22
January 2019
Rare and
endangered birds will be protected with the expansion of a Site of Special
Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Dorset, Natural England has said.
A further
1,800 hectares (4,450 acres) of land and sea at Poole Harbour is to be moved
into the SSSI.
Its
saltmarshes and mudflats are a feeding and breeding ground for seabirds
including spoonbills, avocets and black-tailed godwits.
They are
all listed on Schedule 1 of The Wildlife and Countryside Act.
Spoonbills
are also described as a "very
rare breeding bird" in the UK by the RSPB.
Natural
England said: "Below the waves, seagrass beds flourish in the shallows
while the channels hide the spectacular peacock worm and a rich variety of
other marine species including sponges, sea squirts and tube worms."
Emma
Rance, marine conservation officer at Dorset Wildlife Trust, said the seagrass
beds "provide refuge for juvenile fish and shellfish which become a rich
food source for overwintering and roosting seabirds".
More than
4,100 hectares (10,100 acres) of the harbour are already protected within the
SSSI.
This SSSI
extension connects to heathland as well as marine habitat protected under the
Bluebelt programme, including Poole Rocks Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ), and
Studland Bay proposed MCZ.
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