SWT Mickle Mere | Visit East of England

Micklemere is a small wetland area close to Ixworth near Bury St Edmunds. Something of a fluke Micklemere is not a piece of ancient countryside naturally rich in wildlife, nor is it the product of a clever habitat creation project. What was once improved grazing marsh with little wildlife interest has become in a few short years the wonderful wetland habitat we have today.

Micklemere lays in a valley next to the river Black Bourne, part of what was once a corridor of grazing marshes running from Elmswell to Euston. The Ixworth Bypass constructed in the early 1990’s cuts across the north west corner of the site and as a result the site now regularly floods. This constant flooding has created a large area of bare ground which when wet attracts large numbers of wetland birds.

Since the Trust acquired the reserve in 2002 with the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund, we have undertaken work to enhance the wetland habitat and provide new facilities for visitors. Shingle Islands have been created for nesting birds and a shallow scrape has been excavated that provides an important feeding habitat for waders in the spring and autumn. In the summer the Mere can dry out as ground water and river levels fall. Vegetation quickly colonises the open ground and when the Mere re-floods this creates an ideal habitat for wildfowl and provides great feeding opportunities.