The lowering of the Loch

On sunday, me and my friend Janie had agreed to carry out some work on the reserve. We had agreed to prune back the willow tree next to the screen to allow a better view of the feeders and we also set out to work on removing some of the willow trees which were blocking the view of the loch from the screen.
When we got there, there was someone else there. It seems he's a relatively regular visitor to the site and has had some interesting sights on the reserve. It appears that earlier on in the year there was a Garganey on the loch. This is a great find and a great sighting for the reserve!
The work was carried out by myself and Janie in just over two hours on Sunday afternoon, and i have to say that the difference it makes is truly amazing. Regular visitors to the reserve should be pleased with the results!
Whilst carrying out the work on the willow, we noticed a Common Hawker Dragonfly flying over the loch. This is the first time we've seen one of these on the site, and at over four inches long, they really are stunning!
On Tuesday i started the process of lowering the water level on the loch. This is done annually to allow for the Mudwort plant to seed and establish itself. It also has the additional benefit of exposing mud which may be of interest to passage waders.
The whole process of draining the water should take approximately three days, and i hope to update this blog with photos from each day so that readers can see the difference in water levels each time. Already the spillway has run dry!
Whilst in the process of releasing the gate to lower the water in the loch, I saw approximately 100 pink-footed geese flying overhead. A sure sign that autumn is here! Another tick to the list of sightings from the reserve, too.