Main image: Bearded tit in reedbed (c) Leslie Cater/RSPB-Images.com
Fascinated by the Freshwater episode of Wild Isles? Wetlands are brilliant for biodiversity from the beginnings of rivers right down to the mouths! We’re experts in wetland conservation, from restoring old quarries to rewiggling rivers. With more extreme droughts and floods predicted because of the climate crisis, the UK’s freshwater habitats will face even more pressure. Without urgent changes to improve the health of our fresh water, this vital ecosystem might collapse just when we need it most.
In Cambridgeshire we have RSPB Ouse Fen, Fen Drayton Lakes, Ouse Washes, Nene Washes and Fowlmere nature reserves that are all wetlands, providing vital habitat for many species. Wetlands also help alleviate flooding (RSPB Ouse and Nene Washes were created specifically for this when the Fens were originally drained) and can also improve water quality. Wetland creation on peat soils in the Fens also stops the peat from degrading and reduces CO2 emissions.
Bittern (c) Andy Hay/RSPB-Images.com
What is the RSPB doing to help freshwater species in Cambridgeshire?
The Cambridgeshire Fens are really important for wetland birds. Our reserves contain internationally important populations of breeding waders, including 90% of the UK's breeding Black-Tailed Godwit, which thrive on the lowland wet grassland of the Nene and Ouse Washes. Our reserves also hold internationally important populations of reedbed and fen birds, who's previous coastal strongholds are threatened by sea-level rise. We are also creating more areas of wetland habitat for species such as the iconic Crane and Egret species – including Little Egret, Great Egret and Cattle Egret.
RSPB Ouse Fen near Earith in Cambridgeshire, has excelled in recent years at supporting wildlife species that have been under threat. The Bittern was once very common in wetland areas but due to the drainage of wetlands, the species became extinct as a breeding bird in the UK in the late 19th Century. An RSPB research programme funded by the EU Life programme aimed at helping the Bittern return to breeding status in the UK was launched and land management recommendations to help Bitterns thrive, were put in place.
Ouse Fen now supports up to 12 booming male Bitterns - more than the entire UK population at the project inception in the late 90’s, and it continues to support the species through an exciting partnership working with Hanson UK to create more reedbed habitat – read on below to find out more about that.
Important populations of Marsh Harrier and Bearded Tit are found on site and these iconic reedbed 'Big Three' (Bittern, Marsh Harrier and Bearded Tit) are regularly joined by breeding Crane, and a growing collection of breeding Heron species, Otter, Water Vole and 22 species of Dragonfly.
The future of wetlands at RSPB Ouse Fen
We are 20 years into a groundbreaking partnership project that is expanding RSPB Ouse Fen to 700 hectares (the equivalent of 980 football pitches) through the restoration of Needingworth quarry. This work is in partnership with Hanson UK - a leading supplier of heavy building materials to the construction industry, and continues to deliver high quality habitat at a landscape scale.
So far, we have together carried out restoration works that provide significant support to populations of our ‘Big Three’ key target species. By the end of the project, RSPB Ouse Fen will include the UK’s largest reedbed restoration on a site following mineral extraction.
It is hoped that working in this way with the minerals industry to create wildlife habitat will be replicated, and this project will act as a blueprint for other similar projects across the UK in the future.
To make this landscape-scale conservation work happen at RSPB Ouse Fen, our partners Hanson UK are working closely with us to turn the project plan into reality. In short – we couldn’t do it without them. Over the course of the project, sections of Needingworth Quarry, which is owned by Hanson UK, are being restored before handing over to us for future management.
Hanson UK Quarry Manager Hilton Law says: “With backing from the local community, Hanson and the RSPB are working in partnership – supported by local volunteers and Cambridgeshire County Council – to successfully create nationally important wetland habitat."
Aerial view of RSPB Ouse Fen and Needingworth Quarry (c) Hanson UK
Volunteers are also key to caring for these wetlands as habitat management at RSPB Ouse Fen also relies on our volunteer workforce. One of our volunteers, Bruce who volunteers as a bird surveyor, told us how important the site is to him. “Ouse Fen is right up there as one of the places dear to me and we’ve seen its creation from the start. Birdwatching and helping nature is the second most important thing in my life after my family.”
Helping local communities
Our reserves provide a great place for local communities to experience nature and spend time outdoors, which has been shown to be really important for people's mental and physical health, as there are limited opportunities for this in some parts of the Fens
Local communities have been actively involved in the Hanson-RSPB Wetland Project at RSPB Ouse Fen too. Residents from Earith, Bluntisham, Over and Needingworth took part in workshops to help advise and guide the design of four trail maps, which cover public access routes that lead to RSPB Ouse Fen. Local knowledge provided by residents helped in the designs, including pinpointing well known landmarks to feature along the routes. These maps aim to encourage more local people to arrive on foot instead of by car at the nature reserve, which will contribute to a reduction of carbon emissions in the area.
Map created with the help of people who live near RSPB Ouse Fen, detailing the walk from Earith to the nature reserve © RSPB
What can I do to help?
If you live locally to RSPB Ouse Fen and would like to get involved with the bird survey and monitoring work there as a volunteer, you can contact them on ousefen@rspb.org.uk to find out about their latest opportunities.
Want to find other opportunities to volunteer with us elsewhere in the country on wetlands, then look on our volunteering information page to find opportunities on our reserves.
Not able to volunteer but want to do your bit to help wildlife that relies on freshwater? Why not create your own mini wetland if you have a garden, by putting in a pond. Water doesn’t have to be created on a big scale to help wildlife, even a small bit can help and you can either create a mini pond or a large pond.