This relatively new saltmarsh reserve is a great place to admire the gathered pink-footed geese, wigeons, teals and other wildfowl in winter, along with big flocks of wading birds like golden plovers, lapwings and black-tailed godwits. In spring the marshes are alive with the sight and sound of displaying waders, including avocets and lapwings.
When the area was bought by the RSPB in 2006, Hesketh Out Marsh was used for growing crops. The land was taken out of the estuary in 1980 by the creation of an outer wall, but this wall was never going to last for ever. With the climate changing and the sea level rising, the RSPB and the Environment Agency recognised the need to plan for the future and create stronger sea defences. At the same time, they also needed to create new saltmarsh habitats to replace losses elsewhere.
The new reserve does both of these things by the process known as 'managed realignment' and is one of the largest of its kind in the UK. They have let the seawater back in to flood some of the land, creating saltmarsh which provides more space for nature. At the same time, the new saltmarsh acts like a sponge, soaking up some of the energy of the sea before it reaches the strong, new sea defences.
Avocets and redshanks are among the birds that have already nested on the site and large numbers of lapwings, golden plovers, shelducks, wigeons and teals are expected to use the site in the winter months.
Information taken from www.rspb.org.uk
Cache placed with kind permission from the RSPB.