High Batts Nature Reserve
A hardcore/elite group of volunteers turned out on a cold and foggy morning to tackle a variety of jobs. The tasks included tree-guard collecting, pollarding of trees, building screens by a hide, and preparing a wall for re-pointing (pictured above).
Tasks on the last Muck-In Morning of 2021 included removing tree guards on Pennypot, patch repairs to the access track, work on bee hotels, and pollarding trees next to the ride. Claire Slator provided a delicious chili lunch, as a
This fox was seen swimming in the river Ure at High Batts on Friday 12th November 2021 by eagle-eyed member Eric Ward. The High Batts lifebuoy rings were not required.
There was a good turnout for the Muck-In Morning on 6th November. The first rather surprising task was herding sheep that had escaped from their pen onto the Reserve. They were successfully coralled. Then the volunteers’ attention turned to raking
Fourteen members came to the Muck-In Morning on 23rd October 2021. Some are pictured above, watching large flocks of lapwings. Tasks tackled included: hay-raking on the track in Pennycroft and in the Reserve mending potholes in the track leading to
At the Muck-In Morning on 11th September 2021, the volunteers raked cut grass in the Pennycroft area. It was then forked up into the High Batts dumper truck and taken off to be composted. There are several reasons for cutting
From 19th July 2021, Covid rules have been relaxed, but as infections are increasing, the government has urged caution. Because of this, at High Batts we will retain rules about the number of people allowed in the hides at any
A team of fifteen motivated volunteers turned out for a Balsam Bashing themed Muck-In Morning on Saturday 26th June 2021. In reality, the balsam is pulled up by its roots rather than bashed. Pulling it up is likely to be
Our sincere apologies to those members who visited the Reserve following the promised opening of the hides on Monday 17th May, only to find them inaccessible. It was simply human error – we cannot blame the gremlins – which meant
A recent article in Inkcap Journal explores underwater recordings as a non-invasive way of measuring pond diversity. Bristol-based freshwater ecology scientist Jack Greenhalgh has been practising ecoacoustics in a pond in suburban Bristol. He uses a hydrophone to assess the