An exciting project to create one of Britain’s biggest reedbeds has passed the halfway stage.
Work on the RSPB’s Ouse Fen nature reserve, north of Cambridge, started in 2001. The restoration work has taken place at the former Needingworth Quarry, where sand and gravel has been extracted for use in the construction industry.
In the last 20 years, the site has become prime habitat for Eurasian Bittern, Common Crane, Western Marsh Harrier and Bearded Tit. In 2021, an impressive 12 ‘booming’ male bitterns could be heard across the reserve – a higher total than the entire UK population in 1997. Other wildlife recorded on site includes Eurasian Otter, Water Vole and 22 species of dragonfly.
When the project is completed, Ouse Fen along with its neighbouring RSPB nature reserves – Fen Drayton Lakes and the Ouse Washes – will form a near-continuous 3,000 ha wetland habitat, which is about half the size of nearby Ely.
Wow!
