Well I visited Hauxley. I will leave you to visit and form your own opinion. These are just a few of my observations.
(above) the view from one of the observation windows
(below) the muddy path I remember from visits before all the work, sadly still a problem
The walks through corridors of 2m high hedges allow only brief glimpses of the wildlife, however it is nice to see the return of 'brass rubbing' I guess that's the purpose of the posts?
The new path is a grassy slope which means wet feet early mornings and when it rains. It will also need quite a bit of mowing I would think. The final part of the circular walk is uneven and already overgrown. (Not Wheelchair friendly!)
The wader scrapes were dry. And the brackish pool quite deep (high tides).
Ah, the Wader hide. Well with all the Herons, Egrets and Spoonbills in the bay this water level is perfect. With time it is hoped the stints, sandpipers and plovers will evolve to become skilled at swimming and diving.
It's OK were not disturbing the birds, there aren't any.
The new screen overlooking the Willowherb?
On the plus side the birds on the main pool are big so you can see them from a distance. Shame the less well-informed Cafe visitors don't realise these polluting birds are feral or re-introduced geese which prevent many wild birds from breeding successfully.
And there are lots of them (photo taken from outside 'discovery centre' because of the rain).
I hope the glass is self cleaning!
I am assuming inside is not finished yet as all I noticed was one shabby display of photos stuck to card. I didn't 'discover' anything apart from a very ordinary Cafe.
In the three years that the reserve was closed the rest of the Druridge Reserves have suffered.
Dangerous, broken bridges with sharp metal exposed. Access to hides difficult unless you are wearing waterproofs.
The entrance to the South and L-shaped hides at Chevington only accessible with wellies.
Graffitti
Old leaflets showing the lack of visiting Trust Staff
Path ... What path?
Litter
2016 poster
How often is this put to use?
Another well used hide, inside various bottles and excrement.
There are two further comments to add ...
1) The NWT website promises some interesting projects for the future of the bay reserves.
2) I would voluntarily clean some of the hides and (if loaned a petrol strimmer) clear some of the access to the hides but only if I see a regular presence (once a month would be a start) and some real work by Trust Staff.
