30 Days Wild - Day 23: Rattling on

Our next Habitat management job for Garganey Trust will be Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) control at Thunder Bridge Meadows near Kirkburton.

The site has a stream running through it which has this non-native plant all along its banks. As the site hadn't been actively managed for a number of years (no cutting or grazing) the plant has managed to take hold in some parts - it uses it's spring loaded "exploding" seed pods which can launch seeds several metres from the parent plant!

We'll be cutting the balsam over the next few weeks with a power-scythe and our brushcutter, the aim being to cut it before it sets seed, which usually happens in July/August depending on the weather. Cutting the same area over 2 or 3 years should rid that area of the plant as the seed is only thought to be viable for 18 months.

Himalayan balsam seedlings waiting to be cut.

So we went down to Thunder Bridge this evening for a recce to see how the plants were getting on. We don't want to cut them too soon as its more difficult to spot smaller plants, but we can't leave it too late either. It seems the relatively dry weather this year so far had stunted their growth a bit with only a few plants getting near to flowering height so I think we'll hold off for another week or two.

Whilst on site we checked out the meadow areas we've cut in previous years and noticed several developing patches of yellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor), a native plant of meadows which is hemi-parasitic.

Yellow rattle - helping us create a more diverse meadow

  It steals some of its nutrients from the grasses by tapping into their roots which reduces their vigour. This allows other broadleaved meadow species to germinate and grow, increasing the meadow's diversity and value to pollinating insects. And it works - I've never been to a site with so many bees, the place is literally buzzing!

We also spotted quite a few Marsh Orchid around the meadow, many of which were in the bits we've been cutting in previous years - proper job satisfaction.

If only every day ended with a pretty orchid like this one!