Today, I spent a few hours in and around the River Ash in Widford, just north of Ware. We were being filmed for the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, showing how we monitor the quality of the river by catching and counting certain invertebrates such as caddis fly larva, mayfly larva and freshwater shrimps.
After netting for 3 minutes we tipped the net contents into a tray and sorted out each species by placing them in a compartment of a tray. We found plenty of shrimps, several caddis fly larvae and a good selection of mayfly larva. Also, but not in our count, several minnows and bullhead fish. All showing a good water quality of this chalk stream.
We were in a great habitat, siskins in the alders were a first for me this winter, along with plenty of corvids, a solitary little egret and great and blue tits. Looks a superb habitat for barn owls and there was an A frame nesting box present to attract this species. All in all, a most enjoyable 2 hours.
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| Janine and I identifying the invertebrates with Nigel filming and Jack on sound |
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| Categorising the catch |
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| The samples are placed into compartments so it's easier to count them. |
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