Bringing the birds back to Sidlesham Ferry Field

One the most iconic places for birding in the county is being restored to former glories, through a partnership of conservation organisations in Sussex.

Over the decades, some of the rarest birds seen in Britain have been recorded at Sidlesham Ferry Field and Pool.

In part this is due to its location - jutting out on the south coast south of Chichester, close to Pagham Harbour and Selsey Bill - and its longstanding community of dedicated birdwatchers.

But it’s also because this has historically been one of the last vestiges of grazing marsh on the peninsula, its muddy pools providing refuge for a host of breeding, wintering and migrant birds.

Adapting to a changing climate

The 17-hectare nature reserve is owned by Sussex Wildlife Trust and managed by the RSPB, which also manages the adjacent and much larger Pagham Harbour local nature reserve

In common with Pevensey Levels, where Sussex Wildlife Trust has carried out recent restoration work, climate change has been reducing Sidlesham Ferry Pool and Field’s attractiveness to birds. 

Most crucially, the site has just become too dry in the summer months.

The new project is addressing this by:

• Moving a lot of earth, to create more muddy areas around Ferry Pool and the ditch network in Ferry Field. This will make more space suitable for birds to feed in, whether they’re wintering, breeding, or just stopping over.
• Separating the salty and freshwater areas with a raised ‘bund’, a ridge made from the excess material from the earthworks. This will support greater biodiversity between these habitats, and stop the saline water from encroaching into and damaging the freshwater grazing marsh area.
• Enabling easier control of the fresh water, ensuring wet areas stay wet for longer, especially later in the spring and summer when the chicks of wading birds need mud to feed on. We’ve done this by making the ditch network a little deeper, and forming wider and shallower edges that dry out less quickly, plus putting in a fish-friendly solar-powered pump to pull fresh water from surrounding streams to top up water levels as needed.
• Fencing: foxes will eat the eggs of Lapwings, Redshanks and Avocets, and without protection the birds just cannot produce enough young to sustain their populations. So this autumn a 1.9km fence will be installed around the site, to keep predators out and give the eggs of ground-nesting birds a fighting chance.

Though the habitat work is focused on providing ideal habitat for breeding and wintering waders, it will also benefit terns, ducks and other species, and no doubt add to the list of around 80 different rare and vagrant species which have been seen in the area since 1962. 

Sidlesham Ferry Field and Pool itself has hosted rarities such as Least Sandpiper, Stilt Sandpiper and Lesser Grey Shrike in the past.

Collaboration restores nature 

Acting in partnership, we have secured £200,000 to enable this work to happen. This includes a grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, obtained by the South Downs National Park’s Downs to the Sea project, Countryside Stewardship grants, donations from Sussex Ornithological Society (SOS) and Chichester Harbour Friends, and a local appeal via ‘The Big Give’.

This is only the latest example of a long history of collaboration connected to Sidlesham Ferry Fields and Pools.

In the 1960s, members of SOS built a hide here. In the 1990s, the field came up for sale and an appeal by SOS raised the money enabling Sussex Wildlife Trust to purchase it. The wider Pagham Harbour Local Nature Reserve was managed by West Sussex County Council and they negotiated with the RSPB to take on management in 2011. In 2016, a newer, more accessible hide was built, funded by donations from SOS and Friends of Pagham Harbour.

The current project, bringing together the RSPB, Sussex Wildlife Trust, Sussex Ornithological Society, local authorities and the community, shows what we can achieve with a collaborative approach. Now more than ever we need to work together to restore more sites for wildlife across Sussex.

How to visit Sidlesham Ferry Field

This reserve is one of the easier ones to visit using public transport. The 51 bus runs every 20 minutes from Chichester Terminus, about 100m from Chichester Railway Station. There are also good off-road cycle paths from Chichester. There is a car park on site, where Sussex Wildlife Trust members can park for free, and the RSPB runs a visitor centre and toilets.

For more information, including latest updates and opening times, visit the RSPB page for Pagham Harbour Local Nature Reserve. 

Thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund

Using money raised by National Lottery players, The National Lottery Heritage Fund supports projects that connect people and communities with the UK’s heritage. The Sidlesham Ferry Field and Pool project is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to create new habitats and management systems that will provide a valuable refuge for birds into the future.