Growing areas of saltmarsh mean new wildlife havens on our coasts
COASTAL SALTMARSH IS ONE OF THE FEW wildlife-rich habitats to be expanding dramatically in the United Kingdom.
In 2016-19, an aerial survey found that, in England alone, the area of saltmarsh had increased by seven per cent compared to 10 years earlier. Much of this growth is due to ‘managed realignment’ schemes, such as those in Lancashire, Somerset, East Anglia and Essex, where old sea walls are breached to allow seawater to flood low-lying coastal land.
New saltmarsh forms rapidly, soon attracting wading birds and many other species, while creating a wide buffer against future storms and sea surges. Though it might seem bleak on short December days, saltmarsh nonetheless makes for excellent birdwatching at this time of year. It is a favoured haunt of shelducks and waders such as redshanks, curlews and avocets, while great flocks of pink-footed and brent geese fill the sky with their wild music and bizarre whiffling flight as they come into land.