Bird habitats to be created from dredged material

Sediment removed from a harbour is being used to create new habitats for nesting seabirds on the Essex coastline.

Engineers are collecting the material during maintenance at Harwich Harbour and transporting it southwest to the Blackwater Estuary, creating shingle banks.

Little tern, ringed plover and oystercatcher would all benefit from the £2.5m project, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) said.

Senior project manager James Dunn said the sediment would have otherwise gone to waste.

Work on the project, which also aimed to slow coastal erosion and bolster flood protection, began in October.

Sediment will be deposited at several locations along the estuary, including at Cobmarsh Island, off West Mersea, and Old Hall Point, near Tollesbury.

During spring and summer, restored shingle banks will provide a place for ground-nesting birds to raise their young.

These species were particularly susceptible to disturbance and the effects of rising sea levels, the RSPB said.

Flocks of wildfowl, including wigeon, teal, pintail and mallard, will also benefit during winter months.

It follows a similar project in the Stour Estuary that ran from February to March, and another in the Blackwater Estuary in early 2025.

"This is about finding practical, sustainable ways to manage the material arising from our dredging operations," said Jim Warner, harbour engineer at Harwich Haven Authority.

"Rather than seeing it simply as a by-product of maintaining the navigation channel, [the project] gives us an opportunity to work with natural processes and put that material to good use."

Less than 1% of dredged sediment is repurposed nationally, according to the RSPB.

The scheme is being funded by the Environment Agency.

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