Unlike many of our colleagues within the group, Pensthorpe is all about integrating our farmland and nature reserve for the benefit of biodiversity whilst retaining our high visitor interaction.

The work can be very varied and often much smaller on scale than traditional farms.

Our wetlands need lots of work after the latest breeding season. On our wet meadow this year’s growth has been mown and raked away by our corporate volunteers, and our longhorn cattle are now munching happily across it. The river has had its annual trim of in-channel and encroaching vegetation using a specialist contractor, the pool edges have been cut for loafing areas and feeding zones for wildfowl as water levels rise, fens are mown and cleared for feeding wildfowl and to encourage next years plants.

Within our marshes we have started our regular winter willow and tree clearance to stop the process of change. Willow is a constant battle and a job requiring plenty of people cutting down and burning willow, perfect for our weekly volunteers.

In drier grasslands areas are slowly being cut and raked across the park to benefit next year’s wildflowers, while other areas are being grazed down by our own and Savory’s sheep and cattle. On the arable areas our SFI crops are in, thanks to Ant Boesen and our margins are slowly being topped.

As part of the aim of making livestock and arable more integrated, new fencing has slowly been going in various locations to allow better grazing across the arable fields when needed.

Supplementary feeding continues throughout the year, spreading on selected tracks and now using specially built seed hoppers. In the summer this is to help breeding birds but now it’s about retaining and building winter passerine flocks on the farm.

Autumn has truly arrived with growing flocks of finches in the farm hedges, goldcrest in the woods, ducks on the marshes and the silent return of bittern, joining the noisy but secretive water rails skulking through the reedbeds.