Our nature reserve remains as popular as ever, with hundreds of visitors every day. We have at last a riverbank footpath which is dry enough to walk along in ordinary shoes and a boardwalk extension which allows traffic, including buggies and wheelchairs, though at the moment it looks more like a beach, as it has been finished in orange sand! We are assured it will mellow and it is a great improvement on the muddy stretch it replaced.
Water Voles have emerged from their winter burrows and have been seen cavorting along the river bank. A Mistle Thrush was seen and heard in the tall trees – perhaps they will nest with us again. Treecreepers can be seen if you watch patiently, brown as the tree trunk they are climbing, as the find insects in the crevices of the bark. Blue Tits and Robins are everywhere.
The Butterbur is now in flower – this patch was noted 400 years ago, by the eminent botanist John Ray. It has been protected by a low willow fence, as have other places along the river where new willow saplings have been planted.
The small flock of white feral geese grows ever smaller. There have been no goslings for at least three years and they are now down to five. Although one was seen preparing a nest, it is doubtful whether they can survive, given the amount of human footfall and interference. A notice asks people to avoid the end of the Triangle, in the hope that breeding will be successful this year.
Olwen Williams
Friends of Paradise Nature Reserve 