As spring rolls around it always gets busier around the reserves, with more people visiting in the warmer weather and more birds and other animals gearing up for the breeding season. With the reserves team getting out and about to survey the wildlife, and more of you visiting to bump into I’m sure we will meet a lot of new faces in the coming weeks.
And we will be new faces too as the reserves team at Carlton Marshes gained two new members at the end of last year. My name is Lewis Yates and I am the new Warden for the Broads Area Reserves, and we have a new Assistant Warden in Gavin Durrant (a long time volunteer for the Trust).
Just as a quick little introduction to myself, I have worked for a few branches of The Wildlife Trusts and have spent seasons working in the woods of Kent, counting puffins on Pembrokeshire sea cliffs and counting mushrooms in fields in the Midlands. But, having grown up around the Romney Marshes, I am glad to have returned to my wetland roots and am loving the time spent around (and sometimes in!) ditches and reedbeds.
I will let Gavin introduce himself properly in another post, but many regulars to Carlton Marshes will recognise him as he has volunteered here for several years and often posts fantastic pictures online of our more treasured wildlife.
If you see either of us around feel free to stop and chat and we’ll hopefully be able to point you in the right direction or show you something new on the reserve.
As for the new season, the first of March marked meteorological spring commencing and we have already had a few fine days where birds have been singing out loud to welcome in the change. Here on the reserve we have heard plenty of skylark staking claims to their territories and Cetti’s warbler calls exploding from the reedbeds. It won’t be long before they are joined by plenty more species singing and we wardens are up at the crack of dawn to record our breeding birds. Our wildlife guides at the visitor centre and around the trails will be more than happy to let you know what is showing well on the reserve, and we always welcome your sightings as we can’t be everywhere at once!
