Tollesbury Wick 9th December 2001 |
A rare example of an Essex freshwater grazing marsh, worked for decades by traditional methods sympathetic to wildlife. Wildlife is abundant in the 600 acres of rough pasture, borrowdykes, seawalls, wet flushes, pools and saltmarsh.
Large areas of rough pasture suit small mammals such as field vole and common shrew. In winter, they attract hunting hen harrier and short-eared owls.
Dry grassland on the slopes of the sea walls supports a wide variety of insects, including butterflies, bush crickets and grasshoppers. In spring spiny restharrow, grass vetchling, slender hare's-ear and many other wild flowers can be found in ungrazed areas.
Borrowdykes trace the inland edge of the sinuous seawall for its entire length. Common reed, sea clubrush and fennel pondweed are typical plants of these brackish areas where reed warbler, reed bunting and meadow pipit nest in spring, and heron and little grebe stalk in search of food. Wet flushes, dykes and small pools in the pasture support aquatic plants such as water crowfoot, and breeding populations of dragonflies and other aquatic species. Redshank, lapwing, brent geese and wigeon feed or roost on the winter-wet grassland of the reserve.
Directions
Follow the B1023 to Tollesbury via Tiptree, leaving the A12 at Kelvedon, then follow Woodrolfe Road towards the marina and car park at Woodrolfe Green.
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