Lee Valley
About 10% of the UK population of bitterns spent the winter in the Lee Valley in 2001/2002. The birds are often visible, giving people a rare opportunity to see this normally elusive bird.
The aim of the EU LIFE bittern project here is to encourage bitterns to stay and breed, by extending the size, quality and number of reedbeds. Within the Lee Valley Regional Park, a total of 18 hectares (ha, 44 acres) of reedbeds have been planted at Amwell Quarry, RSPB Rye Meads nature reserve and Seventy Acres Lake.
Seventy Acres Lake
The reedbed creation at Seventy Acres Lake has been designed with input from the RSPB and English Nature to have minimal impact on other wildlife.
Some of the islands and shorelines have been excavated to just below the water level to help reeds to establish. Lee Valley Regional Park Authority staff, volunteers and contractors have planted 26,000 reed plugs in June and July 2003, over an area of 4.5 ha. The newly planted reed has all been fenced to protect it from grazing geese. In addition, a new water control structure has been installed. Staff regularly check the ences around newly planted reed and repair as necessary. A programme of regular visits to pull competitive vegetation such as reedmace was also set up. The reedbeds are developing well.
Seventy Acres Lake is important as it links the Suffolk coast, where bitterns already breed, with the south coast EU LIFE bittern project sites. Alongside the bitterns a lot of other wildlife will benefit directly from the reedbeds including otters, water voles, fish and a variety of birds and insects.
For more information about Seventy Acres Lake please contact:Simon Wightman, LVRPA, Abbey Mills, Highbridge Abbey, Waltham Abbey, Essex.
Amwell Quarry
Amwell Quarry, a former gravel pit, is managed by Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust (HMWT) in collaboration with the landowner, RMC Aggregates (Greater London) Ltd. The quarry is located in the lower Lee Valley between Ware and Stanstead Abbotts, Hertfordshire.
Gravel was excavated from the site between 1974 and 1990, and since 1983 the site has been managed as a nature reserve. When the gravel was extracted a variety of habitats were created including open water, marsh, reedbeds, bare gravels and silts, rough grassland, scrub and young woodland.
Wintering bitterns have been seen since 1995, with up to three birds in recent years. The EU LIFE bittern project work involved tree and scrub removal along one edge of the gravel pit. Re-shaping the open water margins also created suitable conditions for establishing reed, which is protected from grazing wildfowl by wire fences. This new linear reedbed will be excellent for bitterns to feed in.
Lots of different species, including more than 200 types of bird, have been recorded at Amwell Quarry since 1975. More than 50 different birds breed here every year and there can be more than 1,500 water birds in winter. There are large numbers of gadwalls and shovelers, and smews have been present over the last decade.
Amwell Quarry also has around 350 plant species, 18 different mammals and many invertebrates including dragonflies and damselflies. In recognition of its rich wildlife, Amwell Quarry is is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Special Protection Area (SPA). It also has RAMSAR status, which means it is designated as an internationally important wetland.
For more information about Amwell Quarry please contact: Ellie Minns, Bittern Project Officer, c/o LVRPA, Abbey Mills, Highbridge Abbey, Waltham Abbey, Essex
Rye Meads
Rye Meads nature reserve has ancient flood meadows and one of the largest reedbed and tall fen areas in England. There are three linked water treatment lagoons with grass and scrub-covered embankments. Shallow pools, reedbed, fen, willow scrub and woodland have been created. An area of former lagoon is already being turned into a reedbed.
The reserve is split into two areas – one managed by Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust (HMWT) and the other by the RSPB.
The Wildlife Trust are buying and restoring an area of old gravel workings and silt lagoon. Trees and scrub have been removed along one side of the gravel pit and open water margins have been re-shaped to create suitable conditions for growing reeds. Trees on the silt lagoon have been removed to make a reed/fen habitat and a ditch created to connect two pools. A further area of land has been excavated to the ideal depth for reeds. Sluices have also been installed to control water levels on the site.
In the RSPB part of the reserve, water levels have been lowered in the 3 main lagoons. In Lagoon 1, a bund has been built across one corner and mud pumped into it, to provide clear water. Reed has been planted into the shallow areas. Rudd were introduced in 2005. At Lagoons 8 & 9, the bank between them was removed and the material redistributed to form a series of islands. 1000 reed plugs were then planted on the newly created ridges and fences were erected to protect them from grazing by coot and geese.
Rye Meads is already a haven for wildlife. At least 150 bird species have been recorded, more than 20 species of mammal, three species of amphibian and more than 500 species of invertebrate. Some of the most notable species species – alongside the bitterns – are otters, pipistrelle bats, water voles, linnets, corn buntings, reed buntings and various water beetles. In recognition of the site’s importance for birds, the Lee Valley has been designated a Special Protection Area (SPA).
For information about the HMWT Rye Meads reserve contact Ellie Minns (as above) for more details about RSPB Rye Meads look in the reserves section of RSPB website.
