Wiltshire reserve digs deep for wildlife

01/12/2011 14:05:47

Transforming field into bird sanctuary - in just three months

December 2011: A nature reserve just outside Salisbury, Langford Lakes Nature Reserve, is to undergo a transformation, creating a rustling reed bed full of waterways and wet areas to attract more wild life.

The work, which is already underway, will improve a site already important to resident and migratory birds, according to Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.

Creating a wide variety of habitats
A 25-acre meadow is being dug to create two complex trench systems, a large pool with a bird hide and numerous scrapes - areas of shallow water and marshland. The shores of the existing lakes will be recontoured using the 30,000 cubic metres of earth that is being shifted out of the field.

'All of this will vastly increase the variety of different habitats at the reserve so that a far wider range of wildlife will be able to use them,' explains warden Chris Riley.

‘We aim to complete the work in three months so that we can start planting the reeds in spring. Fortunately for the heavy machines the ground water levels are low, but transporting the earth is still a pretty sticky business through all the mud.'

Reed beds are dying out – along with the wildlife that lives in them

He added: ‘We've now hit the gravel beds, which was bound to happen as the existing lakes were created out of former gravel pits. This does make it a bit tricky to get the profiling of the ditch sides right, but the upside is that it is easier to deposit around the site. The soft peaty soil we have dug up so far will later be used to top the gravel.' 

A NEW LANDSCAPE: The diggers move in at Langford Lakes. Picture: Ryan Tabor / WWT

Once grown as a resource for roof thatching, reed beds are dying out along with the industry that helped them flourish. As they disappear, so too does the wildlife that lives in them. Reed beds are now included in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (a blueprint for restoring wildlife) as a priority habitat, so it is vitally important to expand them wherever suitable.

The field was acquired by the trust in 2008 but had little wildlife value. Once the work is complete however, the changes will bring in many more wetland bird species.

‘We're already seeing lots more migrating waders coming in to take advantage of the bare ground - birds like dunlin, redshank and lapwing like to poke about in the mud for food,' says Chris.