Orfordness, Reedbed creation

"Reedbed communities are relatively scarce on Orfordness. In late 1998, under the EU LIFE-Nature project one site was extended by 2 ha, from 0.4 to 2.4 ha. The area had been rank grassland with two small pockets of reed (Phragmites communis) and sea club rush (Scirpus maritimus) growing in some old 'borrow pits' (where clay had been dug for river wall defences). Work involved the surface scraping of between 30 and 80cm on clay from the site with the intention of lowering ground levels to the approximate level of the base these pits thus enabling the reed rhizomes beneath the clay to produce productive shoots. This lowering will also in effect enable the raising of water levels thus suiting the reed. To complement this, areas of deeper open water and islands were also created. Since completion of the work the areas of reed have already expanded, and the new habitat is already benefiting, amongst others, marsh harrier, (Circus aeruginosus) an Annex 1 species under the EU Birds Directive (79/409/EEC), and bearded tit (Panurus biarmicus) as well as many invertebrate species. Marsh harrier bred and successfully raised a brood on this site in both 1999 and 2000."

From the National Trust Web Site @ http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/orfordness.