In what reserves were new reed beds created?
The impetus for creating the Ham Wall reserve was the plight of the bittern, with only 11 males present in the UK in the 1997 breeding season. Much of its reed bed habitat was deteriorating, and key coastal sites in eastern England were at risk of salt-water flooding, so an opportunity to create a new inland site was attractive to the RSPB. The peat excavations already had bund walls that allowed the water levels on the reserve to be easily managed in sections, and the workings had removed peat down to the underlying marine clay, a depth of 2 metres (6.6 ft) in this area.Water levels were managed using sluices, pipes and wind-pumps to create reed beds with about 20% open water, and the ditches were deepened and widened to restrict reed encroachment and provide a habitat for fish, particularly common rudd, introduced to provide food for the bitterns. By the completion of major works in 2013, the 260 hectares (640 acres) reserve contained 220 hectares (540 acres) of reed bed, including 75 hectares (190 acres) of deep water channels and ditches, 10 hectares (25 acres) of wet woodland and 30 hectares (74 acres) of grass, the latter being mainly on the bunds and some higher ground.Ham Wall, along with Lakenheath Fen in Suffolk, has been a key part of a bittern recovery programme initiated in 1994 as part of the United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan. Both reserves created extensive new reed beds, thereby adding significant additional breeding habitat. Initial funding for the recovery scheme was £60,000 from English Nature in 1994, augmented by two rounds of EU funding in 1996-2000 and 2002-2006.
Lakenheath Fen Ham Wall