Just over 3cm of rainfall here over the last week has been very welcome but we need an awful lot more to rescue Longis reserve from having a dry summer and possibly even dry spring. At the very time water levels are normally at their highest with parts of the reserve pond at 6ft deep and over, the current water level is so low that there is barely enough water to float a duck!
Hundreds of thousands of migrant birds are soon to begin passing through Alderney and many will have this little oasis in their ‘mind map’ as an important stopover not only for a welcome drink but also to feed on the insects, rest and roost in the reedbed. Then follows a bustling breeding season with Grebes, Rails and Warblers amongst many others breeding at this site. Hundreds of visitors and residents annually enjoy this spectacle from the comfort of our splendid Naturetrek hide, but for all this to happen there must be water.
Photos above illustrating the water level January 2022 (top pic ) against January 2021 (bottom pic). The exposed part of the same marker stick above water, circled in yellow in the 2022 pic.