| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
 | |
| Location | Kent |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | TQ 849 710 [1] |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 4,748.8 hectares (11,735 acres) [1] |
| Notification | 1991 [1] |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Medway Estuary and Marshes is a 4,748.8-hectare (11,735-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest which stretches along the banks of the River Medway between Gillingham and Sheerness in Kent. [1] [2] It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, [3] a Ramsar internationally important wetland site, [4] and a Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. [5] Part of the land area designated as Medway Estuary and Marshes SSSI is owned by the Church Commissioners. [6]
This site is internationally important for its wintering birds, and nationally important for its breeding birds. It is also has an outstanding flora, such as the nationally rare oak-leaved goosefoot and the nationally scarce slender hare's-ear. [7]
