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South Essex Reserves Update

27th January 2010

Download the latest RSPB South Essex newsletter - click here (1MB PDF file).

South Essex Reserves Update

21st January 2010

Reserves
West Canvey Marshes has been the focus over the past few months as work has progressed at pace on site which is scheduled to open in April 2010. A car park with over 30 spaces has been completed along with new footpaths, steep sided ditches for particular to benefit Water Voles and a playground area. We have also had work completed on an additional scrape area. This area features an open back viewing screen overlooking it. There will be four viewing points in total overlooking a range of wet features. Other work has included the installation of six kilometres of internal fencing to mange cattle on the reserve.

The abstraction pumping facilities and power supply cables have been installed, this will enable water to be abstracted from the river that runs through the site. This water will then be fed across the marsh to improve the habitat for wintering and breeding wildfowl and waders. A two metre high viewing point that replicates a Red Hill, which is a common archaeological feature found across the South Essex Marshes has been created giving excellent views of the landscape. Our volunteers have been hard at work on the hedgerows that line the footpaths opening up areas that will be planted up with various native species, providing a greater diversity to the hedgerow structure.

The RSPB South Essex Team has taken over management of Pitsea Scrape adjacent to Wat Tyler Country Park. This valuable freshwater lagoon area has in the past been used by breeding Avocet and has been a good spot for gulls and migrant waders. Reserves Wardens and volunteers have been hard at work with the habitat management, which included the task of removing much of the vegetation from the islands.

The Vange Marsh reserve has had some work completed on the Saline Lagoon islands, this includes cutting the vegetation on all but one of the islands and to the bank/sea wall. The islands on the lagoon will be cut once more at the end of the winter in preparation for the breeding season. Cattle have been grazing the site through autumn but now the water levels have risen considerably the cattle will be moved onto the dry grassland.

Wildlife Sightings
The early autumn months saw second broods Wall Browns at West Canvey Marsh. These butterflies are scarce locally so they are always a pleasure to see. A Great White Egret flew over Wat Tyler Country Park on the 29th September and, what was presumably the same bird, was reported on a number of occasions along the North Thames coast over the next month. There was also a report of 60 Corn Bunting on West Canvey Marshes in November. Numbers of wildfowl and waders have increased significantly across the marshes, with the onset of winter and the higher water levels, with a count of around 250 wigeon and similar numbers of teal using Vange Marsh once the ice thawed. Lapwing numbers are have reached over a thousand birds across the wet grassland with the occasional golden plover joining these flocks. Curlew are also taking advantage of the improving conditions on the reserve with a record count for the marshes with a flock of 130 feeding on the wet grassland habitat. The recent cold weather undoubtedly put pressure on many bird species. This was apparent across much of the reserve once the snow melted as thousands of birds fed on the freshly exposed grasslands, with buntings, skylark, thrushes and waders all seen in great numbers.

People Engagement
Our New Visitor Centre and People Engagement Office based at Wat Tyler Country Park officially opened to the public on 1 November. The buildings were previously used by Basildon District Council and have been refurbished to include a discovery zone dedicated to education, a new visitor centre packed with displays and information about the RSPB in South Essex. We welcome three new members of staff who Join Alan, Glenn and the team based there. Angela Jones – Community Programme Manager, Leila Peacock – Education Manager and Anna Nickell – Education Officer. All have settled into their roles and smart new surroundings.

South Essex Reserves Update

29th December 2009

With an £18 million investment from the Big Lottery Fund/Natural England's Access to Nature programme, Parklands, Veolia Trusts, Interreg, Land Restoration Trust and Biffaward amongst others, we have set our sights higher than the birds fly!

There have been big changes here on the northern shore of the Thames. Five years ago we just had plans — now we have 1050 hectares of nature reserves in the making at West Canvey, Bowers and Vange Marshes. We have 12 incredibly dedicated members of staff, as well as 23 new volunteers.

A brand new project
The new community project is something new for the South Essex team and the RSPB. At the centre of the project is wildlife, a healthy environment and active communities at the heart of sustainable living.

We provide access to green spaces through outreach work for local residents and visitors, who would not have this opportunity otherwise.

This is a huge contribution to the regeneration of the Thames Gateway, which will have meaning for years to come. It will have an positive impact on the lives of diverse local communities — our local community is 670,000-strong! We want the local residents to have a real sense of ownership as they shout 'I love living at the doorstep of the River Thames.'

Opportunities will come through art projects, community events, mass citizen science participation and much more. We will provide an array of learning and skills through intuitive opportunities, improving the overall ethos of the community, as part of a great new image for the area.

New year, new creations
We'd also like to tell you about our new, vibrant visitor centre opening in February 2010. It's an amazing space where people can engage with nature through activities, there are constant changing displays from volunteer opportunities to Christmas elves, and soon to come Homes for Wildlife, where you will see a full size tree dominating as you enter the centre. We've also got live images from our nature reserves beamed via CCTV into the centre.

We're also really excited about our brand new nature reserve, West Canvey Marsh, which opens Easter 2010. With a family feel and a great playground, the reserve also expands your thinking with well-placed interpretation throughout — a great place to learn about red hills and butterflies.

And the good news doesn't end there, with Bowers, a large scale habitat creation project, coming on board in 2011. There's so much more to come with Wallasea Wildcoast, Rainham Marshes, North Kent reserves and London coming together as the cornerstones of the new Greater Thames Futurescape.

South Essex Reserves Update

25th September 2009

West Canvey’s green future starts to take shape

Heavy machinery has begun landscaping a large new nature reserve on Canvey Island in south Essex.

David Hedges, the RSPB's South Essex Area Manager says, "West Canvey Marsh is the largest single area of green space on Canvey Island. Our commitment is to make this a high quality open green space, where local wildlife can once more find a home and where local people and visitors can enjoy new, enriching access."

David continued, "The landscaping was made possible with generous financial support, and is part of the Parklands Project that is part-financed by Essex County Council, under the Thames Gateway programme of the Homes and Communities Agency, Biffa and Interreg - allowing us to create a sustainable green space for future generations on Canvey."

West Canvey Marsh was originally bought in May 2006 from William Morrison Supermarkets Plc. The purchase was made possible by generous financial support from the East of England Development Agency, Veolia ES Cleanaway Pitsea Marshes Trust and the Department for Communities and Local Government’s Thames Gateway Programme.

Work has begun on the RSPB's 256 hectares (640 acres) of grassland and saltmarsh to create a haven for both wildlife and people. This includes 3km of new multi user/purpose nature trail, viewing points, picnic areas and playground to open the landscape up to discover the wildlife secrets of the marshes.

Once the works are completed, this new nature area is set to open to the public in summer 2010. The RSPB will encourage wildlife to flourish allowing visitors to enjoy the flocks of wetland birds, butterflies and wildflowers and discover the rich historical heritage of how local communities have shaped the landscape of Canvey Island.

The RSPB is fully committed to Greengrid, an initiative to provide new green spaces connected to each other in a network accessible to people and filled with wildlife. This is a foundation for sustainable development, securing a healthy and attractive place to live in and to visit. West Canvey Marsh will directly benefit the 650,000 people living in the area of south Essex close to the Thames Gateway.

Doug Benjafield, Chairman of Veolia ES Cleanaway Pitsea Marshes Trust, one of the funders for the original purchase, added: "To make this land available to the local community to enjoy in perpetuity was the main reason why the Trust originally supported the land purchase. Out of our £2.5 million support of the RSPB in south Essex, £750,000 has gone to West Canvey Marshes. Having been involved with this project right from the start, it’s very exciting now to see the reserve really starting to take shape providing an accessible green lung for people and wildlife on the edge of the urban fringe".

John Meehan, Project Manager for Parklands said: "The Parklands Programme has been made possible by Essex County Council preparing a Parklands Business Plan which won Essex £11.5 million. The fruits of all this effort are now starting to show themselves on Canvey Island and will continue to do so for years to come. We are delighted that Canvey Island has now got high quality environmental organisations such as the RSPB helping to look after the natural areas of the island."

South Essex Reserves Update

26th August 2009

On the move! That could be the motto, which describes the state of affairs in South Essex the best. On all our reserves, major landscaping work have and still is taking place in order to turn the plans for the South Essex project into reality.

Reserves Management
The first phase of the habitat creation works on RSPB West Canvey Marshes was completed at the end of March 2009. This work included the excavation of scrapes, these shallow muddy areas will hold water and will provide ideal habitat for a wide variety of wildfowl and wading birds. The soils generated from the scrape creation were then used to build two reservoir dams either end of the fleet area.

After the diggers had finished their work, on Vange Marsh in April, our islands in the saline lagoon shone in new splendour with a fresh cockleshell topping and re-shaped muddy edges for a shallower bank profile providing a greater area of draw-down. This has provided improved feeding conditions for waders on the lagoon. This work caught the interest of various regional newspapers and even brought our warden a live radio interview with BBC Essex! A new interpretation board has been installed on Vange Marsh informing visitors of the importance of the site and its habitats, whilst the map provides details of the trails and viewpoints.

Bowers Marsh, a 270 hectare area of marshland, has been leased from Veolia Environmental Services. This land stretches between Pitsea and Benfleet and connects the easterly Vange Marsh area behind Wat Tyler Country Park with our West Canvey Marshes nature reserve. The Bowers Marsh public consultation is underway; this will provide us with opinions and ideas for the RSPB’s proposal for the area of marshland.

The volunteer work parties have continued to be a success. The volunteers have carried out regular reserves maintenance such as the brush cutting of the footpaths, litter picking and fencing repairs. Some of the volunteers have also been involved in species monitoring, providing valuable data about the avian and non-avian species across the reserves.

Species records
One of the main highlights were the first fledged lapwing young for the South Essex Marshes and with conditions improving across the marshes these should be the first of many. There have been other good bird highlights already this year. Four adult whooper swans were present on Bowers Marsh from the 27th February to the 29th March. Up to three marsh harriers were regularly recorded over Bowers Marsh during winter into spring.

There were a good number of white-winged gulls in the area until early spring, a glaucous gull was seen amongst the large gull flock on Vange Marsh on the 1st of March. Spring passage got under way in early April with the arrival of sedge and reed warblers across the reserve. The next two months saw a period of brief visits from a variety of interesting species. A black redstart was a welcome visitor to Vange Marsh on the 2nd of April. Common, green and wood sandpipers were all recorded in May. A marsh sandpiper dropped into the Vange Marsh freshwater lagoon on the 11th of May. Unfortunately, this rare wader was only present on the marsh for about 30 minutes before black-headed gulls chased it off. It was followed later the same week by a Temminck’s stint that paid a short visit on the 14th of the month. On 24th of June, a spoonbill was seen feeding in the brackish lagoon and one day later, a ruff with most of a gingery ruff was spotted. Other waders on the reserve have included black-tailed godwit, whimbrel, curlew, ringed plover, dunlin, greenshank, redshank and spotted redshank.

Non-avian highlights have included water voles, which have been a common sight when strolling along the ditches. Some of these mammals have been fairly showy and have been seen feeding and swimming across the ditches on Vange Marsh. Adders, slow worm and common lizard have all been recorded basking in the early morning sun across the South Essex Marshes. Butterflies monitoring has continued on the reserve and marbled whites looked to of had a good year. Small tortoiseshell were recorded more regularly than in recent years, but this butterfly continues to struggle on the reserve, mirroring the national trend. A butterfly ‘good news story’ is that wall brown has at least three populations across the reserve. This butterfly has become a rare sight across south Essex so it is a locally important species of Lepidoptera.

Marc Outten & Hanna Karthauser

South Essex Reserves Update

17th February 2009

Aerial shot of West Canvey Marsh showing the large area of RSPB reserve.

Cockleshell Islands at RSPB Vange Marsh Reserve

06th May 2009

The RSPB nature reserve at Vange Marsh has recently seen a few changes and the wonderful site that attracts a wide variety of wildlife has been improved for breeding birds.

The islands on the saline lagoon habitat have been re-shaped and topped with cockleshells. These cockleshells are a by-product of the sustainable cockling industry at nearby Leigh-on-sea. The RSPB feels that in using the material from Leigh-on-sea, they are reducing haulage distance, therefore having less of an impact on the environment. Added to this, the shells provide an excellent nesting area for many types of birds including Avocets. The islands have also been re-shaped so that there is a greater amount of muddy edge around the islands for birds to feed.

Excavator machines started the work at the end of March, taking two weeks to finish the work. The islands where covered in a geo-textile membrane then topped with shells. Capping the islands in this way will help stop vegetation growth allowing the birds to have clear sight lines enabling them to avoid predation.

Marc Outten, the RSPB South Essex Marshes Warden explains, "the work is essential for a wide variety of breeding birds, some of which are scarce in the area. This recently completed habitat will compliment the wide range of habitats already on the reserve allowing many species to move between different areas of the site to feed and seek refuge".

The RSPB organises guided walks on Vange Marsh on the first Saturday of each month. So if you would like to discover more about the RSPB’s work on the reserve and have a chance to see the birds that live there, contact the RSPB South Essex Marshes office on 01268 559158.

South Essex Reserves Update

19th December 2008

December 2008
It has been a busy time for the South Essex Marshes team in many ways. Firstly, we have seen the departure of Fiona Hazelton from the team and the arrival of Simon Murphy to maintain a full compliment of staff in the people engagement team. The reserves team have also welcomed the addition of Steve Roach as the new assistant warden. Steve and Simon have had to hit the ground running with the ever-growing developments in the South Essex and are rising to the challenge. The Conservation Policy Officer for Essex, Briony Coulson is also now based in the South Essex Marshes office. There has also been a great deal of activity on the reserves with the start of the habitat creation works on West Canvey Marshes.

Reserves Management
The reserves are changing and developing at a great pace. Vange Marsh has had additional fencing erected. This has allowed a greater control of the grazing regime and enabled us to put some cattle on the freshwater marsh to get the ideal conditions for the over wintering and breeding waterbirds. Water levels have started to rise across the marshes partly due to reduced evaporation and increased rainfall but because we are now abstracting water from the rivers running through various parts of the marshes.

The West Canvey Marsh reserve has seen the greatest non-avian activity. Contractors that specialise in surveying for unexploded ordnance have been gathering data for the past two months. This is essential prior to the moving of earth in the creation of scrapes and other wet features. The Thames Estuary was bombed heavily during World War II this therefore increases the risk of finding an unexploded bomb during habitat creation works. There has also been some scrub removal on the West Canvey site. This is an important task when creating wet grassland habitat for ground nesting birds. Avian and non-avian predators use scrub and trees as cover when trying to locate or attack ground nesting birds. By removing the scrub, species such as lapwing, redshank and skylark can see predators coming from greater distances, which help them avoid predation. Native trees will be planted elsewhere on the reserve to compensate for the losses elsewhere on the reserve.

Species records
Wintering wildfowl and wader numbers have been increasing on the South Essex Marshes. Flocks of over 250 lapwing and over 40 curlew have been recorded on areas where we have been able to increase water levels. This is a good sign that with the improved water management across the marshes wader numbers will continue to rise. Waders such as spotted redshank, green sandpiper and greenshank were still present into December. The influx of winter thrushes does not seem as great as last year but there have still been sizable flocks of fieldfare with a flock of 60 birds present on Vange Marshes in early December. Other birds of note have included yellowhammer, Cetti’s warbler, kingfisher, bearded tit and corn bunting. Finally, the RSPB South Essex Marshes wishes everyone all the best for the New Year.

Marc Outten, South Essex Reserves – Warden

South Essex Reserves

21 August 2008

The availability of water, a vital ingredient for the success of the habitat management on the South Essex Marshes, has not been too much of an issue during the mid-summer period. The rains at the end of May meant that we had water levels at the ideal level. This allowed areas such as Vange Marsh to become very productive for wildlife such as aquatic invertebrates, which in turn attracted large numbers of birds.

Species records
There has been mixed fortunes for this years breeding birds across the marshes. High numbers of breeding skylark were recorded on the West Canvey Marshes site. Other breeding birds of note were pochard, shelduck, Cetti’s warbler, meadow pipit and bearded tit. The saltmarsh on West Canvey Marshes was again a productive site for breeding redshank with 22 pairs holding territories. Unfortunately, carrion crows or gulls, it seems, predated the avocet nests on Vange Marsh leading to the failure of four nests.

Vange Marsh has seen high little egret numbers (29 on the 27th July) and black-tailed godwit (115 on the 10th August). From mid-July to the start of August saw the arrival of wood sandpiper (1 from the 18 to the 27th July and then 2 were present from the 30 July to mid-August) on Vange Marsh. Little Stint (2 on the 30th July) and Curlew Sandpiper (1 from the 31st July, to the 3rd of August) were also interesting passage waders. Large numbers of green and common sandpipers were also recorded with well over twenty individuals of each species present.

Other non-avian highlights included a very high count of 321 marbled white butterflies on West Canvey Marshes on the 4th July.

Reserves Management
The viewing screen overlooking the saline lagoon on Vange Marsh has been temporarily removed to allow access for work on the power line that runs through part of the reed bed behind the screen. This screen will be put back in place in due course.

Other habitat management tasks carried out include the ongoing removal of ragwort on the reserves, the focus for this recently being Vange Marsh. Although patches of this plant will be left for species, such as cinnabar moth, that depend on it, areas have to be removed because we are going to introduce livestock onto Vange Marsh. The livestock will improve the quality of the grass sward for invertebrates, breeding birds and flowering plants.

Marc Outten, South Essex Reserves – Warden
Contact details: 01268 559158 / 07703749727
Email:

South Essex Reserves

11 June 2008

Newsletter No 11

During April and May, the weather across the South Essex area has been unpredictable to say the least. Ranging from snow flurries in early April to hot, sunny weather a few weeks later that is not to mention the torrential rain witnessed in the latter part of May. The rain has made certain parts of the marshes wetter than anticipated. The full effects of this weather on the avian and non-avian species are not known but it will be interesting to see whether this has affected the breeding birds on the reserves.

Species records
April and May are the months when many birds arrive back on our shores from their wintering grounds. One of the first of the passage birds through the South Essex area were wheatear with birds being recorded at Vange Marsh in the first and last weeks of April on their way to their northern breeding grounds. Other birds that arrived at Vange included sedge warbler (14th April) followed in the next week by reed warbler, lesser whitethroat, common whitethroat, grasshopper warbler and cuckoo. The hirundines started to turn up on the RSPB reserve during the first week of April. Sand martins were the first to arrive, followed by swallows, house martins and finally swifts. The first recorded swift to arrive back on Vange Marsh was on the 26th April. Other birds of interest on Vange Marsh were Garganey (drake found on the 16 May and joined by a second drake on the 26th May), black terns were seen on 26th and 27th May and a male marsh harrier was seen over the reedbed on the 30th May.

Butterfly monitoring has proved difficult with the cool temperatures recorded throughout April. If the temperature does not get above 14°C, the guidelines for butterfly monitoring state that, monitoring should not take place as Lepidoptera do not take to the wing. The species recorded at Vange Marsh from April have included, small white, green-veined white, peacock and orange-tip. In the first week of May on the northern boundary of the West Canvey Marsh reserve, the locally scarce wall brown was recorded.

Reserves management
Habitat management is minimal during the summer months because of the problem of disturbance to breeding species therefore the main focus is on species monitoring. Tasks that have been carried out include the replacement of the viewing screen overlooking the saline lagoon on Vange Marsh and the installation of an electrical cable at Vange Wick. This electrical cable will feed a water abstraction pump on the site that will help increase water levels on the reserve.

Marc Outten
South Essex Reserves – Warden

South Essex Reserves

01st April 2008

Newsletter No 10

This is the tenth of a series of regular newsletters on progress at the RSPB’s South Essex Reserve network.

The water levels across the marshes have continued to rise. This being said, the months of January and February have seen little rainfall resulting in lower water levels than expected across the marshes. This has not stopped good numbers of wildfowl using the RSPB’s south Essex sites.

Species records
On the South Essex Marshes, the highlights included peak counts of teals (350 on the 19 January), wigeons (250 on the 19 January), shovelers (65 on the 16 February), black-headed gulls (260 on the 11 February). Other birds of interest on the marshes have been kingfishers, bearded tits, yellowhammers, green sandpipers (2 throughout the winter), corn buntings (21 on the 22 February), reed buntings (23 on the 27 January), lapwings (c. 200 on the 19 February), curlews (35 on the 24 January), water pipit (1 on the 3 February) and merlin (1 on the 1 February). The bird that gained quite a lot of interest was a barn owl that was regularly seen quartering over Vange Marsh. It was best observed just before dusk but had also been seen hunting at mid-day.

Early signs of spring that were recorded were a Bombus sp. on the 19 January and flowering blackthorn on the 1 February. The water voles have also been active with fresh latrines and other field signs being found across Vange Marsh.

Reserves management
The installation of a peregrine nestbox went ahead and was undertaken in partnership with the Environment Agency. Peregrines are regularly seen in the area and with a good food source locally it is felt that the nestbox will make a suitable nesting site for the species.

The Vange Marsh saline lagoon islands have been cleared of vegetation ready for the breeding season. The viewing screen overlooking the saline lagoon had been temporarily removed. Some wooden fencing was put up in its place to stop people walking into the wildlife refuge part of the site. Unfortunately, there are still people entering the sites refuge area causing disturbance to the bird species present. Last year’s human disturbance to the saline lagoon had a detrimental effect on the habitats breeding birds. A new screen will be put up in the near future to eradicate this problem before this years breeding season.

Marc Outten South Essex Reserves – Warden

Essex Reserves Update

10th January 2008

Newsletter No 9

This is the ninth of a series of regular newsletters on progress at the RSPB’s South Essex Reserve network.

Fresh water is now being abstracted from the river on Vange Marsh and is being fed into the moat system and onto the freshwater marsh. The water will be abstracted between the months of November and March. This water management will encourage wintering water birds to use the site and help control some of the vegetation across the marsh.

Species records
Bearded tits have been reported in small numbers on the Vange Marsh reedbed. A male showing on the 5 of January was a pleasant surprise for the visitors that turned out for the wardens walk. Wigeon and teal numbers have grown steadily,with 110 and 140 respectively in early January. Water rails have been regular on Vange Marsh, their presence being given away by their squealing call. A flock of 150 fieldfares were recorded feeding on the reserves hedgerows on the 1 December 2007. Other birds of interest recorded on Vange marshes include, snipes (8 on 9 January), jack snipe (1 on 22 November), marsh harrier (1 male on 24 December), green sandpiper (1 on 24 December), bramblings (2 on 22 November), grey wagtails and kingfishers.

Reserves habitat management
It’s been a busy time on Vange Marsh! Livestock will be introduced to manage the grassland on Vange Marsh. To do this fencing has been installed to control the animals and stop them venturing onto neighbouring land or the railway track.

Following the acquisition of the reedbed area on the marsh, works have been carried out on the habitat. Excavator machines have been on site and created pool areas in the reedbed. Reed-edge habitat is beneficial for many specialist birds including bearded tit. This rare species winters on Vange Marsh but does not breed. Studies have found bearded tits like dry areas but close to open water within reedbeds. The new habitat structure will hopefully encourage these beautiful birds to breed.

A bund has been constructed across the reedbed. This will be the route of a footpath and will also enable the control of water levels. On the eastern side of the bund, the water levels will be higher and will be a freshwater system. The western side of the bund will remain a drier, saline habitat. This drier habitat has benefits for many non-avian species including invertebrates.

Marc Outten, South Essex Reserves – Warden

Children Open a New Green Gateway in the Gateway

14th November 2007

Children from Basildon will officially open a new nature reserve at the heart of the Thames Gateway on Monday 19 November.

The opening of the 4.5 hectare site at Vange Marsh, an extension to the existing RSPB site, is an important development for a number of reasons. The site could have been sold on the open market. However, English Partnerships recognised that the land was much more valuable to local communities as a nature reserve and ‘gifted’ the site to the Land Restoration Trust. Moreover, English Partnerships have provided an endowment of £500,000 to provide for the future management of the nature reserve.

The Land Restoration Trust will work in partnership the RSPB to ensure the local community benefits from the space. The nature reserve is already being used as an education resource by the RSPB, with local scout groups, schools and colleges finding out about the wildlife that lives there.

The move has also been backed by Basildon Renaissance Partnership and Basildon District Council. Photocall: Children from nearby Pitsea Junior School will be visiting RSPB Vange Marsh on Monday 19 November to learn about local wildlife and find out first hand what’s involved in managing a wetland nature reserve. At 10.45 am, delegates from English Partnerships and the Land Restoration Trust will join the RSPB at Wat Tyler Country Park, Pitsea to officially open the nature reserve and promote its use as a resource for the local community. The press are invited to join the delegates.

Euan Hall, Chief Executive of the Trust, comments, “Access to open space has been shown to improve health and social cohesion as well as benefiting the environment. The new nature reserve is the key that opens access to a much wider network of open spaces, comprising Vange Marsh, West Canvey Marshes and Wat Tyler Country Park”.

Dave Hedges, the RSPB’s site manager for Vange Marsh, states, “The nature reserve attracts a range of wildlife including the rare water vole, great crested newt and declining bearded tit. Management will ensure that wildlife thrives and new access improvements will help people make better use of their local environment.”

The site will be part of the South Essex Greengrid, an exciting long-term project to encourage the development of a network of open spaces and green links throughout the Thames Gateway in South Essex.

Jonathan Martin, English Partnerships Area Director said, “I’m really pleased that English Partnerships has been able to secure this long-term future for Vange Marsh. The inclusion of this site into the South Essex Greengrid will make a significant impact on an area much wider than the site itself. English Partnerships are confident that the partnership established between the Land Restoration Trust and the RSPB will ensure the community has the best possible access to this important natural environment”.

Vange and Canvey Updates

1st November 2007

This is the eighth of a series of regular newsletters on progress at the RSPB’s South Essex Reserve network.

The water levels across the South Essex reserves continued to recede through the late summer, early autumn months. Although May and some of June were unusually wet there has been little rain since the early summer. This has made water management across the region difficult at times. This being said there has been a good amount of wet muddy fringe full of invertebrates to entice wading birds.

Species records
Many bird species have taken advantage of these conditions. A number of waders have been seen on Vange Marsh. These include green sandpiper (9 on the 5th of September), greenshank, spotted redshank (5 on the 16th September), snipe (6 on the 13th October) and black-tailed godwit. Other birds included kingfisher, grey wagtail, wigeon, shoveler, teal, stonechat (6 on the 22nd October), and large numbers of meadow pipit with up to 30 recorded in mid October. A common buzzard was seen flying over Vange Marsh on the 5th of September and a male bearded tit was a welcome visitor to the reedbed on the 22nd of October.

The butterfly monitoring program drew to a close for the year at the end of September. There was a second brood of small heaths and green-veined whites on the reserve. Twelve small heaths were recorded on the 3rd of September and the last of the small skippers were seen on the same date.

Reserves habitat management
Vange Marsh has had eight and a half tonnes of concrete, metal fence posts and wire fence post removed from it. This was part of a 500-metre fence line that used to run across the eastern half of the reserve but had been lying in the grass for many years. Whilst the machinery was on site carrying out this works, a trench was excavated on the eastern part of the freshwater marsh to allow greater control of water distribution and levels on the marsh.

The second phase of the West Canvey consultation has already begun, with more detailed proposals for the Canvey reserve now entering the public domaine. These proposals have addressed many of the issues raised by the first part of the consultation, such as access and rights of way. The aim of this consultation will be to provide a nature reserve that not only benefits wildlife but also caters for the needs of the local people.

Marc Outten, South Essex Reserves – Warden

RSPB Vange Marsh Update

18th September 2007

Species records
Over the past two months, there has been a continuation of the species monitoring programs. Following the report of a water vole on Vange Marsh a survey was carried out. The outcome of this survey was the discovery of a population of water voles. Field signs were initially found in the existing ditch system that runs east to west parallel to the water storage moat.

The moat was created last autumn and is used to store water to aid water control across the freshwater marsh area. Further observations have found that the water voles have now colonised the moat. These mammals are UK Biodiversity Action Plan species and it is felt that the stabilisation of the water levels in the ditch systems across Vange Marsh, along with habitat creation, has helped in their recovery.

Bird records include, 30 avocet with approximately 12 young on the 8th July; 2 hobby and 10 common tern on the 21st July; 9 green sandpiper, 6 common sandpiper and 2 snipe on the 1st August. Other birds seen on Vange Marsh include kingfisher, black-tailed godwit, greenshank and Mediterranean gull.

The summers butterfly surveys have been hampered by poor weather. This being said 20 different species of butterfly have been recorded on Vange Marsh since the end of May this year. The highest transect count of any one species was two hundred and one gatekeepers on the 1st of August. The number of marbled white butterflies reached a high of 17 on the 3rd of July.

Reserves habitat management
The cockleshells have arrived! One hundred and thirty tonnes of the material has been delivered to Vange Marsh. The shell was obtained from a sustainable source at Leigh-on-sea and will be used to cap the saline lagoon islands. This will improve the habitat for breeding bird species such as waders and terns.

Planning permission has been granted for a bridge that will link Vange Marsh to Wat Tyler Country Park. The path connecting the two sites will do so via the old county tip then across the bridge at Pitsea creek onto Vange Marsh. This will improve access to Vange Marsh and allow great views of the entire area from the top of the county tip.

Marc Outten, South Essex Reserves – Warden
Contact details: 01268 559158 / 07703749727
Newsletter No 7

RSPB Vange Marsh and Canvey Wick Update

1st July 2007

This is the sixth of a series of regular newsletters on progress at the RSPBs South Essex Reserve network.

Vange Marsh:
In the May newsletter it was a concern that the hot weather of April had lowered the water across the marshes considerably and there was worry that this could affect the breeding success of the wetland birds. This problem failed to materialise because of the high levels of wet weather during May and June. The main problem to occur on the marsh was the human disturbance created on the saline lagoon area by people with unauthorised access. It is unclear what affect this had on the birds. Nether-the-less many species did manage to breed in this area.

Breeding waterbirds on Vange Marsh have included, lapwing (2 pair), common tern (1 pair), redshank (1 pair), and shelduck (2 pair). The avocets reared five broods of young. Breeding passerines have included, reed warbler, Cettis warbler, sedge warbler, common whitethroat, lesser whitethroat (2 pairs) and reed bunting (7 pairs). Other birding highlights on Vange marsh included a little gull on the 2nd of June, black-tailed godwits (40 on the 7th of May), greenshank, little ringed plover, dunlin, green and common sandpiper and birds of prey such as sparrowhawk, hobby and peregrine falcon. The arrival of a Temmincks stint on the 16th of May-18th May was a pleasant surprise. Another Temminck's stint was also recorded on the 26th of May and it is felt because of the week gap between the sightings that this could have been a second bird.

Butterflies on the marsh have included small and large skipper, meadow browns, painted ladies, ringlets, and the locally scarce marbled white butterfly.

Work on Vange marsh this autumn will see the return of the diggers. This will be to maximise the ecological potential of the saline lagoon and some re-structuring of the lagoon islands will need to take place. Once the work is complete, some of the islands will be covered in a mixture of shingle and cockleshell others will be left with bare earth. This will create a greater diversity in nesting habitat.

Vange Wick Marsh:
Initial breeding bird surveys have shown that the increased water levels have benefited a number of wetland bird species. Moorhen and mallard have bred, but notably there were up to five breeding pairs of lapwing and two pairs of redshank.

Work will soon take place to install a pump near the reservoir. This will be used to allow greater control of the water levels on Vange Wick Marsh. Water will be pumped into and out of the reservoir when needed to create the ideal water levels for over wintering or nesting birds.

West Canvey Marsh:
There has been little change to the reserve itself but the Canvey public consultation has taken place to gain an insight into what the local residents want from the nature reserve. The results of the consultation will be released in the near future.

Bird monitoring has seen the discovery of one pair of breeding avocets on the northern section of the reserve. Other breeding birds recorded were redshank, shelduck, reed warbler (in high numbers), reed bunting, whitethroat, chaffinch, skylark and cuckoo.

Marc Outten
South Essex Reserves Warden
Contact details: 01268 559158 / 07703749727
Email:

03rd May 2007

This is the fifth of a series of regular newsletters on progress at the RSPBs South Essex Reserve network.

Vange Marsh:

Heavy rains in the early part of the year helped fill the lake far faster than anyone expected and meant the marsh held good numbers of birds early on in the year. Flocks of 100 curlew, 90 plus shoveler, 300 teal and 200 wigeon were regularly seen. Gull numbers remained high and black-headed gulls numbers reached 2500 in one count. With water levels still being lower than was hoped for the start of the breeding season, this was a great start for the marshes first year of being re-wetted.

The hot weather through April has lowered water levels but not put the birds off breeding. A pair of common terns have been seen displaying and passing food between each other. Shelduck, shoveler, avocet and reed buntings have also been seen displaying or singing and up to 10 greenshank have also been seen. Lapwing numbers are rising and the marshes have had several lapwings calling and displaying which is a good sign that grazing and water level management is moving in the right direction. Migrants have also been seen with a spoonbill on the 30th April as well as a few pairs of common sandpipers and several little gulls moving north along the coast to their Baltic breeding grounds. The highlight remains a single sighting of a bluethroat passing through, possibly the first of many future sightings as there is talk that global warming may encourage these birds to breed at Vange Marsh.

New Warden
The South Essex Project is pleased to welcome Marc Outten as the new Warden. Marc started on the 1st May and will working on a variety of tasks. Initially he will develop the projects workshop and once this is done will develop a volunteer work party. If you are interested in getting out and helping with a variety of reserve tasks please contact Marc on the office telephone number and he will take you details.

Marc has joined us from Southend Borough Council where he has worked as a Country Park Ranger and is just finishing a degree at Writtle College. A keen birder Marc will be an asset to the project.

Dave Hedges South Essex Sites Manager
contact details: 07834 257784
Newsletter No 5

RSPB Vange Marsh and Canvey Wick Update

03rd March 2007

Vange Marsh North:
Since the last newsletter in November work has progressed well. The remaining ground works that needed finishing have been completed. These included:

The reopening of the blocked sluice to create a 1ha, self contained, saline lagoon habitat with islands.
The connection of the stream running along east boundary of the site to the moat, this water will be essential for the moat to function effectively and to manage the water levels within the lake.

The saline lagoon now works well and salt water from Pitsea Creek flows into the lagoon at high tide. Two islands were lowered during the landscaping to act as additional feeding areas and these appear to work well as they are at water level at high tide. The abstraction point for fresh water from the stream has also been installed and this includes an oil and silt trap. Water has been flowing into the lake since Christmas and the recent rain we have had has been a great help in raising the water levels back up.

Some finishing off will be completed in the next few weeks that include installing a litter trap on the fresh water abstraction point and putting in elm boards into the saline lagoon sluice. This will keep half the water in the lagoon at low tide.

Late summer will see the start of more work to help manage the remainder of the reserve. New fencing will be put up along the boundary to the railway so we can safely graze the grassland. Plans to improve the public access to the site include a permissive route through the reedbed to the viewing screen and a bridge over the creek from the County Tip.

Vange Wick Marsh:
Phase two of the ground works at Vange Wick is now complete. The reservoir and water control structure are now in place and water is starting to build up in the marsh ditches. An abstraction licence has been acquired so additional water can be pumped out of the stream to wet the marshes up. Phase three of the works will run in two stages, starting in March when an abstraction sluice will be installed in the stream to separate salt and fresh water. Work will then start again in August when the abstraction pump will be installed and a bridge replaced. This will be completed in time for next winter when the reservoir can be filled and the marshes wetted up properly.

West Canvey Marsh:
Work on West Canvey has so far consisted of site surveys to inform us on decisions for the future of the marsh. These reports have looked at insects, reptiles, amphibians and other wildlife as well as archaeology and hydrology. This will help us this summer when the RSPB will carry out a public consultation to find out how local people would like to use the open space on the Marshes. If you want to comment on the future of West Canvey Marsh, please keep an eye out in local press and in the local community for details.

RSPB Vange Marsh Update

03rd January 2007

At RSPB Vange Marsh the earth works are now complete and there are only small jobs to be completed on the sluices before the works are finished. The saline lagoon is operating with salt water from Pitsea Creek filling it via the old sluice in the flood bank. The lagoon fills by 1 metre on each tide and with islands in the lagoon it is expected to become a valuable high tide roost and breeding site in the coming year. The fresh water lake is steadily filling and good numbers of duck are using the area.

During 2007 fencing will be installed to allow grazing of the dry grassland areas and additional footpaths will be created to improve access to view the birdlife in the reed bed and on the lagoons. Over the Christmas period two Dartford Warblers have been seen as well as Stonechat, Bearded Tit, Green Sandpiper, Teal and Widgeon were spotted.

RSPB Vange Marsh and Canvey Wick Update

15th November 2006

Vange Marsh North: When I wrote the last newsletter in May we had some small-scale works still to complete:

• The fencing to ensure the functioning of the moat and the viewing screen at the south east corner.
• Improvements to the security at the wood yard access.
• A drop-board sluice to control water levels in the reedbed to the east of the site.

These works were completed to schedule, with the works to the reedbed particularly pleasing. This important habitat was suffering from a lack of water control and saltwater inundation. Addressing both these issues has produced a more extensive sustainable reedbed.

The need for groundworks in March, combined with the expected summer drawdown meant that the site dried out in the early summer but not before a successful first nesting by little ringed plovers. The growth of seed bearing weeds across the site means that there will be super abundant food when the site is re-wetted this winter.

The following works were deferred until autumn 20061:

• The reopening of the blocked sluice to create a 1ha, self contained, saline lagoon habitat with islands.
• The connection of the stream running along east boundary of the site to the moat, this water will be essential for the moat to function effectively; an Abstraction Licence is required before we can flow water via this route.

As I write we are putting the finishing touches to the saline lagoon and we have the Abstraction Licence needed to wet the moat and aid the re wetting of the freshwater wetland system. We have concluded that it is feasible of bring visitors to the site from Wat Tyler Country Park, via the former county landfill site and a bridge over Pitsea Creek, we expect to be in a position to apply for planning permission in the near future. The other progress to report is the near completion of the acquisition of two blocks of adjacent land, totalling 6ha, as extensions to the site. These areas include the excellent reedbed detailed above.

Vange Wick Marsh: Phase two groundworks1 were started in August, with completion expected by mid-November. The main focus of these works was the construction of a 35,000m3 winter storage reservoir. This reservoir will ensure optimum conditions for breeding birds and other important wildlife. The other works included further improvements to the water control infrastructure, the field water supply, tracks and fencing. An Abstraction Licence has been acquired for sufficient water to supply both the existing creek systems and the reservoir.

West Canvey Marshes: We acquired2 this 254ha site, from Morrison’s Supermarkets, on 30th March 2006. Progress to-date has concentrated on site investigation, including a full ground survey and a range of ecological surveys. Habitat management and people engagement proposals will be out for extensive consultation in the near future.

We have appointed a Sites Manager for our growing South Essex land-holding, he is Dave Hedges, joining us from the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. Dave’s appointment will mean a gradual reduction in my role as South Essex Project Officer and an eventual return to a full time role as Essex Area Manager. Dave will be the first point of contact for any queries from now on.

Chris Tyas, Essex Area Manager
Dave Hedges contact details: 07834 257784, Email:

Newsletter No 3

1. The additional works at Vange Marshes were funded by DCLG and the Cleanaway Pitsea Marshes Trust
2. The West Canvey Marshes acquisition was funded by the Cleanaway Pitsea Marshes Trust and EEDA
3. The role of South Essex Project Officer is supported by the Cleanaway Pitsea Marshes Trust

RSPB Vange Marsh and Canvey Wick Update

04th September 2006

Just a short update this month

• We are interviewing for the Senior Site Manager on Thursday this week.
• Contractors are now on Vange Wick digging the new reservoir.
• A new general purpose building has been completed at Vange Wick, replacing the existing hay barn, addressing a significant Health and Safety Issue.
• A contractor is due on site in late September to start work on the saline lagoon.
• Planning for ground works etc at Canvey West Marsh are on-going.
• Application for three abstraction licences are pending.
• The third newsletter to be issued in October.

RSPB Vange Marsh and Canvey Wick Update

22nd June 2006

Plans have been unveiled for a large new nature reserve on Canvey Island in south Essex.

The RSPB has acquired 256 hectares (640 acres) of grassland and saltmarsh at West Canvey Marsh and is seeking local views on how to manage it for wildlife and people in the future.

The bulk of the land, bought from William Morrison Supermarkets plc, is grazing marsh that lies to the west of Canvey Way.

The purchase was made possible by generous financial support of the East of England Development Agency, Cleanaway Pitsea Marshes Trust and the Department for Communities and Local Government’s Thames Gateway Programme.

As well as protecting this as open space, the RSPB hopes to bring more water onto the presently rather dry marsh, improving it for breeding wading birds such as redshanks and lapwings and for wintering wild ducks.

But plans remain to be finalised and the RSPB will be consulting locally about the future management of the land. It has been managed as grazing land for generations and this, says the RSPB, has laid the foundations for a sustainable future. As well as protecting the land from future development, the RSPB hopes to increase its value for wildlife and improve access for the local community and visitors.

The area bought from Morrisons also includes 30 hectares of saltmarsh at Benfleet Creek, west of the bridge onto Canvey Island. The saltmarsh here is known to support a high density of nesting redshanks.

Paul Fisher, the RSPB’s South Essex Projects Manager, said: “This secures for future generations the largest remaining green space on Canvey Island – a landscape rich in wildlife and great for people.“

About 80 per cent of the coastal grazing marsh in Essex has been lost since the 1930s, due to a combination of conversion to arable, building and landfill sites. But a large and valuable area remains on the Thames, with this area on Canvey linking with grazing marsh at Pitsea, Vange and Fobbing to the west of Hole Haven Creek.

This is a further investment by the RSPB in the South Essex Thames Gateway, following recent reserve established at Vange Marshes in Basildon [note 1].

With 650,000 people in the south Essex part of the Thames Gateway [note 2], a major aim of ‘Greengrid’ is to provide new green spaces connected to each other in a network accessible to people and filled with wildlife. This is a foundation for ‘sustainable development’, securing a healthy and attractive place to live in and to visit.

Councillor Pam Challis, Leader of Castle Point Borough Council, said: "We are delighted that the RSPB is now managing this marshland area. It is important for such places to be well-managed so that the wildlife has space in which to live and nest. It is also good news as it will preserve this open space for current and future generations to enjoy and also encourage visitors to come to our Borough."

Doug Benjafield, Chairman of Cleanaway Pitsea Marshes Trust, adds: “The Cleanaway Trusts have been longstanding and significant financial supporters of the work of the RSPB on the urban fringes of south east Essex, particularly in areas adjacent to Cleanaway landfill sites. Protecting this land from development – in perpetuity – is helping the long-term nature conservation interests of the area. This approach to partnership working provides the most sustainable option to maximise the benefits for both wildlife and controlled public access.”

Mary Spence, Chief Executive Officer of the Thames Gateway South Essex Partnership said “The successful acquisition of this valuable site further underlines the commitment of the Thames Gateway South Essex Partnership to the protection and enhancement of the rich environment of the area, and our desire to make it accessible for local people.”

Richard Ellis, chair of the East of England Development Agency said "EEDA has invested heavily in the Thames Gateway to assist with economic development and future growth of the area but we recognise our investment needs to achieve more than create new businesses. We are working to protect the environment and preserve the ecology of Canvey Island, a goal which can only be achieved by working with our partners to create truly sustainable communities."

The new reserve is already in the Essex Coast Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) scheme run by Defra's Rural Development Service (RDS). Alan Bullivant, leader of Defra’s team of environmental advisers in Essex said: "The Essex Coast and the Thames Estuary is one of the top five coastal wetlands in Britain in terms of its value to bird, invertebrate and plant communities, some of which are nationally rare or scarce. The ESA scheme and the new Environmental Stewardship scheme help farmers and landowners manage this resource for the benefit of the wildlife and ultimately for the rest of us. We are confident that the RSPB's management at Canvey Island make this attractive coastal grassland even more valuable for wildlife.”

Mark Easton, store general manager of Morrisons Canvey Island said: “We are pleased to have concluded the deal to sell this land to the RSPB to protect an area of local natural significance.”

Graham Mee, leader of the RSPB’s South Essex local group said: "Coming so soon after the new nature reserves at Vange, to hear about the purchase of large areas of Canvey Marshes is just amazing. The local group looks forward to helping with the new reserve and to an exciting future for nature in south Essex.”

ends

Further information
Paul Fisher, South Essex Projects Manager mobile 07740 097058
Chris Durdin, Public Affairs Officer, RSPB regional office 01603 660066

Notes for editors

The RSPB’s reserves at Vange Marsh North and Vange Wick Marshes, totalling 118 hectares (295 acres), were announced in December 2005.

2. Thames Gateway: South Essex became part of the Thames Gateway in 2001, with a population of 650,000 people in the area covered by the Councils of Thurrock, Basildon, Castle Point and Southend-on-Sea. The Thames Gateway is a government Growth Area – the largest economic regeneration zone in the UK. The RSPB is working with many partners within the Thames Gateway South Essex Partnership to ensure that any development is sustainable – especially through collaboration in the Greengrid. The Greengrid sets out to make sure that there is green space – rich in wildlife and accessible to people – throughout the South Essex sub-region and that these areas are connected together. The RSPB plans to create new nature reserves here and to introduce many people – both local and new visitors – to the wealth of wildlife and landscape. The RSPB believes that its role as a green developer will protect and improve our natural resources, set the scene for sustainable economic growth and create a healthy and vibrant fabric for work, rest and play.

3. The Thames Estuary is the major part of an estuarine complex known as the Greater Thames. Stretching from London Bridge to Clacton in Essex and Whitstable in Kent, the Greater Thames is the UK's most important estuary complex for birds. Its importance is formally recognised by its designations under national, European and international nature conservation law. This outstanding area for wildlife is made up of mudflats, saltmarsh and grazing marshes and supports up to 300,000 wading birds, ducks and geese each winter. Many more rest and refuel during their migration between their arctic breeding grounds and their winter quarters in Africa or southern Europe. Many species including brent geese, knot and bar-tailed godwit reach internationally important numbers. The area is also important for breeding birds. The wetlands are home to an array of other wildlife, including water voles, scarce emerald damselflies and many nationally rare plants.

4. Cleanaway Pitsea Marshes Trust was established nine years ago to manage the tax credits generated by the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme (LTCS). The Pitsea and Canvey Marshes Trusts merged in April 2005 – to benefit community and environmental projects in Basildon and Castle Point. More than £5.8 million has been spent on 150 projects. Initial enquiries about Trust funding should be addressed to the Project Officer on 01708 520061.

5. Progress on the RSPB’s new nature reserves can be followed by visiting the Greengrid website www.greengrid.co.uk Information on local activities and the RSPB’s work in South Essex is on www.southeastrspb.org.uk

Chris Durdin
Public Affairs Officer
RSPB Eastern England Office
www.rspb.org.uk
e-mail: [email protected]
tel 01603 660066 direct line 01603 697521

The RSPB is the UK charity working to secure a healthy environment for birds and wildlife, helping to create a better world for us all.

Photo by Darren Chaplin

The photo above depicts the RSPB Vange Marsh outfall, the other end of the pipe has a state of the art tilting weir controlling water levels to the nearest mm over the wetland area. The range of control is 600mm (requiring 269 turns of the control mechanism!). This will allow us to manage high water levels in the winter for wildfowl and perfect mud edge conditions for breeding and passage waders.

RSPB Vange Marsh Update

16th may 2006

Media Release

What a lot of rubbish on RSPB Vange Marshes nature reserve!

In December 2005, the RSPB acquired Vange Marshes with the aim of turning the area into a place that benefits birds and wildlife and where people can enjoy what’s there.

Since then we’ve been busy working on the site making it bird and visitor friendly, and this included a major rubbish clearance. Just one look at the picture tells you how much was there! The pile included: 400m of chain-link fence, five motor bikes, four supermarket trolleys, fire extinguishers, car parts and more – enough to fill two large skips!

The rubbish clearance was carried out by contractors, and the marshes are now free and safe of the debris that’s accumulated on there over the years. RSPB South Essex Community Project Manager Fiona Hazelton said “RSPB Vange Marshes will be a great place for people to come and enjoy the birds and wildlife that will soon be taking advantage of the areas we’re busy creating for them. To clear so much rubbish off shows how neglected they’ve been over the years, but soon the marshes will be safe and clean for all to enjoy“.

Already we have seen avocets and geese on Vange Marshes, and with the work we are doing to improve it for birds, we hope to attract redshank and lapwing.

To find out more about the marshes and viewing the site, call 01268 559158.

Photo by Darren Chaplin

RSPB Vange Marsh and Canvey Wick Update

10th May 2006

Vange Marsh North: The majority of the plans detailed in the first newsletter have been achieved. We received all the permissions needed to carry out the required ground works on 10^th March. Being confident of a successful outcome, we had machinery ready to deploy immediately. All of the large-scale extensive works were completed by 31^st March, with some localised specific jobs running into April/early May. Work completed to date:

• The installation of a tilting weir sluice to allow precise control of water levels. This sluice will create a mosaic of water, mud and vegetation, with water levels adjusted to provide optimum conditions for wintering, breeding and passage birds.
• The moat to control access, providing a site that is usable by as many birds as possible, whilst being readily viewable by visitors.
• The diversion weir to allow the flow of water from the stream along the east boundary of the site into the moat, this water will be essential for the moat to function effectively.
• A major rubbish clearance, including 400m of chain-link fence, five motor bikes, four supermarket trolleys and a wide range of other mess – two large skip loads in all.

Localised works to be completed by mid-May:

• The fencing that will ensure the functioning of the moat and the viewing screen at the south east corner.
• Improvements to the security at the wood yard access. These works were delayed due to an exceptionally long delivery time for a disabled access kissing gate.
• A drop-board sluice to control water levels in the reedbed to the east of the site.

The following works have been deferred to the autumn of 2006:

• The reopening of the blocked sluice to allow the creation of a 1ha, self contained, saline lagoon habitat with islands.
• The connection of the stream to the moat; an Abstraction Licence is required before we can flow water via this route.

We are still researching the possibility of a bridge to provide access from Wat Tyler CP, via the former County Tip. This project should reach the Planning Permission stage in the near future.

The site is currently set up to capture rainfall to raise water levels, this is obviously subject to the vagaries of the Great British climate. The requirement to raise water levels has to be balanced against the need to prevent any nesting birds being flooded. Given these factors, and the awaited abstraction licence, it is likely to be late autumn before we can take full control of the water management of the site.

Vange Wick Marsh: At the same time as executing the above work at Vange Marsh North, we have also been carrying out similar work at Vange Wick Marsh. These works will ensure that we capture any rainfall within the grazing marsh water systems. In the autumn, a second Abstraction Licence will allow us to re-wet these marshes for the first time in many years.

Chris Tyas, Essex Area Manager
Please feel free to contact me: 01621 862621 / 07736 792481

Photo by Darren Chaplin

RSPB Vange Marsh Update

February 07th 2006

On 1st December 2005 the RSPB acquired 25ha (62 acres) at Vange Marsh North, on a long lease from Basildon District Council. Prior to the acquisition, we gained permission to carry out some preparatory works. These works included the draining of the ‘lake’ in October, by the installation of a temporary pipe at the southeast corner of the site. Draining the site was a necessary evil, allowing us to do meaningful ground survey work to inform our plans for the site and to provide access for the mandatory archaeological surveys. The marsh is therefore in a temporary “resting” state, before our new management begins.

We have now formulated our plans, in consultation with a whole range of organisations and individuals, including a number of local birdwatchers. These plans are now with the local planning authority and Environment Agency to gain the required permissions. If all goes well we will to be on the ground in March carrying out a range of works:

• Installing a sophisticated tilting weir sluice to allow precise control of water levels.
• This sluice will create a mosaic of water, mud and vegetation, with water levels adjusted to provide optimum conditions for wintering, breeding and passage birds.
• We also plan to open up the blocked sluice that created the ‘lake’, to allow the creation of a 1ha bunded saline lagoon habitat with islands.
• The works proposed will also benefit a range of other wildlife – not just birds.
• To allow us to provide a site that is usable by as many birds as possible it will be essential to install measures to control access. A moat will protect the north shore of the site and visitors will be restricted to the northern half of the east and west shores. There will be a viewing screen at the southeast corner.
• In the longer term we plan to have a footpath connecting the site to Wat Tyler Country, via a bridge over Pitsea Creek.

Vange Marsh North has been a good site intermittently in the past. Our plans will ensure that it is consistently managed for the years to come, allowing the development of a sustainable wetland wildlife community.

At the same time as acquiring Vange Marsh North, we also acquired 93ha (230 acres) at Vange Wick Marshes. Plans are at an advanced stage to re-wet these marshes and manage them for a similar range of birds and other wildlife.

Chris Tyas Essex Area Manager.
Please feel free to contact me: 01621 862621 / 07736 792481 [email protected]