Events in Norfolk and Suffolk / rspb / Tourist Attractions Norfolk and Suffolk / Wild Birds / Wildlife September 3, 2014
Hollesley Marshes: Fields transformed into a wetland wildlife wonderland
A year ago the fields at RSPB Hollesley Marshes on the Suffolk coast were damp meadows with limited wildlife interest. Now, thanks to an exciting WREN-funded transformation, they are a wetland paradise teeming with wildlife.
The newly created wader scrape has attracted bumper populations of breeding wading birds this summer, with many chicks fledging successfully at this fantastic new home for nature.
An impressive 40 pairs of avocets, the elegant black and white bird on the RSPB logo, reared more than 75 chicks, making this one of the most successful colonies in Suffolk.
There were 24 pairs of lapwings, which fledged about 60 chicks while about 30 redshank chicks fledged from ten nests. Other species that nested successfully included ringed plovers, oystercatchers, black-headed gulls, shelducks and yellow wagtails.
Aaron Howe, RSPB Site Manager for South Suffolk, said: “It’s been an amazing couple of months. It’s exciting to see the fruits of our hard work last autumn when we dug this new scrape, let the water flood in, then watched as the birds respond.
“The numbers of fledged chicks on the scrape have been astonishing. It’s particularly exciting to see lapwings doing so well as populations have been declining across the UK for a long time, and these beautiful birds are of high conservation concern. Yellow wagtails are scarce breeding birds in Suffolk too.”
The scrape at Hollesley was created last year by re-profiling the surface of the fields to create a series of shallow depressions and raised islands, some of which were then covered with shingle. Water levels are controlled by specially-built sluices. A fence has been built around the scrape to reduce predation. Funding for this work came from WREN, with additional support from the HLF-funded Touching the Tide project.
WREN is a not-for-profit business that awards grants to community, environmental and heritage projects across the UK from funds donated by FCC Environment to the Landfill Communities Fund.
Bill Jenman, Touching the Tide Project Manager, said “It’s fabulous that the birds have come so quickly. I brought our Heritage Lottery Fund project monitor down and the breeding avocets were the highlight of her visit to Suffolk – HLF money very well spent!”
There is currently no car parking available at Hollesley Marshes, which can be accessed via a footpath along the river wall from Shingle Street or the adjacent RSPB Boyton Marshes. The scrape can be viewed from the river wall or from a viewing platform.
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