August has been another very busy month here, as we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the construction of the Whisby buildings with our 'Wonders of Whisby' weekend. There was a whole range of activities, from a sunset celebration for members and volunteers to wild art, minibeast safaris, den building, crafts, an exhibition and more. We, the warden team, had a quiz for visitors to try their luck at matching tool names to the correct tools. We chose the most obscure tools that we had in the workshop, so congratulations if you managed to get them all right! Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped us to make the weekend a success.

Back out on the reserve, there was plenty of mowing and raking to be done, now that many of the wildflower meadows have set seed. Removing the cut vegetation helps prevent nutrients building up in the soil and gives the flowers in our meadows the best chance to thrive again next year. 

After the heatwaves, we’re already seeing signs of autumn. However, there is still plenty of summer wildlife to see around the reserve, such as dragonflies and butterflies. We even had a juvenile marsh harrier, possibly a fledged young bird travelling from one of the other nature reserves we manage. We had a surprise visitor in the workshop this month in the form of a juvenile grass snake. After a little persuasion, the reptile was safely escorted back into a more suitable habitat. Whisby has a healthy population of grass snakes and they are completely harmless to people. If you’re lucky enough to spot one while exploring Whisby, give it plenty of space and enjoy the sighting.

Finally, thank you for helping us care for Whisby and its wildlife by taking your litter home, picking up after your dogs and supporting us in keeping the reserve safe this very dry summer.