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Lovely Weather for Ducks

by Mike O'Kell

We've been hearing all about the floods that have been causing problems all over the country [Ed: late 2000]. Here in Chester, I'm sure many of you saw the photograph on the front page of the Chronicle with floods stretching from the meadows away towards Dodleston and the Welsh borders. Caldy Nature Park has been no exception with parts of the valley submerged and footpaths inundated. Yet despite all this, I was pleased to wear my wellies and paddle through plenty of water.

Water is an essential part of the ecology of the Dee floodplain and the nature park, and although no one would like to see it flowing through their doorway, it is something that has been happening for thousands of years, today flooding occurs much less frequently on the river than once it did thanks to the work of the Environment Agency.

From the very first days of planning the 'new' nature park, it was realised that wetlands were one of the most important habitats we had. This is because these areas have been lost in other places as land has been drained. Other changes had taken place as houses were built on the surrounding land and drains took rain water from roofs and roads and sent it straight into the brook instead of letting it soak into the land. This had started to lower the water table in the valley below. To try to hold water within the wetlands, we built a series of sluices that have been very successful at this task. They help to divert water from the brook along the leat into the pond, helping to maintain levels even in the driest summer, although we haven't had one for a while ! This has brought species into the valley that wouldn't live here before such as ducks, moorhens and swans. It also helped create habitat for the rarely seen kingfishers and the even harder to spot water rail.

So next time you walk through the valley please spare a thought for the many plants and animals that thrive in all that water and also remember that despite our best efforts nature still has a few surprises in store for us.

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