Castle Water
Castle Water nature reserve is made up of a gravel pit and ditches, which are fringed by 3.7 hectares (ha, nine acres) of reedbed. The aim of this project is to increase the reedbed to 18 ha (45 acres), which will form part of a larger wetland area sufficient to support a pair of breeding bitterns and a larger number of visiting bitterns over winter. Castle Water has had up to 10 bitterns spend the winter.
Work started on site on 17th July 2003 and went well, with very few wet days. It finished on 19th September 2003. In total 10.0 hectares of landform for reedbed were created. The contractors excavated down towards the water table and deposited the material as a series of islands in deep parts of the adjacent pit. The excavated area and the new islands will develop as reedbed.
The next stage of the project is reed establishment. Before the excavation, a volunteer workparty planted some of the adjacent bare muddy margins with stem cuttings and protected them with fences. Then, during the excavation, large clumps of reed rhizomes were transplanted by machines and protected with fences, this has grown well. In addition, reed rhizomes that were floating in the pit during excavation were collected and planted out on islands and in the excavation.
Goats are now on site, munching the young willow seedlings that would smother the reed given half a chance. A second phase of excavation is due to start this summer (2006).
This project will benefit wetland wildlife, some of which have already been seen at the site, including water voles, great crested newts, water rails, aquatic warblers and endangered wetland invertebrates and plants.
Castle Water, owned by Sussex Wildlife Trust, forms part of the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, Rye Harbour Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Dungeness to Pett Levels Special Protection Area (SPA). The area is protected to safeguard the biological and geological features of the site, certain particularly threatened species and migratory birds.
For more information contact: Dr Barry Yates, Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, Nook Beach, Winchelsea, East Sussex, TN364LU
