Inert sculpt western half of Manor lake extension. Tremendous amount of work. 12th August 202313/8/2023
This week's format follows that of last week. An initial posting, followed by a number of photo updates due to the large number of photographs I took. But first, a really good place to plonk a hide and viewing screen might be where the 'Grey box' is situated. This grey box (a transformer) is a well known landmark, and is used to direct bird watchers. I've also realised that it gives decent views over the banking separating Manor lake (mire/marsh) from the main reed beds, as the banking is actually quite low here; it's basically the bit Inert plugged. One big issue is how tall will the reeds grow? If the really tall variety, like at RSPB Leighton moss, then little will be seen of the main reed beds. If a shorter variety is used, then more will be seen of open water areas of the main reed beds - unless the intention the entire area is covered in reeds. A great shame if so. It aint 'arf boring, and not much of a community asset if people can't see anything. Note: Longwater road nature reserve was/is considered a community asset - and should be managed as such: to promote wildlife, educating people of said wildlife and conservation, and providing a green landscape for people to enjoy. I hope the grey box is retained. Though taking out its innards would be a good idea, and also making it obvious this has been done. Otherwise some thieving oik will try and steal the wires inside. A point I've made before: unless effort is made to provide an extensive stretch of pebbly/gravelly ground, the Little Ringed Plovers will no longer breed here. Which is a shame, as they do so well. Unfortunately, I noticed that Inert had scraped a great deal of the gravel and pebbles that used to cover the site from the yellow bridge eastward to almost the Bailey bridge. It was obvious from my Tuesday visit that Inert were now working on sculpting the Manor lake extension, finally. What remained to be seen was whether they would stick to their task or would this be an example of them flitting about from place to place; starting one job, working on it a bit, but taking months to complete it as they flit off to another task. I had to lift my jaw off the ground when I arrived on Saturday morning. Inert had completed a huge amount of landscaping of Manor lake extension - probably as much as 75%. It just shows, that given a decent set of plans, and the instructions to go, how much Inert can achieve in a short space of time. I bet the crew felt good about achieving so much. What have Inert done? Flattened banking that used to run along the south footpath - thus allowing people a clear view of the site. Although we could see over most of this banking during winter months, when vegetation had died down, it became almost impossibly during summer months due to said vegetation growing so tall. A wooded area near the Bailey bridge has been left, so far. It is actually a well established ecosystem, with established reeds and a thriving community of Reed Warblers. I do hope this area is retained as is. Inert plant operators have removed many spoil heaps and other large areas of spoil, which littered the area. From just shy of the yellow bridge and extending eastward to just shy of the old pump station, Inert have sculpted a series of 'scrapes' and channels and moats, quite nicely sinusoidal in nature. Unfortunately the deeper areas of water aren't that deep - in keeping with what they did with Manor lake. I would say that Manor lake extension does look a little bit more interesting, landscape wise, than Manor lake. One possible disappointment is that the south shore of Manor lake extension is, perhaps, a little further from the Blackwater valley footpath than we would of liked - from a photography point of view. On the other hand, if a bridlepath is built between the south footpath and lake then it would place bird watchers nice and close - and you can bet your bottom dollar that bird watchers will be using the bridlepath as it will be closer to Manor lake. Actually, having walked the proposed route of the bridlepath along the south shore of the current Manor lake (when contractors had come in and cleared the path, and before nettles had grown up along it) I can say bird watchers will get superb views; until any reeds grow up - hopefully they wont be the giant ones like at Leighton Moss. Inert are, sensibly, working west to east on landscaping Manor lake extension. This means that the eastern part of Manor lake extension hasn't been sculpted. Thus, the middle bit is a bit of a mess. Firstly, with much sadness, I have to report that the last remaining fragment of Cormorant lake (south) has been filled in. All rather pointless, really. Secondly, I can't really work out the structure of this middle bit, as it is all a mess, with pile of oil and random structures here and there. Thirdly, there is the matter of the curious crescent shaped mound of soil I really am at a lose what this is or how to explain its function. It isn't the usual pile of spoil Inert build. It isn't a decent piece of banking. It just looks like a ramp either a tank would drive over or a police pursuit vehicle would sit on. I can only assume that the channel from Manor lake would pass along the north edge of this crescent to join up with its corresponding name sake on the Manor lake extension. Talking about channels. It's only just dawned on me that the channel on the Manor lake extension does not hug the banking separating Manor lake and the main reed beds. Instead, it heads off inland (southward) from the sluice gate near the yellow bridge, before curving east and describing a sinusoidal route towards Manor lake. It hasn't yet joined up with the channel on Manor lake's north shore, but it was curving back towards the former location of the pump station. What I've been calling the channel on the Manor lake is on the last set of plans on the WBC planning website, only it looks like a proper lake; only it isn't as it is so shallow. Anyway, it will join up with the channel on Manor lake (which isn't on any plans), and sort of change into a biggish, shallow lake to the east of the crescent mound. The mound isn't on any plans I have. Speaking of this channel on Manor lake extension. I wanted to get to the north side of Manor lake extension, a bit between the channel and the banking), to photograph what was there. Only I had to cross the channel. Now, it wasn't at all deep, on near the crescent bank. It was barely discernable as a channel, however it was a slightly lower bit of land, with a channelish sort of shape, and water in it. To paraphrase a certain cop from a certain film...'I had to ask myself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well do I?' Would the ground be solid enough to support my weight? I took one, very careful stop, on what appeared to be slightly gravelly ground, which from experience told me the ground would be firm. Nope, my foot sank an inch into mud promptly, with very little pressure being applied by me. I backed up, and sought another spot; which I duly found and was able to cross over to the bit of land north of the channel, but south of the banking. The ground here was firm to soft going. A lot of care was taken in how I walked, backing off quickly if the ground was too boggy. It wasn't too bad, but I didn't take any chances. I had hoped to walk all the way to where the sluice gate near the yellow bridge will be installed. I was thwarted by a hidden channel, about 20m from the sluice gate hole. I might have made it across this channel, had I been wearing wellingtons. But not today, as all I had on were hiking boots. Oh, the Marsh Harrier graced me with an appearance as it flew, languidly, eastward over near the crescent ridge. It didn't seem too concerned about me. In fact, many birds weren't too bothered with me, particularly the Egyptian geese. These are very nervous birds, and normally fly off at the merest sight of me. On Saturday, several flocks stayed put, even though I was in plain sight, at one point no more than 15m from a pair. No honking or warning cries. No flying off. I can only imaging is it was because I was wearing a hi-vis vest, and only assume many birds have got used to seeing people wandering around in hi-vis clothing and leaving them alone. Anyway, I think the Marsh Harrier is an early riser, as this is the third time I have seen it flying along the south shore of the main reeds beds at roughly 6:00am to 7:00am Couldn't really sleep, last night. Finally hauled myself out of bed at 5:00am and got cracking with photo update. I got carried away with this latest tranche. Rather more photos than I had intended, but they do hang together in a sort of logical way. This is where I have my 'Dirty Harry' moment. Do I feel lucky? I had to ask myself, is the ground in front of me solid or is it going to engulf my leg up to my ankle or beyond? Fourth and final installment. Bet you're all glad to see an end to this marathon photographic update. My thought that Inert would not have done much restoration last week was proved to be correct. Though a Saturday stomp was always off the cards due to the rain. I didn't walk on Tuesday because it was raining - and carried on raining for most of the day. After the 6th wettest July since records began, it looks like August is trying to set a similar record. Wednesday, however, was a gloriously bright, sunny, almost cloudless day. A spell of fine weather for three days, will give way to yet more rain. According to a fellow MGLG volunteer, Inert went at their restoration of the Manor lake extension like the clappers from Monday of this week on. Just as well I didn't do a weekend stomp. Inert have been instructed to create features that are not on any plan of the area I've managed to obtain from WBC's planning website. Just north of the Bailey bridge, Inert have created what at first sight looks like a bank. Only it is the weirdest bank I've ever seen them create. Firstly it is quite wide, looking much wider than the rest of the banking around the site. Secondly, its vertical profile is crescent shaped. Kind of like the mobile bridges used to cross rivers in WWII. Thirdly, it looks complete and is of short length. All in all, dead curious. To the east of this odd 'bank', Inert have scraped flat a long piece of the former shore of Manor lake. Again, a very odd structure to appear in an odd place. Time, hopefully, will tell what these features are. Moving westward from the Bailey bridge, we find that Inert have finally plugged a gap in the banking between Manor lake (or Mire as I now regard it) and the Main reed bed. I think this completes the banking along this section of the site. The gap was there to facilitate drainage from the main reed beds, into Manor lake and then onto Finch pond, before exiting under Longwater road to Fleet Hill farm. A lot of the remaining bits of banking that ran alongside the south (aka Blackwater) footpath was also cleared. This banking was always terribly annoying as some of it would obscure the site, whilst summer growth of plants would grow so high as to completely hide all sight of animals and birds. The area between the plugged banking and the gap for the sluice gate has been scraped flat, with a tiny shallow indent dug near said hole for sluice gate. This was lovely, gravelly, shingle type ground loved by Little Ringed Plovers. We may well see LRPs abandon this whole area unless this environment is returned. The fellow MGLG volunteer also spotted a couple of contractors in hi-vis suits walking around the site. They were talking about installing various features like bridle paths. This is another step in the completion of Manor farm. I do find it peculiar that bridlepaths are being put right up close to the nascent reserve, particularly Manor lake (Mire). Horse riders, being atop a dirty great horse, tower above all else, and are clearly visible and intrusive to birds; thus scaring them off. Yet humans, being much lower down and less intrusive, are kept away from the edge of the nascent reserve. How does that work? And why is so much effort and money being expended on a tiny number of privileged, entitled, anachronistic horse riders? Next steps would be a car park - but probably not best to install this until an organisation is in place to manage the site. Making it bigger than the proposed 20 spaces would be a good idea. Many people would also welcome reducing the speed limit on Longwater road. Though the proposed 30 mph I've seen is probably too low. 40 mph would be a more sensible limit - especially as the majority of drivers seem to do this speed already. Readers may detect that I am slightly piqued by the infill of the established ecosystem that was once Manor lake, and the decision that its extension was to become, essentially, a boggy, marshland. My piquedness and irritation has simply increased, as the weeks have gone by, and has edged into annoyance as I view the completed re-design. On Tuesday, my mood became one of annoyance and frustration. Inert have been instructed to fill in the last remaining fragment of the once mighty Cormorant lake (south). This lake was a haven for wildlife, and the grey transformer was and still is a well known landmark from which to view the numerous variety of wildlife that used to frequent this area. This once popular lake has now been filled in, with odd fragments left as shallow reed beds. I had hoped that the final remains of the lake, which used to have the pump pontoon in it, would be spared infill. But oh no, on Tuesday, a digger driver was filling in this last bit of deep water. He was, to be honest, working exceedingly slowly. I'm not sure why. I think I could have proceeded faster with a spade and wheelbarrow. Anyway, it is highly unlikely that I will pay a site visit this weekend. Saturday is supposed to be wet. Inert do not appear to be going at this restoration at a rate. Having said this, I wouldn't be surprised if Inert ramp up their work rate, and also install the sluice gates. I've just realised a major flaw in the change of plan calling for the infill of Manor lake: Climate change. Scientists predict that British summers will get drier and hotter. Last year and this year have definitely given us a taste of this. 40 C temperatures last year, with drought conditions. A two week heat wave in late spring of of this year - leading to hose pipe bans in certain parts of England. I reckon we got really lucky with the subsequent long spell of wet weather we received. However, an El Nino year for the UK tends to result in long stretches of dry, hot weather. This means that the new Manor lake, with its marshy, tussock ground will dry out very quickly. There just isn't the depth of water required to keep this grassland (what it effectively is) wet. The original design of Manor lake, however, called for it to be a proper lake, with a proper depth of water (about 3 to 5 metres), which would have provided a good reservoir of water for the area, as well as doubling up as a good soak of run-off in periods of torrential rain. This week's update will be a little unusual. I too so many photos (165) yesterday, I need time to process them and then spread them across more than one slide show. This post will be updated over the coming week with extra photos. In the meantime, an update. We have experienced a lot of rain recently, some of it quite heavy and prolonged. Rather surprising for an El Nino year. I was expecting a long dry summer, to compound the ridiculous temperatures we got in late spring. This wet weather, combined with bulldozing of friable soil, means that mud is back on the restoration site. The going was soft to very soft in places, with very gooey, sticky surface mud, which stuck to and built up on my walking shoes. I stuck to bulldozer and digger tracks wherever possible. Overall, the ground wasn't that soft, and I only wussed out because I didn't have wellingtons on. A lot more rain is forecast for this week, which is good. The ground is still quite dry, and the rain soaks almost into it directly. There is very little standing water. Further rain would also help filling up the Manor lake infill, and will also help the reeds and trees both survive and get established. Tuesday's footpath stomp revealed a lone digger building up the west side of the banking on the north shore of Manor lake. A truly mighty structure it is. The digger driver stopped just short of the old pump station. I wonder if a sluice gate will be fitted here? After completing the banking, our digger driver then went on to dig the deeper frilly bits along and around the banking. Manor lake now has all sorts of channels and moated scrapes and wiggly bits. It all looks very pretty and interesting, but will be hidden very quickly, and I suspect will be silted up in a few years. Reed planting has finally taken place, roughly six months behind schedule. Not bad, considering Inert had to fill in Manor lake as part of a last minute change in design. What Inert have done is to cut established clumps of reeds, taken from other parts of the restoration, and dumped them onto various parts of Manor lake infill. Only in a couple of places were the clumps planted into soil. Other parts they were simply plonked on the top of the ground. Inert may go back and plant them properly, though I'm not sure they will. The unplanted clumps should get establish as they are quite large, with good root systems, and it is going to rain a lot, with no blistering temperatures. Inert have also transplanted some trees. They are looking pretty sorry for themselves, and I really don't think they will survive. I believe all the trees planted on scrapes in Finch pond were either removed or have died. Well folks, it does look as if the infill of Manor lake is almost complete. The digger driver has started work on the extension to Manor lake. He has definitely flattened pump station mound, and has begun landscaping around the old pump station. Funnily enough, this area had the softest ground. It was firm enough for me to walk on without sinking. I was just overly cautious as I didn't have wellingtons. Wildlife has returned to Manor lake with a vengeance. Though it shouldn't have been forced out in the first place. Manor lake was well established and should never have been filled in. One aspect of the original design of the site was for it to help with drainage management - which means having deep lakes to hold rain run off for subsequent slow release into the Blackwater river. On Saturday morning (5:50 am) I spotted on and over Manor lake: Marsh Harrier, Kestrel, Black headed gulls, at least five Green Sandpipers (which flew between Finch pond and Manor lake), Lapwings, and a whole load of unidentified brown bird species. Coots, Moorhens and Mallards occupied East Main reed beds aka East Fen. Finch pond and the Main reed beds had their usual population of resident birds. Now that banking has been restored, I am beginning to see more Roe deer. They had been conspicuously over the past year. A bit later than desired, the first tranche of photos. This is proving heavy work, processing all the photos I took on Saturday. I do feel, however, that it is important to reveal the underlying bones of this site before it becomes water logged. Other areas of landscaping are bold and obvious. Landscaping on the Manor lake infill is subtle and will be silted up quickly, thus the structures will be lost. My fingers are getting cramp from so much typing. Not many more photographs to process after this tranche. I think Manor lake and its extension should be renamed Manor Mire. Some parts of the infill seem higher than the land making up the peninsular; which isn't at all boggy, even the bits near the water. A defining feature of the Blackwater valley is its boggy, marshy nature. That's why there are so many drainage ditches cut into the landscape. Even our back garden has a drainage ditch going across the bottom of it. What this area does lack are large, natural lakes. Which is why I am baffled as to why Manor lake was filled in as was its extension. The idea of these lakes was as a soak for run off, particularly from the Finchampstead ridges, and then slow release into the Blackwater river. This river gets bank full very quickly after heavy rainfall, and frequently bursts its banks. Storing water in Manor lake was one way of mitigating flooding. We now reach the final installment of my marathon photography session. In addition to the landscaping of Manor lake, I've also included photos showing how nature has reclaimed Manor farm, in some cases a few months after earthworks were complete. There is no site visit this week. Rain was forecast to start at 4:00am this morning, and monsoon conditions follow throughout the day. In fact it started raining at 5:55am - which meant I would have got wet had I visited Manor farm. Inert have been busy this past week. Various pieces of fencing have been erected around the site, mainly to plug gaps that have appeared over the years. That I am aware of, fencing has been built to the west of the Bailey bridge (closing a glaring hole) and a short section near Colebrook hide. The latter fencing stretches from a wooden bridge (over the Colebrook cut) northward to plug an embarrassing gap that gave people easy access to Manor lake and Main reed beds. Though this section of fencing really needs mesh to stop dogs getting through the fencing. My Tuesday stomp revealed our bulldozer driver hard at work crafting the banking between Manor lake and the Main reed beds. He was both contouring and capping this banking. He also appears to have finished putting a capping layer of top soil on the Manor lake infill. My Saturday morning on site stomp at 6:00 am (I woke up late) revealed deeper, frilly bits along the south edge of the banking had been dug and contoured by a digger driver. Deeper bits is a misnomer, as I feel water levels will be not much more than waist deep - if that. If what we have been told is true (i.e. Manor lake was filled in to deter swimmers) then this depth of water will stop swimmers, as it isn't deep enough to have a really good swim in. It may deter yobs and lads from walking on the wetlands part of Manor lake. Most all of the mounds built between the Bailey bridge and the original site of the pump station have been flattened - presumably to build and cap the banking. There are some intriguing deeper bits cut into this area, but I can't determine if they will remain or not. I have been told that there is a meeting between all interested parties (i.e. Inert, Cemex, Wokingham Borough Council planning, Finchampstead Parish council, large conservation group, possibly Environmental Agency, etc) to establish what remaining works need be completed. Principle will be insertion of sluice gates (delayed due to possibility of Little Ringed Plovers nesting), completion of banking between Main Reed beds and what is laughingly called Manor lake, the actual completion of said lake by joining the extension with the eastern bit of Manor lake. There are numerous other frilly bits of restoration to complete. Off the top of my head I can think of the proposed bridlepath, other paths (particularly the one going along the west and north parts of the reserve), possibly more fencing, reinstating the Colebrook cut, possibly hides and viewing points, car park, etc. One word about the proposed car park I've seen in plans - 20 spaces is far too small. One big change, which local residents will be delighted with, is reducing the current speed limit along the Longwater Road from its ridiculous 60 mph to a more sensible 30 mph. Actually, I reckon 40 mph would be more sensible. The reason being that the 60 mph section is straight, which encourages drivers to speed. They will fret at 30 mph, and can barely keep to it within the sections that are currently 30 mph. One nice aspect of the works tailing off is that wildlife is coming back to Manor lake. I spotted two Green Sandpipers and any number of Lapwings on Saturday. Black headed gulls protested my presence, and I can hear loads of Reed warblers and Black caps. But these birds were always here to begin with when Manor lake was a proper lake. Finally to the gloomy news. We have been told that a certain large conservation group was going to take over management of the possible nascent Longwater Road Nature Reserve. We've now been told by Cemex that this is not the case. The conservation group is attending meetings in an advisory capacity - I thought I detected their sticky little fingerprints all over the redesign of Manor farm. Word on the footpaths (amongst walkers, birders, etc) is the gloomy prediction that the site will either be sold off to developers (who will build luxury houses for the uber rich) or to unscrupulous owners who will employ dodgy means to end up building on the site. Another rumour doing the rounds is that the original owners of the Fleet Hill farm part of the reserve want to buy it back off Cemex. I guess we can kiss goodbye to that area being a nature reserve and resource to the community. Of course, these are simply rumours and hearsay. But this is to be expected without official word from either WBC or Finchampstead Parish Council or Cemex. I did write to Cemex, some years ago, suggesting they run a publicity campaign and put up notices around the site to make people aware of what was happening and what they could expect with a future nature reserve. The suggestion fell on deaf ears. We know that even as it stands Moor Green Lakes and the nascent Longwater Road nature reserves have a national if not international repute and standing. I have met many national and international visitors stomping around viewing the huge variety of wildlife on offer. The best outcome is for a large conservation organisation (not the National Trust, I don't like their recent policies and treatment of volunteers) to take over management of the site, and to build a visitor's centre on the Longwater road. I guess the last suggestion is highly controversial, but this is a large site - I once estimated it is roughly the same size as the RSPB Leighton Moss reserve (bar the estuarine bit) - and a visitor's centre plus large organisation will attract lots of volunteers - something MGLG struggles to do. Well, we can only hope for the best, but currently there is no light at the end of the tunnel, expect the completion of restoration - much to the relief of the locals. No on site visit this weekend. Firstly, my Tuesday stomp revealed a lone bulldozer driver shoveling a skim coat of top soil on the Manor farm infill. He was working, at a very leisurely pace, on the west side of the infill. A lone heavy earth mover was bringing top soil from Chandlers farm to the bulldozer driver. Secondly, it rained heavily for almost twelve hours non-stop, yesterday; with lots of showers after the main rain band passed. Any top soil on Manor lake would be very sticky. Parts of the infill will also be very soft. I didn't fancy walking on that stuff. Thirdly, it was still a little showery this morning. Thus, with very little activity, and the prospect of photographing what I photographed last week - but now a little browner, coupled with the very wet conditions, I decided not to visit Manor farm. A feature of Inert's restoration process (which I've noticed over the years) is how they flit about the site, working on unrelated bits, while not appearing to ever finish what they started. This is anathema to an engineering/scientific mind which, as far as possible, likes to start at one end of a solution and work their way linearly to the other end. Any flitting about is minor in nature. Inert's modus operandi appears to be flit: about in a seemingly random nature, and via a process of Brownian motion, aided by a gentle breeze, meander towards a conclusion; with many an ox-bow lake of inexplicable construction and activity on the way. Thus we find Inert switching restoration to Chandlers farm from at least Wednesday onward. Their capping of topsoil on Manor lake appears patchy and incomplete. One wonders if they were even supposed add a capping layer. It is, as the Inert site manager said, a skim layer. Perhaps no more than 6 inches deep. This in stark contrast to the 15 to 18 inches they put on the middle section of the site. I also noticed that the soil they used was inferior to what they used on the middle section of the site. This is hardly surprising as soil from the embankments were used for the middle section. The embankment soil was scraped off the site to expose gravel beds, and has matured nicely over the years. It really is excellent loam type soil, with a lot of humus in it. I had difficulty trying to work out what the digger did on the southwest corner of the east part of Manor lake. The water didn't look particularly deep, and be shoreline didn't look particularly worked on. Very curious. The rest of the site looked untouched. Of course, there could be any number of reasons for this hiatus in restoration. Inert may have had an unexpected delivery of stuff or they may have had to ship stuff out to another site. Perhaps there was a last minute change in plan. Or perhaps Inert got bored working on Manor farm. Alternatively, they might have decided to wait for the results of a meeting at the end of this month with all interested parties to determine next steps. Breeding should normally have stopped by the end of this month, even of LRPs. In fact, it is possible for some LRPs to be migrating back to their place of origin. Thus, Inert can crack on with the installation of the sluice gates, and maybe their plan is to coordinate this with the major landscaping left to complete. Who knows. I certainly never fathomed out their operating methods. Reasons for filling in Manor lake, part 1. Plus Black-tailed Godwits on Manor farm. 5th July 20235/7/2023
I met the Inert site manager, yesterday, who was walking the boundary (again) with a colleague to assess fencing requirements (again). We had a long chat, not unusual as he seems to like chatting with all and sundry he meets. Basically, he has been told that the reason for filling in Manor lake and not extending it as a deep lake westward is that the organisation who will be managing Longwater Road Nature Reserve did not want the liability of maintaining Manor lake. Why? Well, because so many kids swim in it. Hmmm. I smell a rat. Someone is being "economical with the truth" here. Extrapolating, this should also mean that all the lakes should be filled in on Fleet Hill farm, Moor Green Lakes nature reserve, Horseshoe lake, the nearby fisheries, etc. In fact every lake needs to be filled in, if this were true e.g. the lakes on Dinton pastures, California country park (which is full of holidaying kids, in a heavily populated area), Fleet ponds, etc, etc, etc. I suspect that the reason for filling in Manor lake (and I believe the established lake on Chandlers farm) is the management organisation has a different wildlife agenda to the MGLG members who first drew up the site plans, many decades ago. I would hope that the management organisation will keep areas of Manor farm as rough scrubby land (suitable for the likes of Willow tit and Lapwing) and also keep tracts of gravelly land suitable for the likes of Little Ringed Plovers (LRPs). See slideshow below. As suspected (and suggested on last weekend's update) Inert were putting down a capping layer of top soil onto Manor lake. The site manager claim they had stuff left over, in the form of mighty mounds on Chandlers farm, and that the management organisation gleefully took up the offer of using this soil to skim the infill on Manor lake. Hmmm, more deep suspicion on my part. He did say that a capping layer would not be put on the western part Manor lake aka its extension. This is superb news as it might mean that the management organisation plans to keep this area gravelly, pebbly and stoney, which is superb for Little Ringed Plovers. However, maintaining his environment will be tricky - lots of weeding - unless the management organisation has other means (e.g. safe weedkiller/suppressant, flame throwers - I kid you not - etc.) I couldn't see, from the south footpath, whether my supposed scrapes were being retained or if the capping layer would obliterate them. The Inert site manager expects work on Manor lake (east) to be completed in a couple of weeks - which is what I had hoped for optimistically. There was a lot of fettling with Finch pond over the course of a few weeks, with a fair amount of going over and reshaping parts already completed - possibly due to last minute changes in design or correcting misunderstanding in the rather vague plans. Also, as I said in last week's somewhat moribund column, Inert are now working on the frilly bits of the design i.e. bridlepath, fencing, I guess removing the remaining banking along the south footpath between the Bailey bridge and yellow bridge, etc. Oh, and installing the sluice gates, once given the all clear by the 'ecology' team, which as far as I can see, consists of MGLG members and volunteers reporting on breeding birds in the work zone. Inert will then turn the focus on completing Chandlers farm; which I know nothing of except that the design here has changed, with the established lake and eco-system being filled in and destroyed. A lot of birds used the lake on the north west corner of Chandlers farm, I reckon as it was undisturbed. I used to hear a lot of birds landing in it or taking off from it. More good news. There were four Black-tailed Godwits feeding on the Main Reed beds. I didn't have a clue what they were, but I followed my usual strategy of photographing anything unusual and then going home to identify them. I also didn't realise that they were one of the species targeted in the RSPB's 'Back from the brink' project. Well, if these birds remain here, then this nascent reserve will have helped in their recovery. There were also four LRPs running and flying around a gravel bar in the middle of the Main reed beds. No doubts part of this year's very successful breeding. Long may this continue. I didn't see the Marsh harrier, this week, though it has been around. I managed some rather vague shots last week, as the beastie flew around the field to the north of the fens (aka east Main reed bed). As for this week, the weather gods frowned upon me. Overcast conditions, bright water back lighting images, meant for poor photographs. Indeed, I stopped photography and headed home when it started raining. Though a quick side jaunt to Colebrook hide allowed me to photograph a LRP and common Sandpiper, before a rapid retreat to the MGLG car park as the rains set in. Well folks. hopefully in a couple or three months Manor farm restoration will be completed, and I will be out of a job. It's been quite a journey - thankfully, quite short for me. I think I would have given up the will to live, had I started documenting the restoration process way back when it started. There have been many delays and extensions, pushing back the finish date by many years if not a decade or so. The slideshow will contain photos of LRPs, Black-tailed Godwits and restoration work, along with an LRP on MGL. I'm too lazy to separate out the restoration work into a slideshow of its own. The last remaining bits of open water have now been filled in. Manor lake is now not much more than a village pond. Yet more stuff was trucked into Manor lake over the past week, and some is piled up ready for infill. I can't really see where this stuff could go, as there is very little open water left, and what is left is extremely shallow. Manor lake used to be an established eco-system which hosted a large population of fish, along with amphibians and invertebrates, which in turn supported a large population of wild fowl (particularly Little and Great Crested Grebes) and mammals. Well, these have all disappeared. What is left is a marshy area of tussocky grassland. Those who redesigned this lake seem unaware that the whole area suffers from this type of land - one reason for all the drainage ditches. What Manor lake was designed for was to act as a soak area for excess rainwater to collect in. Not any more it wont. We'll get runoff immediately into Blackwater river, causing flooding down stream. The only positive thought is that there isn't much landscaping left to do, thus the end is in sight - possibly another month. Inert and/or other Cemex appointed contractors then have all the frilly bits to complete e.g. path laying, fence building, yet more reed planting in shallow water that already has established reed. Oh, the sluice gate or gates need to be fitted (one the Little Ringed Plovers have finished breeding) and the Colebrook cut can be reestablished. Dismay, bewilderment and anger. Infill of Manor lake reaching end. Pump removed. 24th June 202324/6/2023
Extraordinary events unfold in Russia with lightning speed. Prigozhin has rebelled against Putin and 'invaded' Russia from Ukraine. Effectively a coup attempt in every way except name. Momentous times. Back to our main feature. I've spoken to a number of people about the infill of Manor lake. One of these people's was part of the original design team that produced the plans for the restoration of Manor farm. She and others have confirmed what I have been saying all along: Manor lake should not have been filled in. Instead it should have been extended west to form one long lake that almost reaches the copse. What is happening is nothing more than environmental vandalism, the destruction of a thriving and established eco-system. I have no idea how this got signed off, despite ecological surveys which the Inert site manager claims have taken place. People are dismayed that the restoration isn't complete. It should have been so since last year. They are bewildered as to why Manor lake has been filled in, and angered that it has been filled in. The creation of yet more marsh land is not what we really need, seeing as the whole area is pretty much a marsh, with lots of low lying wetlands, crisscrossed with a myriad of drainage ditches. Anyway, despite this, the end is FINALLY in sight. As I said three weeks ago, Inert have started to form the new shallow, featureless Manor lake by flattening all the stuff they had built up over the last year or so. However, this is not to say that Inert have stopped filling in what little remains of the deeper areas of Manor lake. Oh, no, not by a long shot. I saw yet more stuff being brought in, yes in, to the site on Tuesday! Even when Inert have loads of piles of the stuff lying around. Our long serving, faithful pump has been removed, and the wide channel serving as drainage has been filled in, sadly. Photos are a bit murky as I was onsite at 5:30am this morning. |
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November 2025
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