too interested in what happens on Chandlers farm as most of it is being turned into sports amenities.

So as not to waste a trip on Saturday, I took the opportunity to visit Manor farm on Friday morning. Though I have to add that it was reasonably sunny with almost no wind, which would give me good conditions to photograph wildlife.

There was no activity of any sort on either Manor farm or the west side of Chandlers farm. An extraordinary sight, as even at its quietest I would expect to see the odd bulldozer, digger or lorry lurking around.  A cacophony of noise pointed to much activity on the east side of Chandlers farm, by the works buildings.  Indeed I spotted a bulldozer reversing west, to just be spied from the Bailey bridge, before pushing forward east with soil.

These works buildings are scheduled to be demolished (allegedly by the end of this year), and an extra 50,000 tonnes of gravel extracted shortly after; before the whole area is restored, allegedly by the middle of next year.  I suspect this schedule will slip by a year.

I have seen Inert operate in this manner, over the past year and a bit. They flit about the site, with what appears to be no coherent plan, working on a bit, abandoning it, and then returning some time later. I'm sure there is a plan somewhere.  :-) :-) :-)

Back to my obsession: the pump. It appeared to be working on Wednesday, in that there was a reasonable flow from their drainage channels into the Blackwater. Only I couldn't tell if this was due to the pump or simply run off from the deluge we had.  By my Friday visit, the drainage channels were dry, and the pump was definitely silent.

You may, dear reader, have correctly surmised that I took a wander onto Manor farm on Friday morning. I never do this, normally, as it is dangerous with all the heavy plant trundling around.  However, I decided it was safe due to it being obvious that all activity was concentrated around the works buildings. Plus, I could return to the MGLG car park via various paths (made by animals) I know along Manor lake and the grasslands, should a vehicle appear on Manor farm.

Wildlife was a little thin on the ground on Manor farm. Not that I stayed long enough to get a really good assessment. My concern is more photography, especially flying. So unless it is floating, flying or flitting about in plain sight, I tend not to see it. I hear them more than I see them.

I did spot some Snipe on their usual haunt round Manor lake; flying off at speed before dipping back into reeds or sedge. While a couple of Buzzards soared above Chandlers farm next to the Blackwater.

MGLG around Colebrook lake was a mixed bag.  Colebrook lake (north) was a hive of activity, not least due to the gulls and tern.  Colebrook lake (south) was much, much quieter.  Most all of the birds that usually bob about this part of Colebrook lake have flown off to their breeding ground.  Still, the bright conditions on Friday morning did lend itself to a couple of good shots, even if most of the flying birds did not cooperate i.e. disappearing behind branches, flying off before I'd even got the lens cover off, etc.

A couple of photos then.  The Great Crested Grebes do tend to freak me out a little. They have red eyes. I also feel that people do not realise how colourful or exotic looking our birds can be.  Check out the iridescent plumage and head gear on the Lapwings.  The Great Crested Grebe was photographed on Colebrook lake (south) while the Lapwing were on Colebrook lake (north).

 With a headline like that how can you not read this week's 'thrilling' instalment. Our bulldozer driver has been a busy little bee, this week.  Also, it has to be said, have the lorry drivers. They have been all over the land mass and the latest infill near the pump station; well only the bulldozer was on the latter part.  Looking at the forensic evidence (i.e. caterpillar tracks in t'mud) our bulldozer driver also took a wee jaunt over to the Finch pond infill, and flirted briefly with the Longwater road entrance.

The upshot of all this activity on the land mass and around the mighty heap was that my stomp was much easier. No slogging through gooey mud, though I still had to be careful where I stepped.  There is still a lot of that grey mud the consistency of quicksand lurking around.

Infill has continued apace on the north and west shore of Cormorant lake (south), plus the east shore near the pump station.  This will continue over the coming weeks or, dare I say, months. I shall stick my neck out and say that the scrape will be a feature. Inert are taking a lot of care to infill around it.

I have mixed feelings about the scrape. One part of me wants it as large as possible, or even to have more than one scrape.  Another part of me (that part frozen to the core on a Sunday morning, stood on an exposed scrape with driving rain and biting wind, clearing weeds and shrub) wants the scrape to remain its current size.  Nah, go for a big'un - we're hard!  :-) :-) :-)

I did think of hopping over to the north embankment to take a photo of the latest infill. However, after an hour of walking around the site with the remnants of a filthy rotten cold, I decided to head home and make myself a cup of hot coffee.

Oh, the pump was silent.  Strangely, water levels were on the low side in Cormorant lake, even with spill over from Manor lake south. I suspect they will rise dramatically after storm Freya hits tomorrow morning.  That will make a mess of the mud for Monday.  It could be hard going for the bulldozer and trucks.

The erstwhile pump station bridge has taken a bit of a bashing this week. I didn't wander over to have a look see, but it did have one of its walls missing.  Very strange.

We'll kick off the piccies with my best estimation about the extent of the latest infill.  It's best guess on the drawing, partly as the google earth image was taken when water levels were much lower.  Therefore I feel Inert have possible filled in more of Cormorant lake than I have given them credit for.

Now on to wildlife; I'll talk about Skylarks in a bit.  There wasn't a huge amount around, this morning.  Again, partly due to the time of year (i.e. gearing up for breeding), partly the activity going on and partly as a lot of the birds tend to fly off to feeding grounds shortly after sunrise.  I did espy one Roe deer near the east embankment, plus something small, fast, brown and furry scurrying along side the gate at the Longwater road entrance. Possibly a rat or, due to its slenderness, a weasel.

I did spot about three Egyptian geese lurking around Cormorant lake north and Finch pond, plus the usual plethora of Canada geese and small flotilla of Tufted duck.

Now onto the Skylarks. I have heard a lot more Skylarks around Manor farm this year than I did last.  And least years I made a particular effort to listen out for them. This year there is a cacophony of Skylark trill, and I see them flitting about all over the place; not just the grasslands or Chandlers farm. I wonder if they had a successful year last year.

I also noticed, for me at least, more Mute swans around Manor farm.  Three yearlings seem to fly around together a lot. They were complemented by three adults, this morning.

There was a small flock of equally small birds that took off from the land mass near the copse. I was hoofing back to my car at the time, so it too me a while to get my camera up.  By this time the flock had flown some considerable distance. I gave it a shot or three, but wasn't too hopeful as I was trying to pick out small, fast moving birds against a busy background, where the birds themselves were pretty much the same colour as the background. Plus, as you can see from the photos this week, light conditions were pretty poor.

Anyway, getting home and cropping their fuzzy images, and consulting the RSPB pocket bird book, there is a small possibility that I saw a flock of Hawfinch.  Now don't get too excited. Remember, my bird spotting skills are second to bottom.  Have a look at the images and decide for yourself.  I thought they might have been Goldfinches, but the yellow wing flashes are absent.

I can't really call these posting mid-week specials any more seeing as here is another one so soon after the last.

The weather made amends this Wednesday: glorious sunshine and warmth! Shame it is going to end tomorrow.  Cloud and rain is forecast for my Saturday stomp.

I popped down to the nascent reserve slightly earlier than usual, this morning.  Chandlers farm was very quiet. It seemed totally deserted; possibly the guys had knocked off for a mid morning tea break.

There was a trickle of water from the out flow from the sediment settlement ponds, and the pump was quiet when I got to the Bailey bridge.  It must have been running at some point for the trickle of water into the Blackwater. I think I have an unhealthy obsession with this pump.

I could see lots of activity on Manor farm as I walked along the footpath from the Moor Green Lakes car park. At first I thought it was on the north end of the latest infill - Inert having considered the ground consolidated enough to take lorry traffic.

By the time I got to the Bailey bridge it was evident activity was concentrated around the north and east shores of the Land mass; continuing on from last week.  This is the area where large flocks (100+) of Lapwing tend to hang out.  I haven't seen them there recently.

The southern track was in use (as I surmised on Saturday) whilst the northern track along which the lorries had that long reversing to do, was blocked off near the Bailey bridge.  A bit ironic, as the deep lorry ruts leading from the Bailey bridge to the pump had been filled with some nice ballast to firm it up.  However, I suspect the lorries once again utilise this track in the near future.

Inert seem to now be concentrating on the north and east shores of the land mass aka the infill done a couple of years back. The land here is well consolidated and able to take lorry traffic- also the bulldozer driver had built a nice track for them. He was all over the place during the short time I was there. One minute down at the south of the infill, the next back up to the north end of the land mass; getting out of his cab to direct lorry traffic - seeing as he knows where he wants to work next.

It is possible that they had also added to the infill on the east shore of Cormorant lake. There were signs that further work has taken place.

Lorry numbers seemed a bit down on last week. At least three John Stacey tippers, and one each of Taurus and Inert. However, I did say it might have been tea break time.

There are an awful lot of people hoping this restoration will be finished soon. There are an equally large number of people perplexed as to what it going on - even local councillors are in the dark.  The latter is a bit surprising as most of the details are either in my blog or on the Hampshire county council planning web pages.  The fine detail may not be totally accurate, but the overall plan is. I do keep explaining to people I bump into as to what is going on.

The charge on my bridge camera's battery ran out. Luckily I was almost finished. However, I did have to switch to my DSLR. Unfortunately, even at its widest (150mm) it is a bit too much of a zoom for scenic shots.  Therefore the slide show is a bit of a mish-mash.

Wildlife wasn't totally absent from Cormorant lake - just rather sparse this morning.  Manor lake south fared much better, whilst Moor Green Lakes was heaving. Manor farm should be superb, once restoration is completed.

Anyway, some photos from this morning's jaunt - the best of which are the Great Crested Grebe having caught a fish. Also, where the Lapwing have gone may have been answered; though it must be said that the Lapwing do tend to pop over to Fleet Hill farm.

Bright and sunny, the weatherman said.  Wall to wall sunshine, was the claim. Our fickle British weather had other ideas: Fog. It was there, at 6:30am, obscuring the view from our back garden.  After a couple of mugs of coffee and a bit of breckie, I decided to chance nipping down to Manor farm. Sometimes it can be foggy at Finchampstead yet down in the valley, Manor farm would be basking in sun. Not today, unfortunately. However, it was more misty than foggy on Manor farm. I could see a darn sight further than I could at home.

Both cameras coped admirably considering the conditions. However, I have had to do a little image processing in FastStone on all the photographs.

Kicking off this week's scintillating instalment, the pump was quiet. This seems to be a regular occurrance. Working during the week and silent on weekends. Not sure why.

Inert appear to have been flitting about the south side of Manor farm this week.  Their main thrust, as revealed by my Wednesday jaunt, has been the continuing infill of Cormorant lake. The main 'middle' part has been flattened, so it no longer looks like a battlefield, and I feel it has edged northward a little.

The east side of the infill, nearest the pump, appears to have had the south shore pushed further north. The old shoreline of Cormorant lake (south) has virtually disappeared.

A lot of the latest infill seems quite well consolidated to my inexperienced wellies. Other parts, however, particularly the western side of infill are definitely boggy; more so as you get closer to the water's edge. I found it hard going over the soft, slippery mud, even when following the bulldozer tracks. It would not be safe for lorries to drive over this stuff.

Whilst freshly bulldozed soil can be very soft, as I know to my cost, I think some of this bogginess can be attributable to the type of inert material laid about a month ago. Granted we had a heck of a lot of snow and then rain, but it has been quite dry, for a while, and there is a definite different feel to both types of spoil.

The bulldozer has crushed and squished some of the mud into dirty great grey lumps of the stuff, with the consistency of quicksand. It looks like and feels like fine porridge; say Ready Brek. I avoid this stuff like the plague. It has a menacing look about it, and I'm sure it smirks at me.

As I mentioned earlier, Inert have been flitting about the site. The mound of spoil dumped near the copse has now been bulldozed into the ground. I'm not sure what it did, but the bulldozer appears to have operated all the way to the sewage works and then around the old site of the yellow bridge and next to the mighty mound produced by the boulder sorter outer.

However, some of the tracks I see do not look like they belong to our bulldozer. They appear more like earth moving lorry tracks. Shame I didn't see what it was.

The bulldozer has also created a track heading out north west parallel to the west shore of Cormorant lake, across the old infill I have been calling the land mass.  It's a curious thing, not least because it bifurcates at its northern extent. I am not sure what it is for, unless it is to allow lorries to trundle down to drop their loads further along Cormorant lake.  It felt reasonably firm under foot, so long as you stayed on it.

I've seen Inert do this before; create a track for no obvious reason. However, as I visit the site once or twice a week, I never do see what is going on, really. Instead have to infer what has happened via circumstantial evidence.

I almost didn't take my DSLR with me this morning. It was rather foggy and the wildlife have been missing of late.  In one sense I was glad I did take it with me, in another I wasn't. The low light conditions produced very grainy photos. In that respect I was surprised how well my bridge camera did. Though I only use the bridge camera for wide angle shots.

There was a large flock of Egyptian geese lurking in Cormorant lake (south). I haven't seen such large numbers for some time now. I did notice (well, hear) large numbers of Canada geese around; and did spy some in what little remains of Finch pond.

The usual assortment of Mallards and Tufted duck adorned the area, and I could hear the Teal we have had of late.

Nesting has started, as my photos of a Grey Heron carrying a twig can testify.

My greatest pleasure, and grief, was photographing Skylarks. Pleasure, because after hearing them for months now five (yes five!) of them had an aerial display over the land mass, quite close to me. They were wheeling and diving and climbing about all over the place; before descending to the ground. Grief, because the light conditions were so bad, even though they had improved considerably by 8:15 am.

I'm not sure if the Skylarks will nest on the land mass. They usually do so in the grass fields to the north of Manor lake and also to the western edge of Chandlers farm.  I hear them all the time. The land mass does, however, attract huge flocks of Lapwing and various geese.

Anyway, on with the grainy photos. One day, perhaps, I will get a clear shot of the Skylarks. Trying to pick out a small dot on a large expanse of sky it quite challenging.

There was a noticeable increase in lorry traffic on Manor farm, which appeared above what I witnessed on my Wednesday stomp last week. I've mentioned before that it is difficult to gauge exactly how many trucks there are. The blighters keep moving.  Short of standing still for a long time and noting license plate numbers, which I have no intention of doing, I have to make an educated guess.

This week events conspired to allow me to get a better figure for the number of lorries. A load of John Stacey tipper trucks formed a nice, if somewhat rowdy, queue stretching from the works (aka Bailey) bridge to the pump station. It seemed that one of their compatriots was taking rather a long time to dump his load; possibly talking to the bulldozer driver.

Anyway, the queuing drivers showed their displeasure by leaning on their horns; quite a mighty ruckus.  It sounded like the ogres in the last Shrek movie, where the ogres held their noses and pushed air out of their ears to produce a sound like blaring horns.

This ruckus did enable me to get a more accurate count of tipper lorries. There were at least eight John Stacey tippers, one Taurus tipper and one Inert grab loader. Quite the busiest I've seen it for sometime. Not to say that it hasn't been as busy of late.  Afterall, I'm not down at the site every day, and it is difficult to assess their numbers while they keep moving.

Matters should improve once the infill is firm enough for the lorries to reverse directly onto it.  There will be none of this reversing about 75 yards business. It should also help increase the pace of infill, as the bulldozer driver also does not have to reverse a long distance.

I did notice that the drivers negotiated the track between the pump station and works bridge quite gingerly. It is deeply rutted and possibly slippy.  Seems to me some hefty ballast needs to be worked into the track.  The bulldozer also seemed to find the mud heavy going. I'm sure I saw the tracks slipping a bit.

Our on off pump was on again. Should be interesting to see if it is still chugging away on Saturday.

I noticed a Grey Wagtail on the Blackwater for the past couple of weeks or so.  It would not stay still long enough for me to photograph it.  One Wednesday it did.

It landed on the Bailey bridge, not more than 15 or 20 yards from me, and stayed for a minute or two allowing me to photograph it. At one point a lorry drove over the bridge, causing it to fly off, but it was back almost instantly the lorry had passed.  A little later I managed to photograph what I believe was another Grey Wagtail, hunting on a branch in the Blackwater. I think they were a mating pair.

I also spied two Little Grebes on Manor lake (south), quietly going about their business and totally ignoring the traffic mayhem taking place a few yards from them.  Again, I fell they were a breeding pair.

Wednesday was gloriously sunny, if a touch nippy. Two further days of perfect photography conditions and then Saturday rolled in: Dark, dank, heavy, low brooding clouds, with an annoying hazy mist. Hey ho, at least it wasn't cold. At 7.5 degrees centigrade, when I set off on my morning stomp, it was positively balmy and my fingers did freeze.

My Wednesday stomp started off with a mighty traffic jam of John Stacey tipper lorries waiting to drop their loads at the new infill site. It seemed to mark an up tick in activity. I counted at least three John Stacey tipper trucks and one Inert grab loader. I'm not sure how long this increase in lorry traffic will last.

The lorries still do not drive on to the infill. It was very squidgy last week.  However, this week it seemed a lot firmer; certainly when I walked on it.  Probably helped by not having an incessant deluge, on top of snow melt.  The Blackwater was considerably lower, as a result.

The upshot of not being able to drive onto the infill, and the continuing muddiness of the site (trust me, there is still a lot of mud around the consistency of quicksand) means the lorries have to off load on their track. Consequently, the bulldozer driver has a long way to back up to the dropped loads, and a long return shunt to push soil into the lake.

I would expect the ground to firm up, over the coming days or weeks, sufficiently for lorries to drive on to the infill and get closer the shoreline. However, matters in the firming up department and safety department for plant are not helped by the intermittent pump.  It was chugging away on Wednesday, but quite silent this morning. Water levels were lower than last week, but possibly a little too high for lorries to get too close to the shoreline.

What I found interesting were the deep bulldozer tracks, created this week. Some were over a foot (30cm) deep, with two foot banking in places. This might indicate how squidgy the area was whilst the bulldozer was pushing spoil into Cormorant lake.

I must say the infill resembled a lunar landscape or pictures I've seen of the Somme. There were deep gouges and heaps of spoil. I almost wonder if the bulldozer packed up, and infill continued with a digger. Normally, the bulldozer creates a fairly flat surface.

There is a possibility that the new south shoreline of Manor lake has started to be produced. You'll see in some of the photos a very distinct terrace has been cut quite close to the south footpath. Its position, as best I can tell, is approximately where I'd expect to see it; though it isn't as wobbly as I would have thought.  Also, the whole area between the terrace edge and the old shoreline of Cormorant lake, which used to be vehicle tracks, has now been bulldozed.  However, we have seen this before.  Terraces are cut, and then filled; also areas are filled in and then scoured out.  I surmise that the latter is what we are seeing here, infill being built up and then dug out to produce the final finish level.

Which brings me to a large pile of spoil dumped just west of the south end of the copse. Does this mean that Inert will once again switch what they are doing? Will they flit over to work on finishing Finch pond? Time will tell, as they say, but it did look as if Inert were cutting another crater. This feature was to one side of the spoil.

Water was flowing from Manor lake (south) into Cormorant lake near the pump station. I'm not sure if Inert had cut through the soil bridge the formed last week or if the water worked its way through naturally.  I may take a look next week.

I could hear and see the usual plethora of activity on Chandlers farm on Wednesday.  Surprisingly, I heard what appeared to be activity on Saturday. I didn't bother crossing the works bridge to have a look see; especially if there was plant moving around.  I stuck to the vacant Manor farm part of the site.

I've reworked my progress map a little; adding some landmarks to aid you figure what I am describing. I also moved the inlet to the original drainage ditch that was dug last week. I had it too far to the north. Ironically, the inlet has been filled in.  I might have been slightly enthusiastic about the extent of the eastern edge of the infill.

On to the slide show. Once again virtually all the photos taken on Saturday had to be processed in FastStone to brighten them up.

Wildlife was decidedly absent on both my stomps. I can't say this is particularly unusual for this time of year. Although there is a lot of activity going on, the wildfowl seem fairly tolerant when Finch pond was being filled in.  In fact, they seemed to positively relish the new environments being created.

To give an idea of the wildlife you can expect to see, I now include some photos I took on my Wednesday stomp from Manor farm and Moor Green lakes.  I post them here as I continue my battle with that heinous organisation, Facebook, who now demand you input a mobile phone number to verify yourself.

Not bloody likely, matey. Partly as I don't have a mobile phone, but mainly as if I could be bothered to get one FB is not getting its number so as to bombard me with adverts; despite what they say.

When I visited Manor farm on Wednesday, I noticed that a long pile of soil heaps stretching roughly halfway up the east shore of Cormorant lake south. I did wonder, at the time, could have got access to this part of the reserve. For one, they would have to cross a drainage ditch between Cormorant lake (south) and Manor lake (south).

My Saturday visit showed that the line of soil heaps extended almost three quarters of the way along the east shore of Cormorant lake (south).

When I walked (very, very carefully) onto the latest infill I noticed that Inert had created a land bridge to block off the thin section of lake leading to the pump station. Ah ha, I thought, I can now walk from the south shore of Cormorant lake (south) onto the 'mud flats', and thence onto the North embankment via Hawthorn lake.

Nope. It transpires that the long line of soil heaps marks out the course of a new ditch that had been cut during the week by a digger.  This sort of indicates how much infill Inert hope to achieve over the next few weeks or months; breeding season not withstanding. The upshot of this new ditch is that I still have to walk around the pump station to get the mud flats from the south shore of Cormorant lake.

No, I did not propose leaping over the ditch. Although the width of water in the ditch was about 2' (60cm) wide in places, it was at the bottom of deep steep banks, which would be full of extremely soft, gooey mud considering the colossal amount of rain we have received; on top of snow melt! The amount of surface water meant I didn't want to go round to Hawthorn lake as I know I would have to cross some deep streams to get to the north embankment.

Our stirling pump was silent again. No idea why. Perhaps the leaky pipe, lack of diesel or it's knacked again. Surprisingly, water levels are comparatively low, even though they are rising fast. This could make infill tricky.  The Blackwater was running high, with all the rain and melt water. I'm not sure if its burst its banks. I didn't wander down to Moor Green Lakes.  Though in hind sight, I should have popped over to Fleet Hill farm to check the flooding there.

I quickly discovered the route taken by the digger, to get to the west edge of Cormorant lake (south) when I went around the pump station. The ditch between Cormorant lake (south) and Manor lake (south) had been partially filled in. This happens quite frequently, I've noticed over the years. When you stand on the land bridge you are struck by how much lower water levels in Cormorant lake (south) are when compared to Manor lake (south); it is some 4'-6' (1.2m - 1.8m) difference - with the latter lake being much higher.

Other than a great deal of infill taking place, I haven't really noticed anything else happening on Manor farm.  Chanlders farm was very busy on Wednesday.

Parts of the fencing bordering the south footpath of Manor farm have fallen down. One suspects that Cemex will fix these when the south footpath is converted into a bridlepath. Not that the footpath designation appears to have prevented at least one stupid horse rider to use this path.

We'll kick off the graphics part with my feeble attempt to show the extent of infill on Cormorant lake (south) - the orange bits - and the course of the new ditch. Though I think the ditch was extended between Wednesday and Saturday.

Now onto the galley proper. Light conditions were, as usual, quite bad. Exasperatingly so. Just as I had stomped to the main area for photography, a whole load of cloud arrived to obscure the sun. What little sunlight did get through, was feeble.  A large majority of the photos have been lightened in FastStone.

This can be a quiet time of year for wildlife. Matters are probably not helped with the restoration work. However, far better it progresses quickly so that the reserve can become as such.

Last year I photographed large flotillas of Tufted duck sailing around Finch pond and Cormorant lake (south). This year their numbers are much diminished, but their place have been taken by Teal.

On Wednesday, I photographed a Herring gull on the scrape. It didn't look too well. In fact it looked dead. This morning, its deceased state was confirmed. All was not bad news. The bird's carcass attracted that scavenger the Red Kite. A couple flew around me, sometimes passing within 15 or 20 feet of me. Tragically, the light just wasn't good enough to get a really good photo.