{"id":15276,"date":"2022-04-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-05T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=15276"},"modified":"2022-04-25T10:53:47","modified_gmt":"2022-04-25T08:53:47","slug":"watery-wildlife-haven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/2022\/04\/06\/watery-wildlife-haven\/","title":{"rendered":"Watery Wildlife Haven"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NATURE ESCAPES<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

DAY OUT: <\/strong>Coombe Hill Canal and Meadows, Gloucestershire<\/span><\/p>\n\n

WATERY WILDLIFE HAVEN<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Spot waterfowl and waders, damselflies and butterflies in this ancient and special wetland landscape that fringes the River Severn, says Tolga Aktas<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\n\n

C<\/span>oombe Hill Canal and Meadows is a beautiful and biodiverse reserve in the heart of the Cotswolds, midway between Gloucester and Tewkesbury to the west of the A38.<\/p>\n\n

\"\"
Visit Coombe Hill in summer to see the meadows carpeted with bright daisies and wildflowers <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

The 105-hectare reserve is owned and managed by Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, which is constantly working on ways to encourage biodiversity to thrive here. The Trust has introduced grazing animals \u2013 cattle and sheep \u2013 on the reserve\u2019s south and north meadows between August and October, as well as coppicing in order to help provide a richer variety of habitats.<\/p>\n\n

The reserve is a great place to visit in May and early summer, as you have a high chance of an encounter with wetland wildlife, including butterflies, curlews, redshank, oystercatchers and snipe. Go on the lookout for the fragrant wildflowers of rock rose, marjoram, basil and thyme.<\/p>\n\n

WETLAND WONDERS<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

There is an exciting variety of flora and fauna to discover, from wildflowers \u2013 thriving here due to the short grasses caused by cattle grazing \u2013 to the skies filled with birds searching for nest-building materials, as well as the extraordinary volume of invertebrates and other insects enjoying the plantlife.<\/p>\n\n

Coombe Hill boasts a range of habitats to support such incredible biodiversity, including chalk grassland and acid heathland, which is why the reserve is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Stretching through the middle is the River Severn Navigation Canal \u2013 its ditches and deep pools are popular with many species of dragonflies and damselflies.<\/p>\n\n

As the reserve serves as a floodplain in winter, the majority of the wildlife species here are influenced by water. Whether it\u2019s from ditches, the canal, or marshes and wet grassland for ground-nesting birds. In May last year I saw a red-necked phalarope, reed warblers, lapwings, avocets, and wood sandpipers. I highly recommend a visit to the Grundon bird hide overlooking the main wetland area \u2013 you could see some of the birds I have mentioned, and more.<\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Tolga Aktas is a conservation biologist and photojournalist from Gloucestershire.<\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

Photos: Alamy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This special wetland landscape fringes the River Severn<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":15032,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"79","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"79","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_79-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_79-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"May-2022","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"May-2022","purple_external_id":"May-2022-79-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"May-2022-79-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000084055||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000084055||","purple_android_product":"com.im.countryfile.189","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.countryfile.189","purple_ios_product":"com.im.countryfile.189","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.countryfile.189","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"91da22fd-9e7f-40d1-a93f-fc46e9516d91","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2022-04-08T09:41:17Z","apple_news_article-theme":"","apple_news_api_id":"c1618a6c-367d-492e-a910-954a426551d1","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2022-04-25T08:53:55Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AwWGKbDZ9SS6pEJVKQmVR0Q","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":true,"apple_news_is_preview":true,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_article_theme":"","apple_news_sections":"[]"},"categories":[30],"tags":[14],"apple_news_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2022\/03\/day-out-coombe-hill-canal-and-meadows-gloucestershire.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"2","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2022\/03\/day-out-coombe-hill-canal-and-meadows-gloucestershire.jpg",2362,1575,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2022\/03\/day-out-coombe-hill-canal-and-meadows-gloucestershire-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2022\/03\/day-out-coombe-hill-canal-and-meadows-gloucestershire-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2022\/03\/day-out-coombe-hill-canal-and-meadows-gloucestershire-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2022\/03\/day-out-coombe-hill-canal-and-meadows-gloucestershire-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2022\/03\/day-out-coombe-hill-canal-and-meadows-gloucestershire-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2022\/03\/day-out-coombe-hill-canal-and-meadows-gloucestershire-2048x1366.jpg",2048,1366,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"This special wetland landscape fringes the River 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