Orford Ness Information Bldg - Conservation on the Edge pt2 The Marshes DSC01844
The National Trust is in partnership with the RSPB at Havergate Island and is supported by the EU LIFE + Nature & Biodiversity programme. The Nature Reserves are part of the Natura 2000 network of top priority European conservation sites. The site is internationally important, comprising two distinctive landscapes - marsh and shingle.
The site has been returned to a wetland again and improvements are being continuously made to two important habitats
- coastal grazing marsh (which attracts wildfowl & wading birds such as avocet, redshank & lapwing)
- brackish (salty) lagoons.
The marshes are a mosaic of coastal habitats including grassland, reedmarsh, saltmarsh, esturine flats, deep water pools, ditches and shallow scrapes. There is water at or near the surface for much of the year. Sometimes the marshes are covered by tidal flood or winter rain. These areas provide homes for many breeding, migrant and wintering birds.
Many of the species of birds are of conservation concern. Avocet nest on the small islands in the pools; lapwing on the short-grazed open grassland and redshank in the grassy tussocks. Skylarks sing as they hang in the air above their shallow grass-lined nests.
The passage of many migrating birds is interrupted with a rest on the marshes. Golden plover, curlew, and black-tailed godwit roost here probing the mud for food. Large flocks of wildfowl such as wigeon, teal and shelduck can be seen in winter months.
The brackish lagoons & specialised invertebrates that live there are an important feature, which have become increasingly rare in the UK & Europe. Work began on digging new lagoons in 1998. Species present include starlet sea anemones, lagoon sand shrimp and lagoon cockle. The mud provides a rich soup for wading birds to feed on. Beetles & bugs buzz round the edges of pools & ditches, lurk under debris or hide in mud. The saltmarsh shortspur beetle is found where shingle and saltmarsh meet. Berosus fulvus is a newly discovered aquatic beetle found here.
The shingle spit is one of the largest and finest examples of vegetated shingle in the world and a refuge for wildlife year round.
The rare and fragile ridge & swale structure and plant communities including sea pea and lichens are easily damaged by trampling. Ground-nesting species like the little tern are vulnerable to disturbance.
The Ness shelters a number of protected mammals. Otter forage for crabs and fish in creeks and ditches. Water vole nest in holes in the ditch banks. Brown hares nestle in the grass or race along the roads. Harvest mice, Britain's smallesy rodent, lives in the long grass and reeds.
British & European laws and international conventions protect wildlife and their habitats. These are underpinned by a series of internationally recognised lists of rare & threatened specie. Annex 1 of the 1981 Wildlife & Countryside Act ( as amended by the Countryside & Rights Act - CROW - of 2000). The Birds Directive of European law gives extra protection for migratory birds within SPA (Special Protection Areas). Species are monitored regularly and Red Lists are reviewed and updated. Species can quickly become rare or threatened as environmental conditions change. Certain species act as barometers for environmental health of specific ecosystems - such as curlew, small heath butterfly and sea pea.
Orford Ness has many species of conservation concern. They are listed in the IUCN Red Lists (species threatened with global extinction) or National Lists eg BoCC, Red Data Books and Section41 of NERC (Natural Environment & Rural Communities Act).
Within the grazing marshes on Orford Ness NT has created 3ha of new lagoons, restored another 3ha of lagoons and created 2.5km of new ditches to connect these together. These are blending in well and along with the grassland, which is managed by sheep grazing and cutting for hay, and are providing a rich mosaic of habitats for wildlife.
Orford Ness Information Bldg - Conservation on the Edge pt2 The Marshes DSC01844
The National Trust is in partnership with the RSPB at Havergate Island and is supported by the EU LIFE + Nature & Biodiversity programme. The Nature Reserves are part of the Natura 2000 network of top priority European conservation sites. The site is internationally important, comprising two distinctive landscapes - marsh and shingle.
The site has been returned to a wetland again and improvements are being continuously made to two important habitats
- coastal grazing marsh (which attracts wildfowl & wading birds such as avocet, redshank & lapwing)
- brackish (salty) lagoons.
The marshes are a mosaic of coastal habitats including grassland, reedmarsh, saltmarsh, esturine flats, deep water pools, ditches and shallow scrapes. There is water at or near the surface for much of the year. Sometimes the marshes are covered by tidal flood or winter rain. These areas provide homes for many breeding, migrant and wintering birds.
Many of the species of birds are of conservation concern. Avocet nest on the small islands in the pools; lapwing on the short-grazed open grassland and redshank in the grassy tussocks. Skylarks sing as they hang in the air above their shallow grass-lined nests.
The passage of many migrating birds is interrupted with a rest on the marshes. Golden plover, curlew, and black-tailed godwit roost here probing the mud for food. Large flocks of wildfowl such as wigeon, teal and shelduck can be seen in winter months.
The brackish lagoons & specialised invertebrates that live there are an important feature, which have become increasingly rare in the UK & Europe. Work began on digging new lagoons in 1998. Species present include starlet sea anemones, lagoon sand shrimp and lagoon cockle. The mud provides a rich soup for wading birds to feed on. Beetles & bugs buzz round the edges of pools & ditches, lurk under debris or hide in mud. The saltmarsh shortspur beetle is found where shingle and saltmarsh meet. Berosus fulvus is a newly discovered aquatic beetle found here.
The shingle spit is one of the largest and finest examples of vegetated shingle in the world and a refuge for wildlife year round.
The rare and fragile ridge & swale structure and plant communities including sea pea and lichens are easily damaged by trampling. Ground-nesting species like the little tern are vulnerable to disturbance.
The Ness shelters a number of protected mammals. Otter forage for crabs and fish in creeks and ditches. Water vole nest in holes in the ditch banks. Brown hares nestle in the grass or race along the roads. Harvest mice, Britain's smallesy rodent, lives in the long grass and reeds.
British & European laws and international conventions protect wildlife and their habitats. These are underpinned by a series of internationally recognised lists of rare & threatened specie. Annex 1 of the 1981 Wildlife & Countryside Act ( as amended by the Countryside & Rights Act - CROW - of 2000). The Birds Directive of European law gives extra protection for migratory birds within SPA (Special Protection Areas). Species are monitored regularly and Red Lists are reviewed and updated. Species can quickly become rare or threatened as environmental conditions change. Certain species act as barometers for environmental health of specific ecosystems - such as curlew, small heath butterfly and sea pea.
Orford Ness has many species of conservation concern. They are listed in the IUCN Red Lists (species threatened with global extinction) or National Lists eg BoCC, Red Data Books and Section41 of NERC (Natural Environment & Rural Communities Act).
Within the grazing marshes on Orford Ness NT has created 3ha of new lagoons, restored another 3ha of lagoons and created 2.5km of new ditches to connect these together. These are blending in well and along with the grassland, which is managed by sheep grazing and cutting for hay, and are providing a rich mosaic of habitats for wildlife.