Holl-utopia - a year on

Towards the end of last year, I reported on a new wetland being created at Hollesley in Suffolk and given the name ‘Holl-utopia’ after the Dutch site Utopia Farm that inspired it.  At Hollesley Marshes there were very few breeding and passage waders and the site sustained only two pairs of breeding Lapwing annually. This fell well short of the aspirations and targets for the reserve. The issues revolved around the layout of the field system and the inability to raise water levels high enough.  The plan was to create a new 13ha coastal wetland habitat following the design of ‘Utopia’ on the island of Texel.  However, the wetland would be freshwater rather than the brackish conditions of the Dutch site, at least in the short term, due to the difficulty of constructing a sluice through the sea wall.

The key feature of Holl-utopia is that it is a shallow wetland with a high percentage of islands; some grassy, some bare, some covered in sand or gravel.  The landform creates extensive terraced areas of shallow water down to just 20cm depth, with a slightly deeper central ditch system.  Water levels will drop during the spring and summer to expose extensive muddy areas and ultimately dry out to just retain water in the deeper ditch features. The drying out is seen as an essential feature for rejuvenating the wetland in the future.   New water control structures allow water to both enter from, and drain to, the adjacent existing ditch system.  An electric anti-predator fence around the margins of the wetland keep the local foxes as mere spectators. 

The first spring saw Glossy Ibis, Spoonbill, Temminck’s Stint and Garganey recorded, along with 25 species of wader.  So how did the first breeding season shape up (with thanks to Dave Fairhurst for the data)?  Not too bad:

·          Shoveler - 1 female seen with 7 ducklings.
Lapwing - 25 nests fledged 60 young with 100% hatching success.
Ringed plover - 3 pairs fledged 9 young.
Little Ringed Plover – a male was on territory throughout May
 Avocet – 41 pairs fledged 82 young, the largest number of young fledged from a single site in       Suffolk since 1986.
 Oystercatcher – 1 pair fledged 2 young
Redshank – 10 pairs fledged 30 young.
Black headed gull – 1 pair fledged 3 young.
Shelduck – 1 pair fledged 7 young.

     

     Pics above: Hollutopia in May and July