Reserve warden John Blackburn gazes over the rippling water which has attracted two little egrets with satisfaction.

'Last summer, that area would have been dry,' he said, as more birds flutter in.

Water is said to be the key to life and that is never more the case than on a wildlife reserve as the work finished earlier this year at Norfolk Wildlife Trust's Hickling site is already showing.

The vision of returning a large expanse of drained marshland to wetland habitat took shape five years ago but it was only in April when a new network of bunds was finally completed that the grand design could be seen for the first time.

A sluice built into the floodbank at Hickling Broad was opened and soon water up to 12 inches deep was covering more than a third of the 47-hectare project area.

The reserve's renowned Cadbury hide had to be raised and re-positioned in advance and 600 metres of boardwalk was removed before the water levels where raised, but, in one respect at least, the work was taking the beauty spot back to its 19th century state.

'Prior to the original floodwall being built in the middle of the 19th century this part of the site was an extension of Hickling Broad, known as Chapman's Broad,' said Mr Blackburn.

'It was still at a low level so it was not difficult to turn it back into a wetland.'

During the summer the water has naturally retreated but in the winter the full effect will be seen as water levels are raised to create a favourable environment for such overwintering ducks as teal and gadwall.

In the spring, it is hoped receding waters will create the right habitat for breeding waders such as lapwing and redshank which rely on damp ground which support invertebrates to feed their young.

Mr Blackburn said: 'Our aim is to have a more naturally functioning wetland so over a 10-year cycle we will experiment with different water levels as would occur naturally.'

The possibility of exciting improvements at the reserve, famed for its bitterns, marsh harriers, bearded tits and swallow butterflies, was made possible by the arrival in the village of contractors working on the multi-million pound Broadland flood alleviation project.

The flood wall was set back on the north east boundary of the site towards Meadow Dyke, of the 600-hectare reserve and, on the north south side, a sluice was built into the new wall to prepare for the scheme to raise water levels.

In a £250,000 scheme funded by the WREN Biodiversity Action Fund and led by land drainager contractors, William Morfoot, hundreds of metres of new bunds were built to contain the water.

At the same time, more than 2.5km of steep-sided dykes were cleared and reprofiled to create one gently-sloping side that will provide a wide shallow strip of water with emergent vegetation suitable to provide good feeding opportunities for bittern.

Mr Blackburn said: 'The aim of that is to make a better habitat for bitterns; the shallow water is ideal for fishing.'

Two male bitterns have been heard booming at Hickling this year and a number of sightings have been made by visitors.

However, it is hoped the improvements will attract increasing numbers of the iconic Broads species to the reserve where bitterns first bred following restoration of its 100 Acre reedbed in 1999.

Mr Blackburn said the project work was also designed to attract Hickling's local population of cranes.

'As well as improving the quality of the habitat for wildlife, visitors now have a much improved experience,' he said.

'They are able to view both new and enhanced pools from the Cadbury and Seckers hides and observation hut and the raised flood banks and bunds, although modest in height, provide enough elevation to dramatically increase the field of view across the site.'