Landscape Focus
The Suffolk Wader Strategy operates across a diverse mosaic of coastal grazing marshes, reedbeds and river valleys, prioritising five key catchments where restoration potential is highest. These project sites comprising the Blyth, Alde Ore, Deben, Orwell and Stour represent the frontline of our conservation efforts. Each landscape presents unique hydrological challenges and opportunities, requiring a bespoke approach to habitat management that balances traditional land use with the urgent needs of breeding waders. By focusing our resources on these core areas, we can create the significant landscape scale impact necessary to sustain viable bird populations.
Our work at these sites goes beyond simple land preservation; it is an active engineering led process of habitat enhancement. We collaborate with private landowners and partner organisations to implement precision water management, such as the installation of solar powered pumps and the reprofiling of redundant ditches into productive wader scrapes. These interventions ensure that even during dry springs, the soil remains moist and rich in the invertebrates that chicks depend on for survival. Furthermore, we deploy advanced predator exclusion infrastructure, including temporary electric fencing and permanent physical barriers, to provide a secure environment for ground nesting species like Lapwing and Redshank.
Strategic connectivity is the ultimate goal for our project sites. By linking fragmented parcels of wet grassland, we are building a resilient nature recovery network that allows species to move and adapt to a changing climate. This page provides a detailed overview of the ongoing interventions and ecological milestones achieved at each location. Whether through large scale saltmarsh restoration or small scale field margin improvements, our project sites demonstrate that with the right technical expertise and collaborative spirit, it is possible to transform the Suffolk coastline into a thriving sanctuary for our most iconic wading birds.
