St Bees Head RSPB reserve

Last updated

St Bees Head RSPB Reserve
Guillemots at St Bees Head.jpg
Guillemots on the North Head
LocationCumbria, England
Elevation90 m (300 ft)
OperatorRoyal Society for the Protection of Birds
Website St Bees Head

St Bees Head RSPB Reserve at St Bees Head, Cumbria, England, is a coastal site which provides a home for thousands of seabirds under the care of the RSPB. The birds include kittiwakes, fulmars, guillemots, razorbills, cormorants, Atlantic puffins, shags and herring gulls. It is the only breeding place in England for black guillemots. [1] The rock pipit, which breeds on rocky coasts, is known to breed in only one other site in Cumbria. [2]

Contents

As well as the seabirds already mentioned, other birds which regularly breed at St Bees Head include the tawny owl, sparrowhawk, peregrine and the common raven. [2]

In partnership with Natural England, the National Trust and local government authorities, the RSPB has also been involved in a project to improve coastal habitats outside the reserve. One aim is to have suitable grassland to support the return of the chough. [3]

Facilities

Viewing Point RSPB Viewing Point, St Bees Head - geograph.org.uk - 1345380.jpg
Viewing Point

There are observation stations on the North Head footpath. [4] The cliffs rise to 90 metres and visitors are advised to take care when approaching the edge.

Protection designations

St Bees Head is:

The geographical limits to SSSI selection stop at mean low water spring tides, and essential areas for foraging seabirds cannot be protected through the existing SSSI mechanism. However, the sea off St Bees Head is part of the Cumbria Coast Marine Conservation Zone. [1] The Marine Conservation Zone was designated in 2013. After concern was expressed that it did not do enough to protect the foraging grounds of seabirds, it was extended in 2019.

The NWIFCA (North Western Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority) is working with Natural England and RSPB to call for a voluntary ban on the use of fishing nets around St Bees Headland. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solway Firth</span> Body of water

The Solway Firth is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway. It stretches from St Bees Head, just south of Whitehaven in Cumbria, to the Mull of Galloway, on the western end of Dumfries and Galloway. The Isle of Man is also very near to the firth. The firth comprises part of the Irish Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holkham National Nature Reserve</span> Nature reserve in the United Kingdom

Holkham National Nature Reserve is England's largest national nature reserve (NNR). It is on the Norfolk coast between Burnham Overy Staithe and Blakeney, and is managed by Natural England with the cooperation of the Holkham Estate. Its 3,900 hectares comprise a wide range of habitats, including grazing marsh, woodland, salt marsh, sand dunes and foreshore. The reserve is part of the North Norfolk Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest, and the larger area is additionally protected through Natura 2000, Special Protection Area (SPA) and Ramsar listings, and is part of both an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and a World Biosphere Reserve. Holkham NNR is important for its wintering wildfowl, especially pink-footed geese, Eurasian wigeon and brant geese, but it also has breeding waders, and attracts many migrating birds in autumn. A number of scarce invertebrates and plants can be found in the dunes, and the reserve is one of the only two sites in the UK to have an antlion colony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flamborough Head</span> Promontory in Yorkshire, United Kingdom

Flamborough Head is a promontory, 8 miles (13 km) long on the Yorkshire coast of England, between the Filey and Bridlington bays of the North Sea. It is a chalk headland, with sheer white cliffs. The cliff top has two standing lighthouse towers, the oldest dating from 1669 and Flamborough Head Lighthouse built in 1806. The older lighthouse was designated a Grade II* listed building in 1952 and is now recorded in the National Heritage List for England, maintained by Historic England. The cliffs provide nesting sites for many thousands of seabirds, and are of international significance for their geology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Stack</span> Island on the northwest coast of Anglesey, Wales

South Stack is an island situated just off Holy Island on the northwest coast of Anglesey, Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Abb's Head</span>

St Abb's Head is a rocky promontory by the village of St Abbs in Scottish Borders, Scotland, and a national nature reserve administered by the National Trust for Scotland. St Abb's Head Lighthouse was designed and built by the brothers David Stevenson and Thomas Stevenson and began service on 24 February 1862.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hermaness</span>

Hermaness is the northernmost headland of Unst, the most northerly inhabited island of Shetland, Scotland. It consists of huge sea cliffs and moorland, making it an ideal habitat for a variety of birds. Hermaness was designated a national nature reserve (NNR) in 1955. The NNR extends over 965 hectares, including the whole of the Hermaness peninsula and the outlying Muckle Flugga and Out Stack. The reserve has a path and boardwalk that extends out onto the moorland. The reserve is managed by NatureScot, though it remains in private ownership, with most being owned by the Buness Estate, although the stacks and skerries around Muckle Flugga are owned by the Northern Lighthouse Board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Bees</span> Human settlement in England

St Bees is a coastal village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Copeland district of Cumbria, England, on the Irish Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumbria Coastal Way</span> Long-distance footpath in Cumbria, England

The Cumbria Coastal Way (CCW) is a long-distance footpath in Cumbria in northern England, following the coast from Silverdale, just over the Lancashire border, to just north of the Anglo-Scottish border. It is now part of the England Coast Path.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hodbarrow RSPB reserve</span> Nature reserve in Cumbria, England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Bees Head</span> Headland in cumbria

St Bees Head is a headland on the North West coast of the English county of Cumbria and is named after the nearby village of St Bees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fowlsheugh</span>

Fowlsheugh is a coastal nature reserve in Kincardineshire, northeast Scotland, known for its 70-metre-high (230 ft) cliff formations and habitat supporting prolific seabird nesting colonies. Designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) by Scottish Natural Heritage, the property is owned by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Fowlsheugh can be accessed by a public clifftop trail, or by boats which usually emanate from the nearby harbour at the town of Stonehaven. Tens of thousands of pelagic birds return to the site every spring to breed, after wintering at sea or in more southern climates, principal species being puffins, razorbills, kittiwakes, fulmars and guillemots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flora and fauna of the Outer Hebrides</span> UNESCO World Heritage Site in Scotland

The flora and fauna of the Outer Hebrides in north west Scotland comprises a unique and diverse ecosystem. A long archipelago, set on the eastern shores of the Atlantic Ocean, it attracts a wide variety of seabirds, and thanks to the Gulf Stream a climate more mild than might be expected at this latitude. Because it is on the Gulf Stream, it also occasionally gets exotic visitors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Walney</span>

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:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Warren RSPB reserve</span>

North Warren RSPB reserve is a nature reserve run by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in Suffolk, England. It lies on the Suffolk coast on the north edge of the town of Aldeburgh and to the south of Thorpeness and includes the Aldringham Walks area of heathland to the north. It is within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and the Suffolk Heritage Coast area. Noted for its populations of Eurasian bittern, European nightjar and other bird species, it covers a range of coastal habitats and is protected with SSSI, SPA conservation status.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandscale Haws</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nature reserves in the North Norfolk Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest</span>

The North Norfolk Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is an internationally important protected area in Norfolk, England. The SSSI is a long, narrow strip of coastal land that starts between Old Hunstanton and Holme-next-the-Sea, and runs east for about 43 km (27 mi) to Kelling. The southern boundary runs roughly west to east except where it detours around towns and villages, and never crosses the A149 coast road. It has an area of 7,700 ha (19,027 acres), and is additionally protected through Natura 2000, Special Protection Area (SPA) and Ramsar listings; it is also part of the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Scolt Head Island and the coast from the Holkham National Nature Reserve to Salthouse are a Biosphere Reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Godrevy Head to St Agnes</span>

Godrevy Head to St Agnes is a coastal Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in north Cornwall, England], noted for both its biological and geological characteristics. A number of rare and scarce plant species can be found on the site, along with many breeding seabirds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Norfolk Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest</span> Area of European importance for wildlife in Norfolk, England

The North Norfolk Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is an area of European importance for wildlife in Norfolk, England. It comprises 7,700 ha (19,027 acres) of the county's north coast from just west of Holme-next-the-Sea to Kelling, and is additionally protected through Natura 2000, Special Protection Area (SPA) listings; it is also part of the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The North Norfolk Coast is also designated as a wetland of international importance on the Ramsar list and most of it is a Biosphere Reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumbria Coast</span> One of Englands Marine Conservation Zones.

Cumbria Coast is one of England's Marine Conservation Zones. It was designated in 2013, and is one of a number of such zones off the coast of Cumbria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Caithness Cliffs</span> Protected area of cliffs and seas on the east coast of Caithness, Scotland

The name East Caithness Cliffs refers to weathered sandstone cliffs on the east coast of Caithness in Scotland. The cliffs, which rise to 150 m at Berriedale, provide ideal nesting conditions for breeding seabirds, and are protected by several overlapping conservation designations:

References

  1. 1 2 "Call to protect our seabird population". Whitehaven News . 14 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "St Bees Head" (PDF). Natural England. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  3. "The Colourful Coast Project" . Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  4. "Whitehaven Colourful Coastal Walk". National Trust. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  5. "Call for voluntary fishing ban" . Retrieved 26 August 2019.

Coordinates: 54°29′26″N3°36′13″W / 54.490688°N 3.603500°W / 54.490688; -3.603500