Pottering around in the reeds again

I can't resist the chance to explore wetland habitats, especially reedbeds.  There is something magical about them.  At this time of the year they seem empty of life, the golden but dead reed stems rising out of the water.  By comparison, in spring, they are filled with life.  The song of reed warbler fills the air, water rail skulk through the vegetation raising young with the odd pig-like squeal and thousands of insects emerge.

Reedbeds, like many habitats in the UK, benefit from careful management including scrub control.  Scrub is a great habitat in its own right, essential for nesting birds and providing cover in winter, but if left unchecked it can spread throughout a reedbed, eventually replacing it leaving no room for the numerous species that rely on the habitat.

Today I was at the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust's Loynton Moss nature reserve near Woodseaves to monitor the encroachment of scrub on the reedbed and bog, which is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).  Rather than use out of date aerial photographs or take a series of GPS points around the reedbed, I thought I'd embrace technology and see what the Apple App Store had to offer.  I downloaded a GPS logging walking app, designed to track your favourite walks and tell you how far you've travelled, how many calories you burnt and then share with other users.  I wasn't sure how accurate the app would be, but I thought I'd give it a go, so on when the app, hit 'Begin workout' and off I set, walking the front edge of the scrub.

As you can see from the images below, the results aren't bad and the app did track even the slightest change in my position and route.  The main challenge now is to see if I can make use of this back in the office on our mapping software.

After mapping the reedbed I checked the banks at the eastern end of the coppice to see how the snowdrops were progressing.  At first glance, the plants appeared to be just tiny shoots, only just tall enough to break the surface.  But on a more sunny aspect, a few plants have already burst in to full bloom, a sign that winter won't last forever so get out and enjoy it!  The coppice and woodland held a few birds of interest including a flock of lesser redpoll feeding in the alders and a group of 6 marsh tits busy searching through the coppice for food.  I don't think I've ever had so many birds of this species together in one go.