The scrape is finished

The piece-de-resistance arrived yesterday in the form of the all important pipe. Here it is installed in all it's glory! The cow looks really impressed.

The dyke level has been raised and water is flowing  on to the scrape nearly filling it already.

The plan over winter is to raise the water level further so it floods over on to the grass margins and hopefully attract snipe, lapwing and redshank in the spring. Today there were no birds at all but there were numerous pairs of Common and/or Ruddy Darters ovipositing in the water and Southern Hawkers hawking over the surface. We need some invertebrate life to hold any birds that should find us so the more insects that find it the better.
This one is a Ruddy Darter

Youngest daughter took the dog for a walk and returned cradling this Migrant Hawker which she had found sitting in the road. Unfortunately it has a deformed wing and is sadly doomed but it is still a handsome beast

Our Swallow family is doing well despite the worryingly cold, damp spell we had recently. The 3 youngsters look close to fledging and were being fed very regularly today. The Indian summer forecast bodes well for their future. This evening a flock of nearly 50 Swallows and House Martins were wheeling over the house and marshes presumably a locally roosting flock.