Sizewell Belts
Sizewell Belts was an unmanaged reed marsh until it was drained
in the 18th Century. It is now a complex system of freshwater
grazing marshes interspersed with dykes and narrow tree belts
and rich in wildlife. Information boards along the waymarked route
describe the flora and fauna to be seen through the seasons.
Cattle and sheep are used to graze the marshes in the summer
to maintain the meadow pasture. also traditional hay making is
once more used tomanage the richest meadows. Without this grazing
and cutting the meadows would degrade allowing coarser vegetation
to dominate eventually returning the site to a fen and ultimately
a wet woodland.
During winter some of the marshes are flooded via a system of
sluices to encourage winter visiting birds like widgeon, snipe
and shoveler. In the spring, lapwing, gawall, mute swans and a
pair of kingfishers may be seen nesting.
In the summer the dykes are alive with many species of dragonflies
and damselflies. The aquatic environment is also the home to some
uncommon mammals such as otters, water voles and water shrews.
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