RSPB were awarded £8,000 from the PEBBLE fund in 2019/20 for their work restoring habitats at Fen Drayton Lakes.

The PEBBLE fund was used to purchase a floating fence which has been installed on one of the lakes to prevent predators reaching an island in the centre of the lake which is used by breeding birds.

The area is predated by foxes and badgers, which were able to swim out to the island and predate on breeding birds, eggs and chicks. The floating fence stops predators accessing the island but does not prevent access to the birds.

The PEBBLE funds have also been used to manage vegetation on the reserve with RSPB wardens undertaking scrub clearance. Scrub clearance is selective clearance of areas which allows more light into areas that were densely vegetated, this encourages more variety of vegetation to grow.

Finally, the RSPB are looking to use the PEBBLE funds to undertake some management of the shoreline of one of the lakes. They will be hiring contractors who will landscape the shore and island that is protected by the floating fence. In landscaping the shore and island they will also make the area ‘muddier’. The breeding birds prefer muddier spaces and this will provide ideal habitat for these breeding birds. This part of the project was delayed due to COVID but will be undertaken in 2021.