The current marsh resulted from the building of the Dublin and Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) railway line, which was one of the first in the world, from 1834-35. The line was built on an embankment, protected by a granite seawall. In the 1830s, the resulting tidal lagoon covered more than 28 ha. In the following decades much of the area was filled in, leaving only Booterstown marsh still subject to flooding by seawater at high tide. By 1876 this reclaimed land was in agricultural use, made possible by the use of water control systems. A large gate valve was installed at the Williamstown (southern) outlet to the sea, which was lowered on the flow tide and raised on the ebb tide. The Williamstown lagoon acted as a sump, collecting the water draining from the agricultural land. Some landfill soil raised the level of the marsh and it was irrigated with fresh water from a number of local streams. During both World Wars the marsh was used as allotments, however with increasing prosperity these fell idle and in the 1950s the area was used as pasture. The water control systems were also neglected, allowing salt water to enter the system. By the 1970s the marsh showed salty vegetation at the railway side and fresh-water at the inner edges. This mixed habitat became an important site for many marsh bird and plant species. In 1970 the lease on the land was acquired by An Taisce, a conservation society, which has managed it as a nature reserve. Oil spills in 1982 and, more severely in 1985, led to de-oxygenation of the marsh. The vegetation was dominated by Scirpus maretimus, a rush that could withstand the conditions, though the re-discovery of a rare species of grass following some works on the drainage enhanced the conservation status of the marsh. In response the flap valves were removed, allowing a free flow of salt water that is rich in oxygen.

Here's the cutie bee from my previous post. After some serious cleaning of its antenna it gave a few flaps of its wings and off it went ready for a brand new day. Not the best exposure, but I find it tricky with black and white's together. :-D I'd be happy to hear how you all expose for this situation. Taken with mpe-65mm macro lens @ 3x magnification, hand-held, single-frame.