The Natural LevelIssue No.9 December 2016
A newsletter for members & staff of the Drainage Boards of the Middle LevelIDBs Biodiversity Action Plan Partnership and others with an interest in wildlife in and aroundwaterways
Kingfishers doing well
Kingfishers are continuing to thrivethroughout the waterways of the Middle Level system. Breeding pairs have used at least14 of the 84 sites created at pumping stations and bridges where156 holes have been drilled as potential nesting opportunities for them.
It is not just kingfishers that are taking advantage of the opportunities that holes drilled at pumping stations present. Wrens have managed to squeeze their nests into the 60mm diameter tunnels at five sites and a pair of sand martins, birds that usually seek a sandy cliff to dig a nesting tunnel as part of a colony, found one of the drilled holes to their liking and raised a brood in 2016 in Ramsey IDB district.
Aquatic Plants Identification Workshops a success at Haddenham
Two very successful training workshop days on Identifying Aquatic Plants of Fenland Drains were held in conjunction with Haddenham Level Drainage Commissioners and the Ouse Washes Landscape Partnership (funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund) at Haddenham on 20th and 21st July.
Over 100 attendees from nearly 30 different organisations were given expert guidance on the identification of common, scarce and invasive non-native species by experienced Fenland botanist Jonathan Graham. This included many projected images, followed by the examination of freshly collected specimens in trays at the venue. The workshop attendees were then guided on field trips in the Haddenham Level District to view an excellent selection of water plants in Board drains, many of which are County Wildlife Sites for their botanical interest. A link to a previous workshop presentation and survey reports of IDB drains is available here
IDB Biodiversity Action Plan Partnership meeting 2016
The seventh annual meeting of the Middle Level IDBs BAP Partnership was held on 7th December 2016. Seventy attendees enjoyed presentations on topics relating to local drainage matters, ably chaired by MLC Chairman Marc Heading.
Ruth Hawksleypresented findings from three surveys of water vole distribution in Ransonmoor and Curf Fen Drainage Districts carried out since 2005. A key fact was that ditch maintenance does not have a significant effect on water vole populations, and the best ditches were cleansed within the past 4 years.
Next,Kelvin German showed examples of wetland sites he had created at several Fenland locations. Projects attracted Stewardship funding that had been negotiated with the land owners through support fromNigel Russell at Natural England.
Good communications throughout a project is often the key to success. Kelvin showed how by maintaining regular contact and having a flexible approach when issues arose he wasable to achieve the desired designs within the project budgets.
If you are thinking about a wetland project contact Nigel at . Also see the item on New Biodiversity Action Plan targets below.
Hilary Conlan,PhD student at Anglia Ruskin University then gave a very insightful presentation on her study of pollinatorsand the opportunities different types of fenland ditch margins present to them beside Manea and Welney District Drainage Commissioners drains. Several interesting initial findings were revealedsuch as - Wide access margins provide more flowering opportunities in the early season - April and May.Also, narrow ditches with minimum margins that do not get cut until after harvest provide the flowers pollinators seek from mid-June onwards. And the addition of white clover to drain banks could provide long season nectar sources.
After a presentation on New Biodiversity Action Plan targets by myself (see below), the final presentation (with an introduction by Martin Redding) was given by Nicola Baker,a PhD researcher from Hull International Fisheries Institute (HIFI). Sheis part of a team carrying out research on Fenland waterways into the behaviour of eels on approach and upon reaching pumping stations during the downstream spawning migration. The study aims to understand the impact that these structures have on the complex life cycle of eels and ultimately to improve passage of eels. Her presentation outlined the work that has been carried out, mainly in the Witham 4th area.Analysis is currently underway on similar findings from the Middle Level catchment which was also studied last winter. There is a pressing need for further research work that will give guidance on the design of cost-effective solutions to enable silver eels on return migration to get safely past pumping stations that do not have fish-friendly pumps.
To enjoy more intriguing presentations, put the date of next year’s Middle Level IDBs BAP Partnership meeting in your diary for Wednesday 6th December 2017. Booking is essential, see the contact details on the last page.
New Biodiversity Action Plan targets funding bid
The Biodiversity Action Plan targets achieved by the Drainage Boards in the Middle Level IDBs BAP Partnership are impressive – currently 92 barn owl boxes provided, 82 bat boxes installed, 84 kingfisher sites created, 148 black poplars planted and 80 otter holts constructed. Plans for new actions that will benefit wildlife further in and around IDB drains over the next five years are being considered.
An action that not only benefits wildlife but also improves the stability and erosion protection of drain edges is the creation of small, flat berms just above summer water levels. When a flat shelf has got good vegetation cover, such as sedges, both the roots and the leaves give binding strength and erosion protection to the venerable soft margin of the drain. The shelf need not be particularly wide, 30 to 50 centimetres is enough to provide a flat base for good vegetation growth.
If sedge plugs are planted their root system is well suited to binding the soil and providing a geo-stabilising mat that naturally regenerates. The leaves of established sedge bend downwards in the winter and provide a curtain of vegetation that protects the soil at the water margin from erosion.
Other actions to benefit water-loving species that are being considered are the creation of wetland or pond sites adjacent to drains. Shallow water sites are some of the most valuable habitats to create but can also be some of the most difficult to maintain. Because of their generations of experience of managing water, IDBs working with willing landowners have the potential to create small but important wetland stepping stones in their Districts. The design and size of each potential wet site will depend on the opportunities that the individual location presents.
Of course the first question that any board member will ask is ‘How much is it going to cost?’ We are working with Cambridgeshire ACRE, the team that successfully put together the Heritage Lottery Fund bid that created the Ouse Washes Landscape Partnership.
Under the working title ‘Giving Nature an Edge’ the creation of shelves and shallow water features at and near drain margins will form an crucial element in the bid, within a portfolio of projects aiming to strengthen the natural heritage of the Fenland area with an associated outreach programme to local communities. This will help to improve the understanding of the importance of IDB’s (and others) land and water management that is essential in the Fens and underpins biodiversity improvement work in the area. This will be another major funding bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund, put together – with Cambridgeshire ACRE again taking the lead - by a wide partnership of organisations. The aim is to put in an outline bid application in spring 2017.
If a bid for funds to support habitat creation on Board drains is successful it will provide opportunities for the creation of many connectivestepping stones throughout Middle Level Districts and the enhancement of many drain edges to provide optimum habitat for water voles, invertebrates and plants that attract pollinators, among many others, while stabilising and protecting vulnerable bank margins.We will need to involvemembers of our local communities to help with surveying, recording and reporting changes at new sites, as well as monitoring successes at our existing provision of barn owl boxes, bat boxes and kingfisher sites, etcetera. These volunteers will require training by experts in the skills necessary to carry out checks safely and correctly, which the bid will also cover.
We would currently like to hear from anyone with an interest in this sort of habitat creation, especially land owners adjacent to IDB drains. It will be targeted towards projects that Drainage Boards can assist with. An early expression of interest, without obligation, will help shape the funding bid and give a better chance of a successful bid. Please contact me directly, details below.
Bats using morebat boxes
It has been very pleasing to find that bats are continuing to use more of the 82 boxes we have installed at pumping stations and other sites. Seventeen of the boxes have been used by bats so far and wrens or blue tits have managed to squeeze into a further three. Hornets built a nest in one box, but eventually left and it has now been adopted by bats.
Contact details
As always, I am keen to hear of any interesting sightings of wildlife or other reports from the Middle Level area. If you have any information that might be of interest for future newsletters, please contact me –
Cliff Carson, Environmental Officer, MLC Offices, 85 Whittlesey Road, March. PE15 0AH
Direct line 01354 602965 Mobile 07765 597775 Email:
Web site: Photographs - Cliff Carson.
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