Matt Gooch
The expanding profile of Carlton Marshes Nature Reserve Carlton Marshes Nature Reserve for many years was referred to as the Broads in miniature and had seen very few breeding and passage waders; prior to 2013 not even producing a single pair of Lapwing. The reserve started to expand in 2009 with large land purchases at Oulton Marshes and soon after smaller extensions at Carlton Marshes where habitat creation projects started to show results. The reserve is great for a number of warblers and has sustained its Cetti’s population while others have been lost around the coast as well as being a great place to hear Grasshopper Warblers with 10 territories being held this year and it now sustains high productivity of Lapwing pairs and Redshank with the first ever breeding Avocets this year too.
The vision for the reserve has always been to expand, but for many years this never seemed possible, only a pipe dream spoken about by the late Derek Moore when he was with Suffolk Wildlife Trust, many people recalling standing looking at Peto’s Marsh saying “What if?” In 2016 this pipe dream became a reality when the owners agreed to sell and not only sell Peto’s Marsh but the entire land holding to include Share Marsh and the upland fields. It was time for action and with the support of the Esmee Fairburn Foundation who stepped in with their biggest land loan ever ensured the opportunity was not to be missed and the reserve profile rose with press coverage including BBC Countryfile and the start of a £1 million Appeal supported by Sir David Attenborough.
T H E H AR R I ER – S um m e r 2 0 1 8
3
