The Massive Marshian stomp

Well, what a day.

There was a huge crowd of people gathered next to the marsh by 10am, some I knew, some I hadn’t seen for years and some I’d not met before.

All had arrived to help improve the marshes for wildlife. That in itself was heartening, that so many people care at least as much as I do.

Only a small number of those had been to the marsh before, and it was an impressive sight, with lots of birds in the bright winter sunshine. It was bleak but bursting with life and after a few moments watching the birds and chatting we set to work.

Half the group went on to the marshes and worked to the left and the other half went the right. As we started a group joined us and although I was busy stomping the vegetation I bumped into lots more people who’d joined us even later.

Richard went on the marsh first and a great swirl of birds, first the gulls then the many types of ducks, followed by 15 or so snipe.

It was sunny but cold and windy, not the storm that was forecast. It wasn’t long before someone’s feet got wet and they had to leave. It was too cold to keep going once wet.

Yet more people arrived and soon a huge area was flattened. Maybe 10 times as much as we had ever cleared before.

This trampled marsh is going to provide feeding opportunities for a wider range of birds than the adjacent areas which nature is reclaiming. They too will hold birds, just different ones.

After an hour or so we started to pack up. Sadly at this point I realised I had lost my phone. It had fallen in to the marsh presumably lost for ever. We did try a search, we did try ringing it, and I did go through my pockets many times. Later that day I got my old phone and was able to use that to locate it. It seemed to be in Whitley, a mile away!

As I left to go home I walked back the way I’d come and my dog, who was on a lead, spotted a pheasant and disappeared after it. Sadly I had let go the other end of the lead and she vanished with it flapping along behind. She has done this before, and I have a tracker on her colllar so I can track her down. Only I need my phone to access it. And that was at the bottom of the marsh. I made my way home across the marshes but there was no sign of her. Once home I got the old phone and connected to the app, and set off to look for her, and there she was, on the doorstep trailing her muddy lead.

So once I’d got her back I went back to the marsh to see if my old phone could find my newer one. Despite standing almost exactly where I thought I’d dropped it, it was still showing a mile away. Once it got dark I gave up and went to see if the phone was where it showed up to be but I couldn’t find it. So I spent the rest of the evening trying to make sure everything on my phone was secure and all the housekeeping that goes with losing a phone. Not that I’ve ever had to do anything like that before!

I did get the opportunity to see the marsh as the sun went down and the birds were coming back.

The following day I headed back to the marsh to meet our MP Matt Rodda and ward councillor Paul Gittings. They allowed me the chance to show off how incredible our marshes are, and they weren’t disappointed. From someone who goes over there a lot it’s hard to see it from the eyes of someone who’s never been before. However they now have a bit more of a grasp on what’s possible and they indicated a willingness indeed an enthusiasm for what the marshes could deliver.

Of course losing my phone also meant I lost all the photos I took on the day and I’m very grateful to Suz for the photos I used to illustrate what a great day it was.

O