Thanks to funding from Biffa Award, the 40-hectare wetland that the Trust set out to create at the start of this year, is coming to life. Elsewhere on the reserve, you can see the importance of shallow scrapes in the below photographs, taken after a few days of rainfall. We are eager to welcome the waddles and splashes of wading birds to their new home and hope to see a biodiverse landscape emerge from this project. Currently, the permissive path along the reserve is closed due to these works, but we look forward to welcoming back the public as soon as we can.

More about the project

At Tollesbury Wick nature reserve, it has been an encouraging year for ringed plover, with three breeding pairs noted. At Colne Point nature reserve, the little tern colony that successfully bred in 2021 was unfortunately not evident this year. We did see some little terns in early May, so we had hoped for chicks on our shore. However, 14 ringed plover and 13 oystercatcher pairs were counted, with juveniles spotted throughout the season. 

Once again proving that the little things matter, this year’s Bugs Matter campaign has been a successful one - thanks to your help! From 1  June to 31 August, citizen scientists across the county have been collecting data to reveal the state of insects. People recorded the number of insects on their number plates after travelling within Essex and added this to the Bugs Matter app. Over 500 samples were collected in Essex alone, helping to build the picture of insect decline and inform conservation for these important species. 

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