This Reserve is temporarily closed due to concern over the spread of Coronavirus
Canvey Wick is a 93.2 hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest on Canvey Island in Essex. Rich in plants, insects and animals, there are as many species per square metre here as there are in a rainforest. As such, it’s one of the most important British sites for endangered invertebrates. The RSPB manage 18.5ha of the SSSI as a nature reserve in partnership with Buglife and on behalf of the Land Trust with work underway to bring more of the site under management with public access.
The site is home to over 1,300 species of invertebrate including at least 30 on the UK ‘red list’ of endangered species including:
Canvey Island ground beetle (Scybalicus oblongiusculus)
Five-banded weevil-wasp (Cercersis quinquefascinata)
Shrill carder bee (Bombus sylvarum)
Brown-banded carder bee (Bombus humilis)
Scarce emerald damselfly (Lestes dryas)