Thanks to a generous grant secured though the Landscape Enhancement Initiative (LEI) funding via the National Grid, we have recently undertaken wetland habitat creation works at our Snape Marshes reserve. Five new scrapes have been created within the grazing marsh, providing suitable habitat for overwintering wildfowl and waders as well as target breeding wader species such as lapwing and redshank. We also expect some stonewort species to colonise the scrapes in time, in turn providing cover for aquatic invertebrates and adding biodiversity to this site.

Already, just a week from project completion, we’ve seen a variety of wetland bird species using the new open water areas. Species seen include several roosting curlew, displaying lapwing, feeding redshank, snipe and little egret, plus groups of teal, wigeon, mallard and greylag geese, which is a really promising start. ‘Just add water’, as we often say in conservation circles.