The WREN funded project to create the new freshwater scrape at Hollesley marshes continues apace. There has been an impressive amount of dirt moved so far and the field edges are beginning to take shape.
The exposed mud you see above will form the shallowest point of the new scrape this is expected to have around 10cm's of water at maximum which will create perfect conditions for ducks in the winter and waders in the spring. Deeper features will be created by the rotary ditcher which will come onto site next week this will create a network of channels which will have up to 30cms of water above it at maximum. This will create refuge spots for inverts and allow longer billed birds such as little egrets and maybe even spoonbills to feed in.
The islands have very gently sloped edges to create lots of lovely feeding edge for young avocets, lapwings and redshanks and hopefully ringed plovers and oystercatchers. Hopefully these edges will prove popular with passage waders as well with dunlin, green and common sandpipers all hoped to be regular visitors.
We have had 300 tonnes of shingle delivered to site with a lot more to come for the Common terns, the first of which has been spread.
The one thing that strikes me so far a week and a bit into the project is the sheer industrial scale of it, whatever happens the lower Alde and Ore will never be the same again.
If you fancy going down to the site and looking at the works and seeing the evolution of the landscape it is best viewed from the Suffolk coastal footpath that runs along the sea wall (parking is best at Shingle street)