For the first time, nine ospreys were spotted resting and feeding at Foulshaw Moss Nature Reserve, near Witherslack, at the end of August. This is a sure sign that Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s restoration work there is bringing wetland birds back to south Cumbria.

The first phase of damming and re-wetting of the main bog area at Foulshaw Moss is complete after many years of restoration work and the results are already beginning to show. Bog mosses, Sphagnum spp, are beginning to re-colonise the bog surface and other bog vegetation has started to regenerate. Because there is now a huge amount of water and some deep ditches, the open area of bog is no longer accessible to the general public. A viewing platform has been erected at the end of the track that leads from the entrance to the nature reserve. This provides a fabulous vista over the whole bog and gives some idea of the amount of work that has gone into its restoration. It is the perfect vantage point to spot birds feeding over the bog and glimpse red deer as they venture out of the woodland to graze.

Three fields at Ulpha, to the south of the main bog, have also been wetted up, with extensive ditch blocking and a series of bunds holding back water from the winter rains. This has turned originally intensive silage fields into an instant wildlife haven; many waders and wildfowl have already been spotted using it heavily through the spring and summer. Although there is no public access to this area yet, the fields can be viewed through binoculars from the Cumbria Coastal Path that passes to the south of Foulshaw Moss.

After successfully re-wetting Ulpha Fields, common reed was planted in a series of enclosures to develop reedbed and tall-herb fen vegetation. The plots have had to be fenced to prevent browsing from deer and wildfowl. Through early June, we desperately tried to keep the newly planted reeds wet and were thankful for the late June rain. If it is successful, the establishment of an extensive reedbed and fen area should tempt some of the special species on the south side of the estuary to venture here. It is hoped that in the future we may see marsh harrier nesting in the new reeds and feeding over the open bog. The reversion of these fields will also allow for a more natural transition from bog to fen rather than the abrupt change to intensive agriculture that we see at the moment.