Work switches to north end of Land mass. 27th Feb 2019

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.