Reed beds are among the most important habitats for birds in the UK. They support many breeding birds including the nationally rare bittern, Cetti`s warblers and the bearded tit which lives exclusively in this habitat. More commonly, reed and sedge warblers sing out from the stands and kingfishers flash past, their metallic colours catching the eye.
Reed beds are also good for invertebrates – iridescent damselflies like banded demoiselle and common blues rest on the emergent vegetation, while nimble dragonflies, such as the four-spotted chaser and hairy dragonfly, hawk the area for insects.
Management
If left unmanaged, reed beds degrade quickly as scrub and willow start to grow, outcompeting the reeds. Therefore, the trust has to regularly remove willow to prevent this important habitat being lost.
