By Essential work carried out at the Cress Marsh
North East Lincolnshire Council’s ecology and maintenance team have been carrying out essential maintenance at the Cress Marsh site near Stallingborough.
According to a statement issued by the council, birds are beginning to flock to the award-winning protected breeding and feeding grounds ahead of winter.
The maintenance works include clearing weeds and vegetation.
This will make the environment more hospitable and provide a suitable habitat for various breeds including Spoonbills, Egrets, Cormorants, Redshank, Golden plover, Curlews, and Lapwings.
Ecology Technician Siân Niblo explained:
“Predators can hide in tall grass, and the birds prefer wide-open space for roosting, so we have all been pitching in to clear weeds from the lagoon at the centre of the site.
“This has to be done by hand and is no easy task, but it’s important to make the ground more appealing for our feathering guests.”
111 different species have been spotted at the site. Many of these are on the national special protection register.
Cress Marsh was developed by North East Lincolnshire Council’s regeneration partner ENGIE as part of the authority’s £42m SHIIP.
The Humber estuary is designated a Special Protection Area due to its importance as a feeding grounds for birds.
As a result, companies that want to develop here must source and create offset wildlife areas as part of strict planning requirements.
This can take months in the planning, with sometimes lengthy delays. Cress Marsh offers companies such land, ready-made.
Developed after working with Natural England, the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, the RSPB, the Humber Nature Partnership, the Environment Agency and landowners and developers, this area of wet and grass lands was created.
It contains a bird hide next to a large central lagoon, which feeds seven more water-filled ‘cells’ via pipework infrastructure.
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