A nice sunset last night made good of the fact that Prestwick Carr is almost totally under water. It also allowed me to add Gadwall, Coot, Little Grebe, Snipe and not so predictably Little Owl to the PC 2016 list.
The general view though is bleak although the Black headed Gulls are having a splendid time. It's the second worst I've seen the Carr flooded the last time being around 2000 when a hole opened up in the area to the bottom right of this pic and all the water went down the mine. See my other site for a pic
I rescued this caterpillar off the flood water which was curled up and barely moving yet after a minute on my hand it had recovered and wasn't too keen when I returned it to the damp habitat. Just the tip of the iceberg when you consider all the worms, grubs, beetles and even small mammals that will have perished.
Tonight the sunset view was distinctly grey but two Short eared Owls were still hunting their usual area apparently not concerned by the flood.
Isn't this going to be the norm now as they have blocked off some of the drainage channels in order to re-create the peat bog for carbon capture?
ReplyDeleteI don't know of any drains being deliberately blocked but maintenance is an issue. There is a sluice up the bridle track which annoys the farmers but they generally keep it open and in situations like this it's useless. To be fair the only damming has taken place in the wood and is very local. The EA have accepted (not that they have much control)that the Carr must flood at peak times to relieve pressure on the R Pont and subsequently R Blyth
ReplyDeleteI thought the info board at the new viewing platform says they are going to allow it to flood to recreate the peat bog.
ReplyDelete