Stiffkey Fen is 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 ...

near

Stiffkey Stiffkey () is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the north coast of the England, English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the A149 road, A149 coast road, some east of Wells-next-the-Sea, west of Blakeney, Norfolk, ...

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 ...

. It is 14 ha (35 acres) in extent, and was created from farmland by Lord Buxton, who also, with the support of the

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

, improved the wetland by slowing the water flow through the

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetland along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires ...

. The reserve has a

reed bed A reedbed or reed bed is a natural habitat found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions and estuaries. Reedbeds are part of a succession from young reeds colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground. As ...

and a fresh water lagoon and islands. It has a winter roost of up to 4,000

northern lapwing The northern lapwing (''Vanellus vanellus''), also known as the peewit or pewit, tuit or tewit, green plover, or (in Ireland and Great Britain) pyewipe or just lapwing, is a bird in the lapwing subfamily. It is common through temperate Palearcti ...

s, and also hosts

water rail The water rail, western water rail or European water rail (''Rallus aquaticus'') is a bird of the rail family which breeds in well-vegetated wetlands across Europe, Asia and North Africa. Northern and eastern populations are migratory, but this ...

s and

bearded tit The bearded reedling (''Panurus biarmicus'') is a small, long-tailed passerine bird found in reed beds near water in the temperate zone of Eurasia. It is frequently known as the bearded tit or the bearded parrotbill, as it historically was beli ...

s. It is part of the North Norfolk Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest. The larger area is now additionally protected through

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

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 ...

(SPA) and Ramsar listings, and is part of the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The reserve was donated to the Buxton Conservation Trust in 1999.

References

{{North Norfolk Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Norfolk Coastal features of Norfolk Birdwatching sites in England Nature reserves in Norfolk Stiffkey