To get a good environmental balance for the reserve we need to have the grass grazed by our Shetland sheep. This keeps the grass at the right height for ground nesting birds and lets the wild flowers thrive so increasing the diversity of insects to give them a meal. So it may seem strange to see a group of volunteers removing plants from the grassland. The plant is Ragwort, and we remove it from the areas where the sheep graze as it is poisonous when eaten - it can cause liver damage. It is one of the few times we venture off the paths so it gives us a wonderful chance to see what there is, and how things are changing. Today we were on Haverton Hill and removed quite a lot but there was less than last year.
Here Adam, Josh and Jona have just loaded another bag ready for the compost heap.
We were just at the right time to see the six spot burnet moths emerge.
There are quite a few, but not as many as last year.
With the weather being warmer there are more dragonflies and damselflies.
Toby tells me this is a female black-tailed skimmer, and it can be seen flying over any of our paths.
Peter