Sawbridgeworth Marsh Blog

It is a great year for both of these plants on the Marsh. The Yellow Rattle is found concentrated in areas where there are grasses and sedges which it can semi-parasitise. It is nowhere near as common in the Blunt Flowered Rush community because this does not lay itself open to becoming parasitised by this plant as it has an altogether different root and stem structure. Ragged Robin is scattered over the wetter areas and is more prolific this year than it has been for a long time.

There are currently a small number of Early Marsh Orchids on bloom. This year they are found on the wetter parts of the Marsh to the left and right of the first part of the boardwalk. In past years we have always looked at these pale pink orchids blooming in May and said very knowledgeably, Early Marsh Orchids. Last year, I found very similar looking orchids flowering well into June and mixed in amongst the population of Southern Marsh Orchids. They are different species, they are both Dactylorhiza genus but the early one is incarnata and the and one is praetermissa. The early one is supposed to be distinguished by the pattern of whorls on the lip of the flower. This can be seen on the photograph but it is also found throughout the Southern Orchid population. It is well known that orchids freely hybridise but that to me is a mystery because, try as hard as you can and you would be very unlikely to see any insect visiting the flowers. It is said that many are self pollinating but that d...

Pollarding Willows is a good way to manage them because it prevents branches breaking off and brings about the formation of a thick trunk which is often rotten internally and is excellent for biodiversity. It maintains the vitality of the tree. The problem can be what to do with the branches and wood that has been cut off the trunk? In the past, it has been usual to have a large fire and burn everything up but now it is recognised that this is not only very destructive to any invertebrates living on or in the wood, but it is also damaging to the soils of the Marsh not to speak of the smoke and carbon dioxide liberated into the atmosphere. A solution therefore that is being followed is to build square eco-piles by piling up the larger wood around the outside and in filling the centre with all the branch wood. The theory is that this will provide a much better habitat for wildlife than a straightforward pile all stack of wood. Another idea that is being explored is to create ...

The Warden takes a walk around the Reserve on a bright morning in early May.

At the North end of the Reserve is a small bed of osiers willows. These need to be coppiced regularly. This year we used the material to make faggots to build up the very marshy path at this point. Some of these thicker osiers were to be used as stock material to make a new Osiers bed in Pishiobury Park, Sawbridgeworth. To keep them fresh they were stood in the cattle trough which was full of water.

At the South end of the Reserve a small stream flows into the Reserve from Great Hyde Hall. Here is a picture of this stream been cleared out in the early days of the reserve, probably late 1970s. Over the years the culvert under the road had become blocked with silt and the water was flowing over the road into the Reserve. On the reserve side a lot of garden rubbish had been dumped and we spent some time, clearing out this rubbish to expose a brick culvert. The farmer kindly came and unblocked the culvert on his side using a large excavator. And then to finish the job we constructed a living Willow fence along the roadside.