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| Wildlife & Conservation - Conservation |
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All the land around the lake is managed to benefit wildlife and nature trails and bird hides are provided by Bristol water to allow people to enjoy the birds, animals and flowers. The Lake is classified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Special Protection Area (SPA).
A special area at the southern end is kept as a nature reserve and here the Company and Avon Wildlife Trust have used excavators to reshape the shoreline, create islands and make channels in the reed beds. The shoreline has been changed most in Herriotts pool, where lagoons and bays provide secluded shallows, ideal places for ducklings and moorhens to feed and shelter.
The islands provide refuges where many water birds roost and are also favoured by ground nesting ducks since they offer eggs and young some protection from foxes.
When lake levels fall, small dams at the mouths of reed bed channels hold back water and keep neighbouring areas wet for the benefit of snails and aquatic insects through the dry autumn. The channels also extend the length of reed bed edge- the bit most useful to coots, grebes and ducks.
The woods around the lake were planted in the 1950s and over the years have been thinned to allow the best trees to grow to maturity. This thinning also allows more light to reach the ground and woodland flowers to flourish. Bushes and bramble grow at the edges and this increases the diversity of the habitat. To make up for a lack of suitable tree holes - most of the trees are still young- Bristol Water has put up hundreds of bird nesting boxes and bat boxes. Barn owls, kestrels and most types of tits use these boxes regularly and several of the 8 species of bat at Chew use their boxes as summer roosts. The tallest nest we have made is the 9m high osprey nest platform at the back of Herriotts pool.
The return of Otters to Chew, after an absence of 30 years, is very welcome. Bristol water supported a project to help this recovery and has built several otter holts to provide shelter and perhaps even a place where cubs may be raised in future.
To find out more on conservation at the lake as well as our other sites go to the environment section of this web site. |
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