Scrapes for wildlife

One of our wildlife 'Scrapes' drying out

Whilst clearing out are farm ponds last Autumn, whilst the digger was on site we also took the opportunity of putting in a series of wildlife ‘scrapes’.

Our scrapes quickly filled up with rainwater during one of the wettest winters on record.

The freshly dug 'scrapes' filled up quickly
The freshly dug ‘scrapes’ filled up quickly

The scrapes are just shallow depressions in the land with gently sloping edges, which (importantly) only seasonally hold water.

They create wet areas in the field that are very attractive to wildlife and support a wide variety of invertebrates that provide important feeding areas for breeding wading birds and their chicks as well as a watering hole for passing mammals.

The most important parts of scrapes for wildlife are the margins. Shallow water and muddy edges provide ideal conditions for wetland invertebrates and plants, and allow access for waders and their chicks to find food. Scrapes should hold
water from March ideally through to the end of June.

An invertebrate survey was done whilst the main ponds were being sampled. All three scrapes were teeming with life only a few months after being dug which begs the question where do they all pop up from?

Footprints of the visitors to the scrapes
Footprints of the visitors to the scrapes

Our cluster of three scrapes provides a variety of shapes and depths, designed so that each is at a different stage of it’s cycle at any one point in time during the breeding season. The middle one was the first to dry up in mid June after a prolonged dry spell but the other two still held water.

One of our wildlife 'Scrapes' drying out
One of our wildlife ‘Scrapes’ drying out
Update September 2018

Heavy overnight rain has meant standing water has once again returned to all of the scrapes. It’s only a bit but it is the start of the next cycle. I am just pleased they are doing exactly what they should do.

Standing water returns to the wildlife scrapes
Standing water returns to the wildlife scrapes

For the record (and our more sceptical readers) there were no grants received or stewardship schemes entered into etc. Just us doing our bit.