John Lerpiniere led an evening walk on Wednesday 1st May to look at the new Fobney Island nature reserve. The walk started from the southern end of Circuit Lane in Southcote and followed the track over the Holy Brook and River Kennet to the towpath of the Kennet & Avon Canal. A Small Tortoiseshell butterfly was basking in the evening sunshine on nettles beside the path and Blackcaps and Whitethroats were singing from the bushes. Continuing eastwards along the towpath, two Greylag Geese on the opposite bank were guarding 5 good-sized goslings. In the meadows beyond, a Fox backed down from a stand-off with 4 Canada Geese.
Work on the new Fobney Island Wetland Nature Reserve was completed in November 2012. It was a joint project between the Environment Agency, Reading Borough Council, Thames Water, and the Thames Rivers Trust to transform an area of rough grassland between the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal into a 5 hectare wetland nature reserve with riverine and floodplain habitats, pathways for public access and wildlife viewing hides. There was a Shelduck on the first pool, and on the pools beyond were a few Gadwalls and Tufted Ducks and a pair of Mallards with 2 small ducklings. A Little Ringed Plover was on the mud at the edge of the water and there were several Pied Wagtails on the bank. The walk continued to Fobney Lock, where Butterbur plants with pink flower spikes carpeted the river bank.
The return route followed the southern bank of the Kennet. New gravel beds in the river have created faster-flowing shallows, providing good spawning habitat for fish. Crowns of the willows on the south bank have been thinned to let in more light, helping river vegetation to become established and a few trees have been felled into the water to create debris features. Two Mandarin Ducks were spotted next to one of the felled willows. Continuing back along the towpath, the alarm calls of a Wren alerted the group to the presence of a Barn Owl, which had been roosting under the railway bridge. It flew off across the meadows. Finally, a bat was spotted in the gathering twilight.
Pictures by Rob Stallard