This sounds disastrous but perhaps is not as bad as it sounds.
Titchwell's sea wall will be moved back behind the old brackish marsh and this will create a tidal salt marsh and a new sea wall will be built to protect the freshwater marsh (and Bitterns - the RSPB's raison d'etre). This may mean a different mix of birds but some are already adapting with some Avocets moving from the brackish marsh to the freshwater marsh. At the same time visitor facilities will be enhanced.
Rob Coleman, the reserve’s manager, said:
I know this is a huge change for Titchwell and for the very many people who share our deep love for the reserve, but the need to go ahead with this scheme was clear.
We faced a stark choice between sacrificing the brackish marsh or losing the whole site to the sea.
In drawing up these changes we have listened hard to local people and to visitors. As a result, the new-look site will keep and improve on all the things that make Titchwell special for them.
The RSPB plans to create new nesting sites at its Freiston Shore and Frampton Marsh reserves, 19 miles away on the Lincolnshire side of The Wash. And I hope the RSPB will create new facilities for birders as well.
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