Abberton Reservoir is a pumped storage freshwater

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

in eastern England near the

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

coast, with an area of . Most of its water is pumped from the River Stour. It is the largest body of freshwater in Essex. Constructed between 1935 and 1939, Abberton Reservoir is owned and managed by Essex and Suffolk Water, part of Northumbrian Water Group, and lies south-west of

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

near the village of

Layer de la Haye Layer de la Haye (often spelled Layer-de-la-Haye; locally known just as ''Layer'') is a village and civil parish in the City of Colchester district of Essex, England. In the 2011 census it had a recorded population of 1,767. History The vill ...

. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the reservoir was mined to deter invading

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...

s, and it was used by the RAF's No. 617 Squadron ("The Dam Busters") for practice runs for the bombing of the German dams in the

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr Area, sometimes Ruhr District, Ruhr Region, or Ruhr Valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 1,160/km2 and a populati ...

. A project to increase the capacity of Abberton Reservoir to by raising its bank height was completed in 2013, along with a new link to transfer water from

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

's River Ouse to the Stour. The reservoir is important for its breeding

cormorants Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) ado ...

wintering Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Differe ...

and

moulting In biology, moulting (British English), or molting (American English), also known as sloughing, shedding, or in many invertebrates, ecdysis, is a process by which an animal casts off parts of its body to serve some beneficial purpose, either at ...

waterfowl, and

migrating birds Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

. It is an internationally important

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

, designated as a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

and

Special Protection Area A special protection area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cer ...

, and is listed in ''

A Nature Conservation Review ''A Nature Conservation Review'' is a two-volume work by Derek Ratcliffe, published by Cambridge University Press in 1977. It set out to identify the most important places for nature conservation in Great Britain. It is often known by the initi ...

''. A small part of the site is managed by the

Essex Wildlife Trust The Essex Wildlife Trust (EWT) is one of 46 The Wildlife Trusts, wildlife trusts which cover the United Kingdom. The EWT was founded in 1959, and it describes itself as Essex's leading conservation charity, which aims to protect wildlife for the ...

History

Essex is one of the driest counties in the UK, situated as it is the

East of England East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact ...

region, the driest part of Britain. The first major project to address local water needs was the establishment of the South Essex Waterworks Company in 1861, which extracted water from the underlying

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The s ...

through wells and

borehole A borehole is a narrow shaft bored in the ground, either vertically or horizontally. A borehole may be constructed for many different purposes, including the extraction of water ( drilled water well and tube well), other liquids (such as petr ...

s. This supplied an area north east of London from

East Ham East Ham is a district of the London Borough of Newham, England, 8 miles (12.8 km) east of Charing Cross. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Essex, East Ham is identified in the London Plan as a ...

to Grays and Brentwood. Despite the tapping of new wells, by the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the demand was outstripping supply, and eventually the need to find new sources led to the creation of a new reservoir. A 1928 Act of Parliament gave the water company the authority to plan and oversee the construction of a new reservoir to supply the local area, and further legislation in 1935 approved the necessary infrastructure in terms of pipelines to the Stour, pumping stations and a water treatment plant.Abberton Reservoir expansion project pp.6–7. The reservoir was constructed between 1935 and 1939 on a site that was formerly farmland with a couple of small woods, by damming the Layer Brook, although most of its water is pumped in from the River Stour to the north east of the reservoir. The dam wall was constructed using the underlying

London Clay The London Clay Formation is a Sediment#Shores and shallow seas, marine formation (geology), geological formation of Ypresian (early Eocene Epoch, c. 54-50 million years ago) age which outcrop, crops out in the southeast of England. The London C ...

to build an impermeable puddle clay core. Layers of soil and gravel were piled on both sides of the clay core to increase the dam's strength. Existing buildings and plant life were cleared from within the reservoir basin boundaries, and the

topsoil Topsoil is the upper layer of soil. It has the highest concentration of organic matter and microorganisms and is where most of the Earth's biological soil activity occurs. Description Topsoil is composed of mineral particles and organic mat ...

stripped and used to profile the reservoir's edges. A concrete apron and road covered of the perimeter. Two existing roads were kept, crossing the west end of the reservoir on causeways completed in May 1939. The reservoir originally held of water.

World War II

Abberton Reservoir was first filled just before the start of

in 1939, and the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

was concerned that it might be used by German

s as part of a possible invasion. To prevent this, 312

naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Similar to anti-personnel mine, anti-personnel and other land mines, and unlike purpose launched naval depth charges, they are ...

s, anchored by steel cables, were laid in a grid across the reservoir. Steel cables were stretched across the part of the reservoir nearest to the pumping station, since exploding mines might have damaged the building. Some were inadvertently detonated by ice, but most were exploded after the war by soldiers firing from the banks.Abberton Reservoir expansion project p. 11. A German

Heinkel Heinkel Flugzeugwerke () was a German aircraft manufacturing company founded by and named after Ernst Heinkel. It is noted for producing bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe in World War II and for important contributions to high-speed flight, wit ...

bomber returning from a raid on

Hornchurch Hornchurch is a suburban town in East London in the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross. It comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential area. It historically formed a large ancient par ...

airfield was shot down over Abberton on 24 August 1940. One of its crew bailed out from the burning plane and was captured; another drowned. The reservoir was used by the RAF's No. 617 Squadron ("The Dam Busters") for practice runs for attacks against German dams in the

during World War II (

Operation Chastise Operation Chastise, commonly known as the Dambusters Raid, was an attack on Nazi Germany, German dams carried out on the night of 16/17 May 1943 by No. 617 Squadron RAF, 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, later called the Dam Busters, using spe ...

). The reservoir was intended to simulate the Edersee Dam in Germany.

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

bombers fitted with special bouncing bombs designed by

Barnes Wallis Sir Barnes Neville Wallis (26 September 1887 – 30 October 1979) was an English engineer and inventor. He is best known for inventing the bouncing bomb used by the Royal Air Force in Operation Chastise (the "Dambusters" raid) to attack ...

were used in these trials, and military police closed the causeway whilst the practice runs took place. The last practice flight to Abberton was a full dress rehearsal of the Ruhr attack, and took place on the night of 14 May 1943. The actual attack on the dams in Germany took place two nights later on 16 May 1943. The Edersee Dam was attacked and breached after the

Möhne The Möhne () is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Ruhr. The Möhne passes the towns of Brilon, Rüthen Rüthen () is a town in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Rü ...

dam had been successfully destroyed.

Expansion

The reservoir's current owners, Essex and Suffolk Water, part of the Northumbrian Water Group, recognised by 2007 that its capacity was insufficient to meet growing local demand, and initiated a £140 million project to increase the capacity to by raising its banks. The scheme was completed in 2013, and included replacing the existing link from the Stour to Abberton with new, higher capacity, pipes following a different route and extracting water at Wormingford instead of Stratford St. Mary. The other major part of the project was to enable the transfer of water from the Ouse, distant in Norfolk,Abberton Reservoir expansion project pp.9–10. to the reservoir via the Stour. Existing pipelines and associated infrastructure such as

pumping station Pumping stations, also called pumphouses, are public utility buildings containing pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are critical in a variety of infrastructure systems, such as water supply, Land reclamation, ...

s carried water from the Ouse at

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

to Kirtling Green. From there, a new tunnel was constructed to Wixoe, where existing pipelines completed the transfer to the Stour. The reservoir has a current maximum area of , and has three sections separated by the Layer Breton and Layer de la Haye causeways. The easternmost large, deep Main section, originally was enlarged to its current in 2013, the Central section covers , and the Western section is . The current maximum water depth is about , more than before the enlargement. In wet years, Abberton and the other major Essex reservoir at Hanningfield can meet the requirements of the 750,000 people they serve in Essex and north east London using only water from the Stour and other local sources, but in average years 7% of the inflow involves transfers from the Ouse, rising to 35% in times of drought.

Ecology

Abberton Reservoir, the largest body of freshwater in Essex, lies south-west of

near the village of

and less than from the coast. The Western and Central sections of Abberton Reservoir have natural shores with common reed and

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

close to the water, grading into damp grassland and cultivated fields. The Main part originally had concrete borders, but of this apron and the perimeter road were broken up in the expansion between 2010 and 2013. Most of the edge was re-profiled to make it more attractive to water birds, and along with of adjacent land, it is now managed by Essex and Suffolk Water and the Essex Wildlife Trust to increase

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

. The new design created pools around the borders of the reservoir and allowed for creation of

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

land west of the Layer de la Haye causeway. A

culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe (fluid conveyance), pipe, reinforced concrete or other materia ...

under the causeway was blocked, allowing the water level in the western sections to be controlled independently of the main body of water.

Birds

Abberton had been a winter

roosting Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight ...

site for

from the 1950s, and became the first tree-nesting colony in England when eight pairs bred there in 1981. There were 584 pairs by 1993, although numbers have since declined to around 180 pairs.

Little egret The little egret (''Egretta garzetta'') is a species of small heron in the family Ardeidae. It is a white bird with a slender black beak, long black legs and, in the western race, yellow feet. As an aquatic bird, it feeds in shallow water and on ...

s first nested in 2014, numbering 31 pairs by 2019, and a pair of

cattle egret The cattle egret (formerly genus ''Bubulcus'') is a cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan clade of heron (family (biology), family Ardeidae) in the genus ''Ardea (genus), Ardea'' found in the tropics, subtropics, and warm-temperate zones. Ac ...

s bred in 2020. The area holds around 20 pairs each of

Cetti's warbler Cetti's warbler (''Cettia cetti'') is a small, brown bush-warbler which breeds in southern and central Europe, northwest Africa and the east Palearctic as far as Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan. The sexes are alike. The bird is named after ...

s and

nightingale The common nightingale, rufous nightingale or simply nightingale (''Luscinia megarhynchos''), is a small passerine bird which is best known for its powerful and beautiful song. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, ...

s. Typical farmland species such as the corn bunting,

yellowhammer The yellowhammer (''Emberiza citrinella'') is a passerine bird in the Emberiza, bunting family that is native to Palearctic, Eurasia and has been introduced species, introduced to New Zealand and Australia. Most European birds remain in the br ...

and

barn owl The barn owls, owls in the genus '' Tyto'', are the most widely distributed genus of owls in the world. They are medium-sized owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs with powerful talons. The ter ...

also breed in the protected areas. Up to eight pairs of

little ringed plover The little ringed plover (''Charadrius dubius'') is a small plover. The genus name ''Charadrius'' is a Late Latin word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate. It derives from Ancient Greek ''kharadrios'' a bird found in river ...

s breed on the re-profiled margins of the reservoir. Abberton is a major site for wintering wildfowl, and has the largest numbers of any UK inland water body, typically holding around 35,000 individual birds, but rising to well over 40,000 in hard winters. It is of international importance for wintering

gadwall The gadwall (''Mareca strepera'') is a common and widespread dabbling duck in the family Anatidae. Taxonomy The gadwall was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. DNA studies have shown th ...

s, shovelers and wigeons, and of national importance for

mute swan The mute swan (''Cygnus olor'') is a species of swan and a member of the waterfowl family Anatidae. It is native to much of Eurasia, and (as a rare winter visitor) the far north of Africa. It is an introduced species in North America, home to ...

teal alt=American teal duck (male), Green-winged teal (male) Teal is a greenish-blue color. Its name comes from that of a bird—the Eurasian teal (''Anas crecca'')—which presents a similarly colored stripe on its head. The word is often used ...

pochard Pochard is a common name used for several species of diving ducks: *Four species in the genus ''Aythya'': ** Common pochard, ''Aythya ferina'' ** Baer's pochard, ''Aythya baeri'' ** Ferruginous pochard, ''Aythya nyroca'' ** Madagascar pochard, ' ...

tufted duck The tufted duck (or tufted pochard) (''Aythya fuligula'') is a small diving duck with a population of nearly one million birds, found in northern Eurasia. They are partially migratory. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek , an unide ...

s, goldeneyes,

coots Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus ''Fulica'', the name being the Latin term for "coot". Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usually ...

and

great crested grebe The great crested grebe (''Podiceps cristatus'') is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The bird is characterised by its distinctive appearance, featuring striking black, orange-brown, and white plumage, and elaborate courtship displa ...

s. Many ducks also

moult In biology, moulting (British English), or molting (American English), also known as sloughing, shedding, or in many invertebrates, ecdysis, is a process by which an animal casts off parts of its body to serve some beneficial purpose, either at ...

during their stay at the reservoir. There are significant numbers of

wader 245px, A flock of Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, ...

s in winter, including

black-tailed godwit The black-tailed godwit (''Limosa limosa'') is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the godwit genus, '' Limosa''. There are four subspecies, all with orange head, neck and ches ...

s, ruffs,

lapwings Lapwings (subfamily Vanellinae) are any of various ground-nesting birds (Family (biology), family Charadriidae) akin to plovers and dotterels. They range from in length, and are noted for their slow, irregular wingbeats in flight and a shrill, ...

and golden plovers. In winter, bitterns occur regularly at the western end of the reservoir, and

hen harrier The hen harrier (''Circus cyaneus'') is a bird of prey. It breeds in Palearctic, Eurasia. The term "hen harrier" refers to its former habit of preying on free-ranging fowl. It bird migration, migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Eurasian ...

s, merlins,

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), cro ...

s and marsh harriers hunt over the bordering grassland; the last species has sometimes summered. Its proximity to the coast means that Abberton may hold scarcer species like

smew The smew (''Mergellus albellus'') is a species of duck and is the only living member of the genus ''Mergellus''. ''Mergellus'' is a diminutive of ''Mergus'' and ''albellus'' is from Latin ''albus'' "white". This genus is closely related to ''Me ...

s and

long-tailed duck The long-tailed duck (''Clangula hyemalis'') or coween, is a medium-sized sea duck that breeds in the tundra and taiga regions of the arctic and winters along the northern coastlines of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It is the only member of ...

s, and rarities including a

blue-winged teal The blue-winged teal (''Spatula discors'') is a species of bird in the duck, goose, and swan family Anatidae. One of the smaller members of the dabbling duck group, it occurs in North America, where it breeds from southern Alaska to Nova Scotia, ...

(1996), Britain's first

canvasback The canvasback (''Aythya valisineria'') is a species of diving duck, the largest found in North America. Taxonomy Scottish-American naturalist Alexander Wilson described the canvasback in 1814. The genus name is derived from Greek ''aithuia'', ...

(1997–2001) and a lesser scaup (2004–2005). Rare

tern Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae, subfamily Sterninae, that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated in eleven genera in a subgroup of the family Laridae, which also ...

s include gull-billed, which bred in 1949 and 1950, Caspian, whiskered and white-winged black, five of the last species being present together in May 2019. Other recent rarities include ortolan bunting (2019),

Bonaparte's gull Bonaparte's gull (''Chroicocephalus philadelphia'') is a member of the gull family Laridae found mainly in northern North America. At in length, it is one of the smallest species of gull. Its plumage is mainly white with grey upperparts. Durin ...

(2017, 2019)

Franklin's gull Franklin's gull (''Leucophaeus pipixcan'') is a small (length 12.6–14.2 in, 32–36 cm) gull. The genus name ''Leucophaeus'' is from Ancient Greek ''leukos'', "white", and ''phaios'', "dusky". The specific ''pipixcan'' is a Nahuatl name fo ...

(2016) and desert wheatear (2012). There have been multiple records of red-footed falcons and red-rumped swallows over the years. A

bird ringing Bird ringing (UK) or bird banding (US) is the attachment of a small, individually numbered metal or plastic tag to the leg or wing of a wild bird to enable individual identification. This helps in keeping track of the movements of the bird an ...

scheme has operated at Abberton for more than 70 years, 90,000 ducks having been ringed in that period, including 40,000 teal. Recoveries of ringed birds have established national longevity records for 10 species, including wigeon (34 years), pochard (22 years) and gadwall (21 years).

Other wildlife

Abberton has

otters Otters are carnivorous mammals in the Rank (zoology), subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic animal, aquatic, or Marine ecology, marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae Family (biology), family, whi ...

, water voles and brown hares, and eight species of bats, and other

vertebrate Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...

s include the

common lizard The viviparous lizard or common lizard (''Zootoca vivipara'', formerly ''Lacerta vivipara'') is a Eurasian lizard. It lives farther north than any other non-marine reptile species, and is named for the fact that it is viviparous, meaning it give ...

grass snake The grass snake (''Natrix natrix''), sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake, is a Eurasian semi-aquatic non- venomous colubrid snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians. Subspecies Many subspecie ...

and great crested newt. Insects present include two rare

weevil Weevils are beetles belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small – less than in length – and herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several fa ...

s, '' Rhynchites auratus'', which feeds on

blackthorn ''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is an Old World species of flowering plant in the rose family, Rosaceae. It is locally naturalized in parts of the New World. The fruits are used to make sloe gin in Britain and patxaran in Basq ...

, and a fungus specialist, '' Anthribus fasciatus''. Introduced American

signal crayfish The signal crayfish (''Pacifastacus leniusculus'') is a species of crayfish indigenous to North America. Introduced to Europe in the 1960s to supplement the North European ''Astacus astacus'' fisheries, which were being damaged by crayfish plague ...

are a problem in that they are larger and more prolific breeders than the native

white-clawed crayfish ''Austropotamobius pallipes'' is an endangered European freshwater crayfish, and the only crayfish native to the British Isles. Its common names include white-clawed crayfish and Atlantic stream crayfish. Distribution It is found from the easter ...

, and eventually displace the latter species. They also burrow into river banks, which at Abberton may reduce the area available for aquatic vegetation and increase the amount of sediment entering the reservoir from the Layer Brook.

Protection

Abberton was designated a

on 5 December 1991 as a result of its over-wintering populations of golden plovers, gadwalls, shovelers and teals, and for its breeding population of cormorants. There are also significant numbers of black-tailed godwits, lapwings, coots, goldeneyes, tufted ducks, pochards, pintails, wigeons and great crested grebes. It is an internationally important wetland that was designated as a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

in 1988, three years after Hanningfield Reservoir received the same status. A small part of the site is managed as a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

by the Essex Wildlife Trust.

Access

The Essex Wildlife Trust has a car park and nature reserve, the Abberton Reservoir Nature Discovery Park, at the north end of the Layer de la Haye causeway. There is a visitor centre with a shop, café, toilets and play area, and three bird hides, two looking south and east over the Main section, and one in woodland. The visitor centre and reserve are open every day from 10 am–5 pm . The western and central sections can be viewed from the Layer Breton and Layer de la Haye causeways, the latter also giving views of the main section. There is no public access to the western section, but a car park at the southern end of the Layer de la Haye causeway gives access to a viewing screen and scrapes (vegetation-free areas of mud) for waders on the main section. Parts of the rest of the main section can be seen from public footpaths and St Andrews Church in Abberton village.

References

Cited works

* {{authority control Reservoirs in Essex Ramsar sites in England Special Protection Areas in England Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Essex Essex Wildlife Trust Nature Conservation Review sites Drinking water reservoirs in England