Wetter for Waders project progress

Works have been underway since September at WWT Steart Marshes as part of the Species Survival fund project, Wetter for Waders: Enhancing Somerset’s Coastal Wetlands. This project is funded by DEFRA and delivered by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, in partnership with Natural England and the Environment Agency. The project encompasses a variety of capital works to enhance, restore and create habitat across the reserve, alongside engagement activities intended to connect more people with nature.

Since September we have constructed a variety of wetland features. This work involved the creation of two new scrapes, almost 2km of gripes, ditches and muddy margins, the creation of a ghost pond, the restoration of 12 existing ponds and the creation of a large pond at Stockland Marshes. We hope that these features will encourage breeding waders this winter and ensure that long term, we retain more water across the reserve in the drier summer months.

As some visitors may have noticed, we have also constructed a new predator fence around one of the new scrapes as well as upgrading some of existing fencing. We had a very high number of avocet nests lost to predation in 2024, so we hope that this fencing will protect nests and encourage breeding waders to continue to return to the reserve in the future. In 2025 we will focus on restoring the saline lagoons around the Quantock hides and intend to create a boardwalk across the saltmarsh to allow more people to get closer to this unique landscape.

We have already had some good news regarding bird sightings after the wetland feature works with teal, pintail and water pipits making an appearance on the new scrapes. Bearded tits have also been sighted around the wetland walkway where some of the project’s pond restorations have taken place. Regular bird ringing on the reserve has also recently started with the help of two new volunteers who are experienced bird-ringers. This will be invaluable in our ability to track and analyse the impact the Species Survival Fund works are having on birds.

From an engagement perspective, two mural workshops took place in the Quantock hides this summer, led by local artists Alison Jacobs and Margaret Micklewright. Both artists were helped by local people and charitable organisations including volunteers from My Day Care Services, who regularly clean the hides at the reserve. The murals are designed to capture the spirit of the marshes and we received positive feedback from those who got involved with their creation. We have also delivered two wetland feature creation demonstration days which aimed to promote wetland feature creation across the local landowner and farming communities.

We will also be running a demonstration day on the use of the Softrak (a tracked vehicle used for restoration and harvesting of vegetation on wetland habitats) alongside conservation grazing, likely in late summer next year.