RSPB Makes Investment in Dee Wildlife

The RSPB purchased 194 hectares of saltmarsh and adjacent farmland at Burton Marsh Farm, which will in addition allow access to manage around 1,000 hectares of grazable saltmarsh on the English side of the estuary. This strategic purchase now connects the existing land holdings of Gayton Sands and Inner Marsh Farm together. The saltmarsh and adjacent Burton Marsh Farm are now protected for posterity.

Before Inner Marsh Farm Reserve was created, the inner Dee marshes off Denhall Lane and the Decca Station (Decca Pools) were already well known birding hot spots. The grazed saltmarsh attracts huge flocks of wintering lapwing and lesser numbers of Golden Plover. When it floods during the autumn tides, good numbers of migrant waders can be seen, especially Curlew Sandpiper, Little Stint, Spotted Redshank, Ruff etc. Large numbers of wildfowl occur with Bewick's Swan, Wigeon and Teal being the main species. The Dee Estuary, on the North Wales / North-West England border, is one of the United Kingdom's premier birding locations for wetland and shorebirds. This Web site describes the best Dee Estuary birdwatching areas with detailed maps and latest bird news for dedicated twitchers and casual birdwatchers alike.