VITAL work is beginning at popular birdwatching site Upton Warren Nature Reserve to understand changes in the inland saltmarshes.

The water in the Flashes pools at Upton Warren is being slowly reduced, in an effort to take a closer look at what lies underneath, and gain a better understanding of the saltmarsh and the wildlife that relies on it.

Andy Harris, conservation officer responsible for the reserve, explained: “Most of us are used to seeing saltmarsh habitat in coastal areas so finding it inland is a really rare occurrence. We’re lucky to have it at Upton Warren because of the industrial heritage of salt-mining in and around the Droitwich area.

“Back in the 1950s, there were three distinct small pools surrounded by this rare saltmarsh habitat. Overtime, the pools have joined and the saltmarsh has significantly reduced in size.

“The reserve is a Site of Special Scientific Interest because of the saltmarsh and the wildlife this kind of habitat supports so it’s vital that we understand what’s happening beneath the surface of the water in order to help us manage the site for the future.”

The rare habitat at Upton Warren supports a range of plants and insects, which in turn, provide a source of food for a number of bird species, and in 2003, the first inland breeding avocets were recorded at the nature reserve.

Avocets were once extinct as breeding birds in the UK but they began to breed again on the east coast in the 1940s. The shallow saline pools and saltmarsh habitat at Upton Warren has provided the perfect breeding habitat for them inland, as their numbers increased around the coast.

In addition, volunteers at Upton Warren have been involved in recording the wildlife on the nature reserve for decades, and recent surveys of insects have revealed that rare flies normally associated with Africa and the Mediterranean are appearing on the site.

Andy added: “We’ve been monitoring the birdlife at Upton Warren for many years but recently we’ve been looking more closely at the invertebrate life – the flies and other small creatures that attract the birds here.

“The saltmarsh plays an absolutely vital role in supporting all the wildlife here and it’s essential that we understand what’s going on below the water in order to ensure the survival of this rare habitat and the life that it supports.

“We artificially control water levels throughout the year to optimise the habitat needed by birds through the seasons. During this winter, however, we’ll be gradually reducing the level of the water at the Flashes much more than normal.

“We need to know what’s happening with the ground and localised springs so that we can better understand how to manage the nature reserve for the long-term.”

Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, which manages the nature reserve, began reducing the water levels on September 15 and it will continue to lower them over the next few months, before hopefully raising them again in late winter in time for breeding birds to start arriving in the spring.

For more information about Upton Warren and the work of Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, visit worcswildlifetrust.co.uk.