Millwater

Millwater
	Site of Special Scientific Interest
	Location within Somerset
Area of Search	Somerset
Grid reference	ST439100
Coordinates	50°53′12″N2°47′56″W / 50.88675°N 2.79890°W Coordinates: 50°53′12″N2°47′56″W / 50.88675°N 2.79890°W
Interest	Biological
Area	1.4 hectares (0.014 km2; 0.0054 sq mi)
Notification	1989
	Natural England website

Last updated April 24, 2019

Millwater (grid reference ST439100 ) is a 1.4 hectare (3.5 acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest at Crewkerne in Somerset, notified in 1989.

Ordnance Survey National Grid System of geographic grid references used in Great Britain

The Ordnance Survey National Grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references used in Great Britain, distinct from latitude and longitude. It is often called British National Grid (BNG).

The hectare is an SI accepted metric system unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides, or 10,000 m², and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is about 0.405 hectare and one hectare contains about 2.47 acres.

Crewkerne is a town and electoral ward in Somerset, England, situated 9 miles (14 km) south west of Yeovil and 7 miles (11 km) east of Chard in the South Somerset district close to the border with Dorset. The civil parish of West Crewkerne includes the hamlets of Woolminstone and Henley. The town lies on the River Parrett, A30 road and West of England Main Line railway.

Millwater consists of a complex mosaic of pasture, wet grassland, tall-herb fen, standing and running water, alder and willow carr. The invertebrate fauna of the site has been extremely well documented and 1744 species have been recorded in the period 1978-1988 including many nationally scarce species in a wide range of groups. Seventy-six bird species have been recorded on the site. Of these, twenty-eight species are known to breed including sedge warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus), reed warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus), and reed bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus) which are characteristic inhabitants of tall herb fen and carr vegetation.^[1]

Pasture is a concrete spatial area where farmers keep livestock for grazing.

Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae); however, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) families can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica. Grasslands are found in most ecoregions of the Earth. For example, there are five terrestrial ecoregion classifications (subdivisions) of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome (ecosystem), which is one of eight terrestrial ecozones of the Earth's surface.

A carr is a type of waterlogged wooded terrain that, typically, represents a succession stage between the original reedy swamp and the likely eventual formation of forest in a sub-maritime climate. The name derives from the Old Norse kjarr, meaning a swamp. The carr is one stage in a hydrosere: the progression of vegetation beginning from a terrain submerged by fresh water along a river or lake margin. In sub-maritime regions, it begins with reed-swamp. As the reeds decay, the soil surface eventually rises above the water, creating fens that allow vegetation such as sedge to grow. As this progression continues, riparian trees and bushes appear and a carr landscape is created – in effect a wooded fen in a waterlogged terrain. At this stage, overall, unlike the overwhelming acidity of decaying reeds, the pH is not too acidic and the soil is not too deficient in minerals, making a habitat for endemic and other wildlife. Characteristic trees include alder, willow and sallow.

Related Research Articles

The Acrocephalus warblers are small, insectivorous passerine birds belonging to the genus Acrocephalus. Formerly in the paraphyletic Old World warbler assemblage, they are now separated as the namesake of the marsh and tree warbler family Acrocephalidae. They are sometimes called marsh warblers or reed warblers, but this invites confusion with marsh warbler and reed warbler proper, especially in North America, where it is common to use lower case for bird species.

The Eurasian reed warbler, or just reed warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds across Europe into temperate western Asia. It is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa.

The sedge warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It is a medium-sized warbler with a brown, streaked back and wings and a distinct pale supercilium. Sedge warblers are migratory, crossing the Sahara to get from their European and Asian breeding grounds to spend winter in Africa. The male's song is composed of random chattering phrases and can include mimicry of other species. The sedge warbler is mostly insectivorous.

The marsh warbler is an Old World warbler currently classified in the family Acrocephalidae. It breeds in temperate Europe and western Asia and winters mainly in south east Africa. It is notable for incorporating striking imitations of a wide variety of other birds into its song.

The Blyth's reed warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds in temperate Asia and easternmost Europe. It is migratory, wintering in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. It is one of the most common winter warblers in those countries. It is a rare vagrant to western Europe.

The great reed warbler is a Eurasian passerine in the genus Acrocephalus.

The moustached warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds in southern Europe and southern temperate Asia with a few in north-west Africa. It is partially migratory. South west European birds are resident, south east European birds winter in the Mediterranean breeding range, and the Asiatic race migrates to Arabia, India and Pakistan.

The Cape Verde warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It is also known as the Cape Verde cane warbler or Cape Verde swamp warbler, and in Creole as tchota-de-cana, chincherote,. It breeds on Santiago, Fogo, and São Nicolau in the Cape Verde Islands. It previously bred on Brava. This species is found in well-vegetated valleys, avoiding drier areas. It nests in reedbeds, two to three eggs being laid in a suspended nest.

The clamorous reed warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds from Egypt eastwards through Pakistan, Afghanistan and northernmost India to south China, southeast Asia and south to Australia. A. s. meridionalis is an endemic race in Sri Lanka.

The Australian reed warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus and is the only Acrocephalus species native to Australia. It has also been observed in Papua New Guinea and nearby islands. The name Acrocephalus refers to the peaked crown found on reed warblers in this genus and can be translated to mean "topmost head" in Greek. The species name australis is translated to mean "southern" in Latin, and refers to the species range, Australia. In its western range the Australian reed warbler is also known as "Koordjikotji" pronounced core’chee’caw’chee in the Perth area and surrounds in local Aboriginal language.

The Seychelles warbler, also known as Seychelles brush warbler, is a small songbird found on five granitic and corraline islands in the Seychelles. It is a greenish-brown bird with long legs and a long slender bill. It is primarily found in forested areas on the islands. The Seychelles warbler is a rarity in that it exhibits cooperative breeding, or alloparenting; which means that the monogamous pair is assisted by nonbreeding female helpers.

Woolhampton Reed Bed is a 5.77 hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest in the civil parish of Woolhampton in the English county of Berkshire. The site was officially notified in 1985.

The peat therapy resortMoorbad Gmös in the vicinity of the town of Laakirchen is one of the few bogs in the Alpine foothills of Upper Austria. The bog dates back to the Mindel glaciation and was created by a "dead-ice hole". In 1987 the local authorities of Upper Austria declared the area of 3.4 ha of the Gmöser Moor a natural preserve. A path around the area has since then given the visitor the opportunity of observing rare flora and fauna. In 2002 the spa was chosen as background scenery for the TV-production Schlosshotel Orth.

The large-billed reed warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. The species has been dubbed as "the world's least known bird". It was known from a single specimen collected in India in 1867 and rediscovered in the wild in Thailand in 2006. The identity of the bird caught in Thailand was established by matching DNA sequences extracted from feathers; the bird was released. After the rediscovery in the wild a second specimen was discovered amid Acrocephalus dumetorum specimens in the collections of the Natural History Museum at Tring. A breeding area was found in Afghanistan in 2009 and studies in 2011 pointed to its breeding in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. One bird was found in the Baikka Wetland in Srimangal, Bangladesh on 7 December 2011.

The African reed warbler or African marsh warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds in much of Africa south of the Sahara. It is migratory within the continent, with southern breeding population moving to the tropics in the southern hemisphere’s winter.

The Acrocephalidae are a family of oscine passerine birds, in the superfamily Sylvioidea.

Redcar Field is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Darlington district of County Durham, England. It is situated just north of Darlington, about 1 km south of the village of Coatham Mundeville.

The Nauru reed warbler, Acrocephalus rehsei, is a passerine bird endemic to the island of Nauru in the Pacific Ocean. It is one of only two native breeding land-birds on Nauru and it is the only passerine found on the island. It is related to other Micronesian reed warblers, all of which evolved from one of several radiations of the genus across the Pacific. Related warblers on nearby islands include the Carolinian reed warbler, with which the Nauru species was initially confused, and the nightingale reed warbler, which was formerly sometimes considered the same species.

The Aguiguan reed warbler or Aguijan reed warbler originally occurred on the Northern Mariana Island Aguigan. It is considered a subspecies of the nightingale reed warbler by some taxonomists. Of this subspecies there never have been reports of a substantial population. In 1982 only four up to possibly 15 birds of the subspecies have been counted, and since 1995 none has been sighted, despite extended efforts to find specimens.

The Marais Audomarois is a biosphere reserve in the north of France. It covers some 22 300 hectares, including the city of art and history, Saint Omer, and its wetland, a renowned Ramsar site.

References

↑ "Millwater" (PDF). English Nature. Retrieved 2006-09-09.

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[1] "Millwater" (PDF). English Nature. Retrieved 2006-09-09.

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Aller and Beer Woods Aller Hill Asham Wood Axbridge Hill and Fry's Hill Babcary Meadows Barle Valley Barrington Hill Meadows Berrow Dunes Black Down and Sampford Commons Brean Down Bridgwater Bay Briggins Moor Catcott, Edington and Chilton Moors Chancellor's Farm Cheddar Complex Cheddar Reservoir Cheddar Wood Cleeve Hill Cogley Wood Crook Peak to Shute Shelve Hill Curry and Hay Moors Deadman Draycott Sleights Dunster Park and Heathlands East Polden Grasslands Ebbor Gorge Edford Woods and Meadows Exmoor Coastal Heaths Fivehead Woods and Meadow Freshmoor Friar's Oven Ge-mare Farm Fields Great Breach and Copley Woods Grove Farm Hardington Moor Hestercombe House Holme Moor & Clean Moor King's Sedgemoor Kingdown and Middledown Kingweston Meadows Lang's Farm Langford Heathfield Langmead and Weston Level Long Lye Long Lye Meadow Longleat Woods Millwater Moorlinch Nettlecombe Park North Brewham Meadows North Curry Meadow North Exmoor North Moor Old Iron Works, Mells Perch Porlock Ridge and Saltmarsh Postlebury Wood Priddy Pools Prior's Park & Adcombe Wood Quantock Hills Quants Ringdown River Barle Rodney Stoke Roebuck Meadows Ruttersleigh Severn Estuary Shapwick Heath Sharpham Moor Plot South Exmoor Southey and Gotleigh Moors Southlake Moor Sparkford Wood St. Dunstan's Well Catchment Stowell Meadow Street Heath Tealham and Tadham Moors Thurlbear Wood and Quarrylands Twinhills Woods and Meadows Vallis Vale Walton and Ivythorn Hills West Moor West Sedgemoor Westhay Heath Westhay Moor Wet Moor Whitevine Meadows Windsor Hill Marsh Wookey Hole Woolhayes Farm
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