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 conservation projects, from restoring old quarries to rewiggling rivers. Freshwater habitats are the lifeblood of our wild isles – but our rivers and wetlands are dying. Today no river in England has been given a clean bill of health. 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 Essex we’ve worked on a landscape changing project, although this time involving coastal wetland habitats. At RSPB Wallasea Island, we let the landscape naturally flood as part of a managed realignment scheme that has created a magical intertidal coastal marshland teeming with wildlife.
The network of salt marshes, estuaries and mudflats around the Essex coastline are an important habitat for wetland birds, and form part of the East Atlantic Flyway – a key migration route used by millions of birds every year. The prey-rich mud, full of worms, crustaceans and molluscs, is great for wading species such as Godwits, Knot and Curlew. Large numbers of waterfowl, including Wigeon and Dark-Bellied Brent Geese, are drawn to the area too to spend the winter along the Essex coastline. It is a region vital for both migratory and resident birds, which is why the East Coast Wetlands (spanning from the Humber Estuary in the North to Essex in the South), is being put forward to be a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site, so that its importance for habitats and bird populations can be recognised and cherished. These wetlands are a dynamic zone where land and rivers meet the sea. The area that is covered by the proposed England East Coast Wetlands Natural World Heritage Site includes large expanses of adjacent coastal grazing marsh as well as intertidal habitats (the area covered at high tide). Many overwintering birds use these areas for feeding and roosting, for example wading species such as Lapwing and Golden Plover as well as waterfowl species such as Wigeon. They are also used as breeding sites for several species. Across the East Coast Wetlands, this includes breeding Sandwich Terns, Little Terns and Redshank.
Essex is also home to a rather special 740ha site that has undergone a magical transformation in recent years. RSPB Wallasea Island, a mixture of mudflats, saltmarsh, grazing marsh and lagoons, is located along the River Crouch and Roach estuaries. Originally, over hundreds of years the land in this area was claimed from the sea for use as a mix of grazing and arable farming. Then, in the 1950s a huge change occurred when drainage was installed and the site was fully converted to arable farming. The landscape underwent another transformation back to its wild roots, however, in recent years as part of the Wallasea Island Wild Coast Project, which saw the area restored to intertidal coastal marshland. A technique called managed realignment was used, so the sea wall was breached in 2015 allowing the land to naturally flood.
As part of this project, three million tonnes of soil, from the Crossrail scheme in London (a railway tunnel project), was used to raise the land level. This allowed a mosaic of habitats to be created, as when the tide rises different areas are flooded at different times. The rich mudflats here are regularly inundated with seawater for longer periods while saltmarsh is submerged at altering degrees depending on land height above sea-level. Thanks to this, the result when the seawall was breached was the creation of Jubilee Marsh – a 165ha area including saltmarsh, mudflats and grassland, much of which was previously arable land. As the climate changes and sea-levels rise, these habitats can provide a refuge for species displaced from other sites.
Image: Brent goose flock flying low over wetland, Wallasea Island RSPB reserve, Essex, January. ©Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)
The reserve now boasts great biodiversity, with internationally significant numbers of wading birds, including Knot, Bar-tailed Godwit and Grey Plover, during the winter months. Flocks of waterfowl, including Wigeon and Brent Geese, come to the estuaries in large numbers at this time of year too. However, come spring Common Terns nest here along with wading birds such as Lapwing, Redshank and Avocet. Marsh Harriers and Skylarks can also be spotted, but it isn’t just all about birds. The reserve is also a great place for butterflies and bees in the summer months, from Marbled White butterfly to Shrill Carder Bee.
The conservation team on site work to preserve the mosaic of habitats here. You’ll see cattle grazing the wet-grassland to maintain the short grass height for wading birds to feed and breed, and sluices in place to control water levels in the saline lagoons, which are rich feeding spots for wading birds like Little Egrets.
Along with benefitting wildlife, the managed realignment project at Wallasea Island has had benefits for people too, as public access provides a space for the local community to connect with nature on the wild Essex coastline.
Image: Wallasea Island RSPB reserve, Essex, January 2012. © Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)
Looking after such a large site as Wallasea Island involves a dedicated team of staff and volunteers, who get involved with tasks from practical conservation to surveys.
Volunteers Linda and Jeff Dosset, said: “Our volunteering duties involve welcoming visitors to the site, helping them get the most from their visit, and carrying out the Wetland Bird and Breeding Bird surveys. We love this wild, remote, wetland and are privileged to see enormous winter wader flocks, many summer ground nesting birds, and a variety of raptors hunting over the grassland.”
Volunteer Michelle Goddard, added: “I help out with the monthly work party; tasks have included cutting back brambles, weeding invasive species, litter picking, and clearing vegetation off the small islands ready for nesting birds to name just a few. I can honestly say I love it all, and I am always greeted on arrival to the reserve with a feeling of calmness and usually the sight of a hovering kestrel.”
There were a number of partners involved in the Wallasea Wild Coast Project including Crossrail, Environment Agency, DEFRA and Natural England. You can discover more about the project and their involvement here.
Digging ditches in your garden or a community green space (with landowner permission!) can help boost biodiversity and mimic wetland features on a smaller scale.
No room for a damp ditch? Save the rain water that does fall in your garden by using a water butt, giving you plenty of recycled water to keep your garden green with during dry spells.
Main image: Aerial image of RSPB Wallasea Island Nature Reserve at high tide, Essex, July 2019. © David Wootton (rspb-images)