Canvey Wick facts for kids
| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
 |
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| Area of Search | Essex |
|---|---|
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 93.2 hectares |
| Notification | 2005 |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Canvey Wick is a super cool nature spot on the southwest side of Canvey Island in Essex. It's a huge area, about 93 football fields big! This special place is called a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) because it's home to so many rare plants and animals.
The Land Trust owns Canvey Wick. Parts of it are looked after by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Buglife. They work hard to protect the wildlife and make it easier for people to visit and enjoy.
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What is Canvey Wick?
Canvey Wick is an open, wild space on the southwest tip of Canvey Island. It sits between a waterway called Holehaven Creek and the grassy fields of West Canvey Marsh. Long ago, this area was also a marsh, just like West Canvey.
But then, something changed. For many years, people dumped waste from dredging (cleaning out waterways) here. This waste was a mix of sand, gravel, chalk, and shells. It covered the old marsh and made the land much higher.
A Refinery That Never Was
In the 1970s, there were plans to build a giant oil refinery on this land. It was going to be for a company called Occidental Petroleum. However, a big oil price crisis happened in 1973. Because of this, the refinery was never built. This left the land untouched, allowing nature to take over.
A Unique Habitat
You can find the entrance to Canvey Wick on Northwick Road. The soil here is quite poor because of all the dumped waste. Also, the water levels underground change a lot. This has created a really interesting mix of different habitats.
The main part of Canvey Wick is dry grassland. But there are also important wet areas. These different spots are perfect homes for a huge number of tiny creatures, called invertebrates. Many of these insects love areas with lots of different plants, bare ground, or slightly salty water. One expert even called Canvey Wick a "brownfield rainforest" because it's so full of life!
Amazing Wildlife at Canvey Wick
Canvey Wick is a paradise for insects! Over 1,300 different types of invertebrates have been found here. That's a lot of bugs! What's even more amazing is that 30 of these species are on the UK's "red list." This means they are endangered and need special protection.
Rare Insects You Might Find
Some of the super important insects living here include:
- The Canvey Island ground beetle (Scybalicus oblongiculus)
- The five-banded weevil hunting wasp (Cercersis quinquefascinata)
- The shrill carder bee (Bombus sylvarum)
- The brown-banded carder bee (Bombus humilis)
- The scarce emerald damselfly (Lestes dryas)
Other cool insects found here are the hairy-legged mining bee (Dasypoda hirtipes), the silver y moth (Autographa gamma), the marbled white butterfly (Melanargia galathea), and the wall brown butterfly (Lasiommata megera).
Birds and Beautiful Flowers
It's not just insects! Canvey Wick is also a great place for birds. You might spot a green woodpecker, a European stonechat, a Western yellow wagtail, or a Eurasian reed warbler.
The site is also famous for its beautiful orchids. Surveys have found thousands of these stunning flowers. There are about 1,700 common spotted orchids (Dactylorhiza fuchsii), 500 pyramidal orchids (Anacamptis pyramidalis), and about 25 of the much rarer bee orchid (Ophrys apifera).
