Wallasea Island

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Wallasea Island is the site of RSPB's Wild Coast Project. Previously arable farmland enclosed within a seawall, starting in 2010 spoil from the Crossrail project was imported to recreate large areas of coastal habitat such as existed here before the seawall was built. Earlier, in 2006, a series of lagoons were created by DEFRA along the northern edge of the island as compensation for habitat lost to development elsewhere.

In winter thousands of wildfowl and waders colonise the new habitats. Dunlin, grey plover, redshank, turnstone and curlew feed on the mud or roost on the islands; shelduck, mallard, teal and wigeon on the open water; grey heron and little egret around the fringes; and flocks of lapwing and golden plover on the grazing marsh.

Such large congregations of birds attract many raptors: marsh harrier, peregrine, merlin and kestrel all year, short-eared owl and hen harrier in winter.

Bird numbers are much fewer in spring and summer – skylarks nesting in the drier grassland; reed buntings along the borrowdykes; corn buntings, whitethroats and linnets around the bird cover.

There are lots of brown hares, and an area specially designed for water voles south of Marsh Flats.