North Walney Nature Reserve is a national nature reserve on Walney Island, England. The reserve, which has an area of 646.5 ha, is notable as a habitat of natterjack toads. It is one of the sites in the Duddon Estuary which support one-fifth of the national population of the rare amphibian.
The geology of the island is the product of erosion and reworking of glacial sediments, [1] sometimes interpreted as an esker. The reserve protects a sand dune system along with other habitats such as salt marsh and intertidal mudflats.
North Walney was formerly a separate Site of Special Scientific Interest, but it has been amalgamated with other SSSIs to form the Duddon Estuary Site of Special Scientific Interest. The Duddon Estuary was designated a Special Protection Area under the Birds Directive, [2] and is now merged with Morecambe Bay.
There is a separate nature reserve at South Walney, managed by the Cumbria Wildlife Trust, notable for its gulls and seals.
National nature reserves in England were established by English Nature, now Natural England, which manages them either directly or through non-governmental organisations such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds or the National Trust.
Morecambe Bay is a large estuary in northwest England, just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of 120 sq mi (310 km2). In 1974, the second largest gas field in the UK was discovered 25 mi (40 km) west of Blackpool, with original reserves of over 7 trillion cubic feet (tcf). At its peak, 15% of Britain's gas supply came from the bay but production is now in decline. It is also one of the homes of the high brown fritillary butterfly.
The Essex Wildlife Trust (EWT) is one of 46 wildlife trusts which cover the United Kingdom. The EWT was founded in 1959, and it describes itself as Essex's leading conservation charity, which aims to protect wildlife for the future and the people of the county. As of January 2017, it has over 34,000 members and runs 87 nature reserves, 2 nature parks and 11 visitor centres.
Suffolk Wildlife Trust (SWT) describes itself as the county's "nature charity – the only organisation dedicated wholly to safeguarding Suffolk's wildlife and countryside." It is a registered charity, and its headquarters is at Brooke House in Ashbocking, near Ipswich. It was founded in 1961, and is one of 46 wildlife trusts covering the Great Britain and Northern Ireland. As of March 2017, it has 13,200 members, and it manages 3,120 hectares of land in 60 nature reserves, most of which are open to the public. It had an income of £3.9 million in the year to 31 March 2017.
The Swale is a tidal channel of the Thames estuary that separates the Isle of Sheppey from the rest of Kent. On its banks is a 6,509.4-hectare (16,085-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest which stretches from Sittingbourne to Whitstable in Kent. It is also a Ramsar internationally important wetland site and a Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Parts of it are a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, National Nature Reserves, a Kent Wildlife Trust nature reserve and a Local Nature Reserve.
The Duddon Estuary is the sandy, gritty estuary of the River Duddon that lies between Morecambe Bay and the North Lonsdale coast.
Walney Island, also known as the Isle of Walney, is an island off the west coast of England, at the western end of Morecambe Bay in the Irish Sea. It is part of Barrow-in-Furness, separated from the mainland by Walney Channel, which is spanned by the Jubilee Bridge. Walney is the largest island of the Furness Islands group, both in population and size, as well as the largest English island in the Irish Sea. Its population at the 2011 UK Census was 10,651, distributed evenly across the island's two Wards of Walney North and Walney South.
The River Yar on the Isle of Wight, England, rises near the beach at Freshwater Bay, on the south coast, and flows only a few miles north to Yarmouth where it meets the Solent. Most of the river is a tidal estuary. Its headwaters have been truncated by erosion of the south coast.
The Blackwater Estuary is the estuary of the River Blackwater between Maldon and West Mersea in Essex. It is a 5,538 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). An area of 4,395 hectares is also designated a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance, and a Special Protection Area 1,099 hectares is a National Nature Reserve. Tollesbury Wick and part of Abbotts Hall Farm, both nature reserve managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust, are in the SSSI.
Hodbarrow RSPB Reserve is a nature reserve run by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds on the edge of the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. It is on the Duddon Estuary near the town of Millom.
Dengie nature reserve is a 3,105 hectare biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest between the estuaries of the Blackwater and Crouch near Bradwell-on-Sea in Essex. It is also a National Nature Reserve, a Special Protection Area, a Nature Conservation Review site, a Geological Conservation Review site and a Ramsar site. It is part of the Essex estuaries Special Area of Conservation. An area of 12 hectares is the Bradwell Shell Bank nature reserve, which is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust.
The Dawlish Warren National Nature Reserve is a national nature reserve near the village of Dawlish Warren in south Devon, England. It is part of the Exe Estuary Special Protection Area, and sits on a sand spit which runs across the mouth of the estuary. It is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest and part of it is a local nature reserve.
South Walney is one of two nature reserves on Walney Island, England. The nature reserve has an area of 130 ha leased from Holker estates. It has been managed by the Cumbria Wildlife Trust since 1963. The reserve is notable for:
Alde–Ore Estuary is a 2,534 hectare biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest which stretches along the Suffolk coast between Aldeburgh and Bawdsey, and also includes parts of the Alde, Ore and Butley Rivers. It is in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and is a Grade I Nature Conservation Review site, a Special Area of Conservation, a Ramsar internationally important wetland site, and a Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. It includes two Geological Conservation Review sites, "Orfordness and Shingle Street" and "The Cliff, Gedgrave", and two nature reserves managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust, Alde Mudflats and Simpson's Saltings. The coastal part of the site is Orfordness-Havergate, a National Nature Reserve, and Orford Ness is managed by the National Trust, while Havergate Island is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
Sandscale Haws is a national nature reserve on the Duddon Estuary, Cumbria, England. It is managed by the National Trust. Resident species include the natterjack toad.
Meathop Moss is a raised bog located north of Meathop in Cumbria, England. Protected as a nature reserve by the Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Meathop Moss is notable for its insect life. In 1965 it was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. Along with two other raised bogs near the Kent estuary, it has been included in the Witherslack Mosses Special Area of Conservation which was designated in 2005.
West of Walney is a Marine Conservation Zone in the Irish Sea west of Walney Island, England. It was designated in 2016 to protect subtidal mud and sand habitats: at that time the MCZ was one of three off the coast of Cumbria, the others being Allonby Bay and Cumbria Coast. The area is 388km2, a similar size to the Isle of Wight off the south coast of England. The depth range of the site is 15–33 metres.
Hurst Castle and Lymington River Estuary is a 1,077.3-hectare (2,662-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Lymington in Hampshire. It is a Nature Conservation Review site and two areas are Geological Conservation Review sites. Three areas are local nature reserves, Boldre Foreshore, Sturt Pond and Lymington and Keyhaven Marshes; the latter site is managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. Part of it is North Solent National Nature Reserve. It is part of Solent and Southampton Water Ramsar site and Special Protection Area. Parts of it are in Solent Maritime and Solent and Isle of Wight Lagoons Special Areas of Conservation.