Northey Island- Life on the Edge

Yesterday I participated in a very enjoyable and enlightening guided walk around Northey Island, led by David Mason, the National Trust ranger with responsibility for Northey Island as well as a number of other Essex reserves. 

The causeway leading to Northey Island

The main historical interest is, of course the (debated!) location of the Battle of Maldon. Must admit I had not apprecated that the most recent private ownership was with the family of  Sir Norman Angell (Lane), a Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1933 and author of "The Great Illusion" that argued that any future war in Europe would produce no worthwhile economic benefit to either side. He lived on the island whilst a Member of Parliament. I also did not realise that the reason the main house is of a mixture of styles is that it was bombed during the 2nd World War. It was the Lane family who generously gave the island to the National Trust.

The main interest for me, though, was the impressive amount of work that the National Trust are currently undertaking to future-proof the saltmarsh surrounding the island and generally improve the overall value of the site for wildlife and visitors. Saltmarsh plays a very important role both in locking up carbon and in providing a natural coastal defence.

The saltmarsh here, as in so many other places, is suffering from coastal squeeze. Rising sea levels are eating into it while the presence of the sea walls means that it has nowhere to go. Northey Island has long been studied regarding how these factors might be mitigated. Pioneering work on Managed Realignment to the sea wall was carried out in 1991- the first such project to be implemented in England, and with techniques that have now been used on many other coastal sites. The work involves removing parts of the sea wall to create space for the saltmarsh plants to migrate inland in a natural way as the sea level rises.

Since 2019, the National Trust has been working on a further set of actions to help ensure that saltmarsh can continue to thrive, including further Managed Realignments along with coordinated steps to benefit wildlife. This work is being done in partnership with the RSPB, as part of the "LIFE on the Edge" initiative, with significant funding from the EU LIFE Nature and Biodiversity Fund. A new scrape is being created as well as various ponds. One of these is being used for the relocation of Water Voles from areas of the borrowdykes that will be impacted by the sea wall works. Currently this pond is surrounded by high wooden fencing, to help prevent access by ground predators while the voles become established in their new home. David has already seen a Kingfisher at this new pond. The overhead electricity cable that used to cross one of the main Brent Goose feeding/ roosting fields has been re-routed underground. 

Area which will become flooded when sea wall is breached

Site for Water Vole relocation

Visitor access is being improved with substantial, wheelchair-friendly pathways to create a circular route and an impressive hide that will look over some of the newly colonising saltmarsh when a further section of the sea wall is opened out next summer. We were honoured to be the first party to enter the hide and were suitably impressed with its construction. The window and shutter designs have benefitted from the endeavours of a volunteer with excellent carpentry skills. David much appreciated the work of the Essex and Suffolk National Trust Volunteers who helped paint the hide and cleared a substantial amount of litter washed up after the storm surge last year. 

During our walk, the tide was so low, there were few birds to see close-to on the estuary. In the distance, there were the usual gulls, Little Egret, Cormorant, Black-tailed Godwit and Redshank, as well as a small flock of Avocet. Two Greenshank flew by and Curlew could be heard. A couple of Kestrels were seen and a Buzzard cruised by above us.

Walking back along the causeway, David reminded us that it provides a great cross-sectional view of the diversity of plant-life across the estuary. Cord Grass and Samphire are the pioneer plants then Annual Seablight, Sea Purslane, Sea Aster, Sea Lavender, with Shrubby Seablight and Golden Samphire at higher levels. Unfortunately most of the plants had finished flowering, though there were still a few heads of Sea Aster and the Annual Sea Blight was showing attractive shades of mauve. A jellyfish was also of note- probably a Moon Jellyfish, as a number of these have been seen in the river recently.

Annual Sea Blight

Moon Jellyfish

The final part of the walk back to the Prom park passed by the Dump Pool where there were plenty of Teal and some feeding House Martin and Swallow, as well as a singing Cetti's Warbler. Yellow Wagtail were seen on the adjoining field. The final highlight was a Hobby that flashed by low over the pool and away over the back.
Many thanks to ranger David Mason for sharing his knowledge of the island and explaining the very significant works that the National Trust is carrying out on the reserve- a genuinely positive news story at a time when so much other current news is depressing. 

Many thanks to our tour guide, David Mason

ACCESS

We were very priviliged to be allowed to walk along the new paths but they are still work-in-progress and currently the only public access is along the main road up to the house and back.
All visitors must first gain permission to cross to the island by contacting the National Trust  northeyisland@nationaltrust.org.uk . This is needed to make sure visitors are aware of the tide times and the limited facilities on the island. The island will be closed entirely to visitors from 1st Oct to 31st March to avoid disturbance to the Brent Geese and other wintering bird species.

Hopefully once all the works are complete, improved access will become available.

The National Trust have produced a short video overview of the island and the need for the current works:  https://youtu.be/cvxaCUyJ9yA

More information about the island and the various projects being undertaken is available on the National Trust site https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/northey-island