Medmerry

• Intertidal mudflats and saltmarsh – Medmerry’s mudflats and saltmarsh continue to develop naturally bringing in a wealth of new wildlife, from plants, fish and invertebrates to the birds that feed on them.
• Farmland – Winter stubble, uncropped margins and sown bird and bee mixes provide autumn/winter food for farmland birds and wildlife. Rough grass margins offer suitable habitat for small mammals which in turn attract owls and kestrels that prey on them. Cereal crops and the hedgerows that line them provide nesting opportunities for corn buntings, yellowhammers, partridge, skylarks and lapwing.
• Grassland - Grassland provides winter food at high tide for wildfowl such as wigeon, snipe and brent geese, and breeding sites for redshank and lapwing in spring.
• Saline lagoons – The lagoons have been created with islands to attract breeding shorebirds and are used by avocets, oystercatchers, ringed and little ringed plovers.
• Freshwater ponds and ditches – As well as providing habitat for freshwater invertebrates and the wildlife that feed on them, many of our ponds and ditches also support a community of reedbed specialists from reed and sedge warblers to reed buntings and little grebes.
• Other habitats include scrub and shingle beach.

The largest realignment of the open coast ever undertaken in the UK reached its climax in September 2013. Called ‘Medmerry’, it is an Environment Agency flood protection scheme, created in partnership with the RSPB and forming vital new intertidal wildlife habitats. This five-minute video tells the story of its creation.

Working alongside partners and landowners, we use cattle and sheep to graze grassland. Sheep are used on the banks for plants and wildflowers, while cattle work their way across the transitional marshes keeping the grass low for winter wildfowl that prefer fresh growth such as wigeon, snipe and brent geese, and low grass for breeding birds in the spring, including redshank and lapwing. Some of the lagoons and ponds are grazed as well and we clear the islands of vegetation during winter in preparation for the breeding shorebirds in spring.

With the help of farmers on arable stewardship schemes, we are able to provide margins and winter stubble and also sow wild bird mixes to provide food and cover throughout the year for turtle doves, yellowhammers and other farmland birds.  

By carrying out rotational ditch management we optimize our freshwater habitat for water voles, amphibians and dragonflies.

We provide habitat for reptiles which are continually monitored to track their progress and development.

Working with IFCA we monitor fish species and stocks which gives us an indicator of the saltmarshes health and stage of development.

Surveys are carried out throughout the year to establish how the reserve is ecologically developing.

Medmerry has developed into a fantastic home for nature, helped by the tremendous support of many individuals, groups and organisations. In addition to the tremendous work of the Environment Agency, it is important to note the significance of support from RSPB members and supporters, local community members and a tireless team of volunteers.

We would also like to thank the Sussex Ornithological Society, the Peacock Trust, local residents and other charitable trusts for donations that helped secure a strategic land purchase in the early stages of this project and Natural England through Defra for ongoing support.

Medmerry is one our ‘wild and wonderful’ reserves and as such has no toilets, facilities or hides. Therefore we recommend that you start your visit at the nearby Pagham Harbour visitor centre. There you can get the latest information about visiting both reserves, the best places to see the wildlife and use the amenities.

Medmerry is a vast site, but we worked with the Environment Agency to make it as accessible as possible, given the constraints. As a site of national importance for wildlife, it is recognised as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).