Monday 10 May

The Silbe Nature Reserve is one of La Société’s most tranquil reserves, nestling in a wooded valley in St Peter.

Today was different. Environment Guernsey were out in force, showing off their very smart new van with logo, together with members of the Reserves Committee, armed with shovels, wheelbarrow, bucket, rope, pruning saw, secateurs, drain rods and a plan.

Reserves need managing. They may look as though they are simply allowed to go wild, but they need attention. The problem with the Silbe Reserve has been the stream which flows through the valley, on to National Trust property at the bottom of La Quanteraine and down to a pumping station in the aptly-named lanes La Rue à L’Eau and La Rue du Douit au Moulin before coming out into Rocquaine Bay.

The Silbe has a pond at the bottom. Originally, there was a concrete chamber where water was taken under a sluice gate into an underground pipe away from the pond. Over years the chamber has filled with mud and silt and the water cut its own way to the side and on into the pond. The result is a pond that is very full of silt which has little oxygen and a habitat that is poor for wildlife.

First, the large grill over the chamber had to come off. It’s great at stopping broken branches from blocking the underground channel but useless at stopping the silt.

The chamber and culvert leading out of it were so blocked, the water changed course.

Next it was shovels to the fore as Dan and Steve cleared the chamber – it went down over four feet.

With the chamber cleared, a channel was dug so the water would flow back into its original course. At this point, my phone died which was extremely annoying. Maybe I shouldn’t have taken a couple of videos of the valley and two sound recordings of Blackcap. So…no more photos but the channel worked and the stream was soon flowing through the chamber with suitable roars and gurgles. Tranquility returned to the valley this afternoon as we packed up – but not for long. Rather like Fantastic Mr Fox, the machinery when it comes will be noisy and disruptive, but at least we’re on the side of wildlife.

The work to return it to its original course is only temporary and will need to be made good. It also means that work can start on removing the silt and sludge from the pond and restoring its habitat. It’s a big job and getting machinery in there will be a challenge – that’s putting it mildly – but the aim is to restore and encourage biodiversity.

Species seen today included: Buzzard (mobbed by Herring Gulls), Grey Wagtail, Long-tailed Tits, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Great Tit, Blue Tit and Blackbird.

Also seen was a Painted Lady. The photo is a bit of a cheat as I took it in my garden back in 2016. Interestingly, several were sighted in Jersey and Alderney today. There are irruptions (very large numbers) of these migratory butterflies in some years, so it’s worth keeping an eye out for them.

For the record, I had no idea what I was signing up for when I agreed to go on Reserves Committee. No, I didn’t help with the shovelling but I did help to clear the arisings as Jamie judicially pruned some of the Willow! Next working party will be the invasive German Ivy at our Rue de Bergers Reserve later in the month. Before that, I’m off to Alderney (my first visit since 1977) for a few days later this week at the Bird Observatory, where I hope to do some more ringing with the guidance of John Horton.