Just a word of thanks to the guys from the Friends of the Mere and Ellesmere Anglers who have done a great job in opening up the mere edge in several places. Its been hard work ( and still 2 sessions to go!) but the transformation has been amazing!
We have had several people comment on the work being done, some of them have been concerned about the young trees that have been cut down - so I thought I would explain here the reasons behind the work.
Firstly (and the main reason) it is to "open up" the areas at the mere edge, that have become overgrown over recent years, resulting in the natural marginal growth (reeds, water lilies, etc) having difficulty in growing because of the shade from these bushes and saplings. The richness and diversity of the wildlife of the mere is to be found mostly in its wetland areas - something we want to keep and encourage. To this end, we having been trying to allow more sunlight to the banks of the mere.
Last spring, a male Reed Warbler was desperately singing to attract a mate - if we can increase the amount and diversity of the water plants, maybe next spring he will find one.
Secondly, opening up the edges of the mere allows people who visit our lovely town to see more of the beauty we have around us - encouraging them to visit again and to have an appreciation of the natural world.
Hopefully, you will agree with me - please feel free to leave a comment!
merecat
I'm told that they are a fairly common bird, but I've not seen any around the park before, so I was delighted on Sunday morning to see two of these gorgeous, tiny creatures happily hopping around in a mass of thin branches. 
