Magor Marsh SSSI Nature Reserve is the last remaining piece of fenland on the Gwent Levels. Its patchwork of habitats supports a rich diversity of wildlife throughout the year. It was the threat of losing this important place in the 1960s that brought local naturalists together to fight for its survival, banding together to form what is now the Gwent Wildlife Trust. With the later addition of Barecroft Common to this reserve, and then the acquisition of neighbouring Bridewell Common in 2019, we are able to protect even more of this special place and its wildlife.

One of the main attractions of Magor Marsh SSSI is the bird hide at the pond, which sits on the northern edge of the reserve nestled down with the railway embankment towering behind it. The pond started off relatively small to what it is now, a natural spring that feeds up from the earth and supplies this peatland marsh with water. On the old Welsh tithe maps, one of the local reens that runs out from the pond is named Pwll Uffern which translates to hells pool, historical connotations to hell surfacing.

Over the history of Magor marsh, the pond has undergone multiple stages of development, revegetation and natural progression into willow scrub followed by intervention through management to keep the encroachment stable. Historical specialized contracted works were made possible by fundraising efforts and membership support.

The pond has seen multiple large-scale project works in partnership between Gwent Wildlife Trust and other partner organisations including Countryside Council for Wales and the Caldicot and Wentlooge Internal Drainage Board (IDB, now Natural Resources Wales). During the 1970s the wet natural spring area was enlarged, then again in the 1980s with the dug material used to create an island at the back of the newly-formed pond. Around the same time a series of concrete sluices were installed on the outer ditches and reens on site, enabling Gwent Wildlife Trust to dam back water and control the height of water independent from neighbouring land. Aerial imagery shows the extent of the enlargement of the pond as well as the extent of willow encroachment, not just around the pond, but pushing into the other rare habitat types seen at Magor Marsh SSSI, including reed beds, ditches and reens, rush pastures and traditional hay meadows.

In Gwent Wildlife Trust’s ownership, the pond has been desilted, enlarged, widened and had an island created in the middle of it, where now the little egrets nest. In 2009, GWT contracted the IDB to assist with plans to deepen the pond. A causeway was created covered with bog mats to allow a tracked excavator access into the pond in front of the bird hide. The bottom was dug down to around 3m in depth, with the idea to make it too deep for reed to establish. However, due to the size of the pond and the risk to the machinery and operator going in, the machinery could only get access and reach so far. This is why there is a band of reed in the middle, due to a shallower shelf.

Restoration works were carried out within the hay meadows reedbed back in 2011 thanks to the generous support from the Magor and Undy community council. Contractors with specialized tracked machinery fitted with hydraulic shears were able to cut and remove large blocks of willow woodland. Aftermath volunteer work parties have repeatedly gone in during winter tasks with hand tools to knock the willow regrowth and emergence back, continuing a cyclical programme of works to control scrub encroachment.

Assisting the Gwent Levels Nature Recovery Officer, the committed and hardworking ‘Levellers’ volunteer work party have periodically cut their way in to the edges of the pond with loppers, bow saws and brushcutters to hit back the bramble and willow scrub. Due to priority works in other areas of the reserve including reedbed and ditch restoration works, health and safety works and public access and infrastructure works, scrub control on the margins of the pond is targeted on a longer timeline than  the snapshot we see today.

Magor Marsh is a complex mosaic of different habitats, which makes the reserve suitable for a greater diversity of plant and animal life to make residence here. This can only be achieved through cyclical intervention and management, (informed by our monitoring and recording evidence.) This includes the pond, where there will be areas of deeper water but also areas of natural willow scrub and reedbed. Management works are varied and can be small scale enough to be on an annual rotation or large project works that relies on fundraised or grant money to resource it and is carried out less frequently.

The larger scale pond works described were all carried out prior to a colony of Little Egrets making Magor Marsh their home within the last decade. This is a proud achievement of Gwent Wildlife Trust, restoring the habitat at Magor Marsh to be suitable for these birds. We recorded that at least 20 egret nests were attempted in 2023 with over 40 birds using the trees around the pond to roost and breed. Future potential mechanical works in this area will have to be programmed outside of bird nesting season and with mitigations to limit disturbance to these special residents.