Wigan Flashes
Bitterns already spend the winter in the reedbeds at Wigan Flashes and we hope to encourage them to stay and breed.
The site comprises 240 hectares (ha, 593 acres) of wetland habitat. Much of the work has centred on reedbed improvement and making this habitat suitable for bitterns and other reedbed wildlife. The site is within half a mile of Wigan town centre but, despite its location, the water quality is remarkably good, and the site holds many wildfowl.
There were extensive stands of reed already but there hads been no conservation management of the reedbeds in the past so they often dried out or were invaded by willow. They also lacked ditches and other bittern-friendly features.
During 2002 the reedbed improvement work involved removing 18 ha (44 acres) of willow scrub, while retaining the older and more valuable areas of wet willow carr woodland found on the marsh margins of some of the flashes and creating 3km of ditches. Bed lowering has also been carried out at Horrocks Flash, Pearsons Flash and Bryn Marsh. Altogether, 29 ha of reedbed has been restored/created.
Re-wetting of the marshland areas is encouraging reedbed development. Cutting areas of the existing reedbed is creating a diverse habitat where bitterns can catch fish and nest.
The work at Wigan Flashes has already started to improve the reedbed, and many birds such as reed warblers and water rails are using the newly-restored areas. A booming bittern was heard briefly in spring 2006 and bitterns have been seen on site through the summer - a very encouraging sign.
At Wigan Flashes, we are making sure that the natural habitats are maintained and people are catered for, all without losing the wildlife and scenic beauty of this site.
The EU LIFE bittern project at Wigan Flashes nature reserve has seen the Wildlife Trusts for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside working in partnership with the RSPB, Wigan Council, North West Water, English Nature and the Environment Agency
