January 2023

I did the monthly bird count on the 13th. There were two Little egrets down the south arm of the lake, in the usual place. It may not be too long before this species tries to breed, if the All England will just spare the trees it favours. There was a pair of Grey herons at last year's nest on the island and another bird perched up further north in another tree. It is apparent that we now have a heronry on the island, albeit a small one. Cormorants have taken to roosting in the trees around the lake edge also and doubtless will begin to breed if they are allowed to do so. This is the peak season for Black-headed gulls and the mild wet winter means that they have ample food on the Great Field and around the lake. The 375 birds was the third highest January count over the 35-year study. Jackdaw numbers remain high, the 70 birds being very much higher than any previous January count. The two young swans that survived the bird 'flu were still with their parents, but it's around this time that they are likely to be seen off. Song thrushes were singing in both woodlands and also on the railway embankment near to the beach volleyball. Two Great-spotted woodpeckers were seen in Horse Close Wood and they were drumming.

Leaf fall was largely over, certainly for the dominant Oak and Ash in the woodlands. Elder, however, was showing new growth. As is usual in the winter, the Mahonia by the Revelstoke Road entrance made a good show of yellow flowers against the dark green leaves. Hazel catkins were out in the woods and on the railway embankment. Ivy was in fruit and there was a small party of the winter-visiting thrush, the Redwing, in Horse Close Wood taking advantage of this, but neither the usual Woodpigeons and Blackbirds were seen on the Ivy.

Fishermen were active on the newly vacated southern part of the golf course, but there is no sign that the All England are meeting their obligation to develop a walkway around the lake, as they should now that golf has ceased.

Maintenance work has been undertaken on the new reaches of the brook beginning just through the All England fence and extending right to the old course of the brook east of the cafe. The coir rolls have been restored and pegged more firmly and a few new ones installed down to beyond the toilet block. The steep part of the brook has had wooden mini-weirs added to slow flood flows. It remains to be seen if this will prevent the erosion resulting from high flows. I still consider that this is a design fault and that erosion will return. There were two operatives clearing leaves from the brook and grilles, but it was clear that recent levels near the new grilles were considerably higher. The risk of flooding from blocked grilles remains high and the labour cost of clearing autumn leaves the whole length of the brook must be considerable. I understand that the new grilles at each end of the pipe under the path near the cafe are there to prevent access. It seems to me that the risk of injury from kids accessing the very wide pipe is minimal, but I expect that the engineers who designed the new works had reason to think different. To lessen the flow down the sinuous part of the brook in the crazy golf area, a wall of stones has been added to the junction between the new and old courses of the brook to direct normal flows mainly into the old pipes under the cafe. Of course, these, being small diameter and not protected with a grille, used to block regularly. When not blocked, however, they surely serve to direct most flow the old way, leaving the new part of the brook mainly for flood flows.