Cattawade Marshes

These grazing marshes are of major importance for the diversity of the breeding bird community. Other habitats are grassland and ditches.

In 2016 we dealt with a highly invasive water plant called Crassula helmsii, through flooding the marsh temporarily with salt water to kill the Crassula. Had we not carried out this work, Crassula would have spread throughout the Dedham Vale, and affected the biodiversity of all of the local wetlands to a high degree.

Our main other challenge is the lack of rainfall locally (Essex is one of the driest parts of the UK), which can lead to rapid draw-down of water levels during the spring, and can lead to there being less food available to breeding waders than is optimum.

Historically Cattawade Marshes were important for breeding wading birds such as lapwing and redshank, but some of the interest was lost due to either over or under-grazing. When the RSPB took over the ownership and management of the site in 2005 there were only around 5 pairs of lapwing nesting on the marsh, compare this to the 54 lapwing nests we recorded in 2016 and it shows how much the management has improved since we arrived.

The key to improving the site for breeding waders was a combination of better water level control, improved grazing management and an anti-predator fence. We achieved better water level control, and therefore the best possible source of food for breeding waders, through some work funded by the government, replacing key sluices and to increase the amount of surface flooding in the winter and early spring.

Better management of cattle and sheep was helped by rebuilding our cattle-handling facilities, and working with our grazier to get better overall results. The mile-long anti-predator fence was installed thanks to funding received from the Dedham Vale AONB Sustainable Development Fund and other sources, and helps keep the breeding wader areas free from foxes during the spring.

Cattawade Marshes is an 88.3 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest which lies between the two arms of the River Stour on the Essex/Suffolk border.

The site is very special and easily disturbed so unfortunately there is no public access allowed. But the footpath on the south side of the river allows excellent views of the reserve and all its wildlife and leads you on to the historic hamlet of Flatford, the heart of Constable country.

It's not only during the spring that the marsh is important, during winter we get around 1,500 teals and wigeons with a couple of hundred lapwing and dark bellied brent geese thrown in for good measure. On average, Cattawade Marshes holds around 10 per cent of the wintering birds on the entire Stour Estuary.