Minsmere / Walberswick Marshes
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Site contact authorities
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Manager
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Geoff Welch Minsmere Reserve Westleton Saxmundham Suffolk IP17 3BY |
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Information
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Royal Society for the Protection of Birds the Lodge Sandy-Bedfordshire SG19 2 DL
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Description
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General character of the site
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Situated on the Suffolk coast, in Eastern England, Minsmere consists of fenland areas which in 1940 were flooded as an anti-invasion measure. In 1962 work commenced on the construction of a 17 hectare shallow lagoon system. Minsmere is the most important bird reserve in the United Kingdom.
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Quality
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Vulnerability
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Introduction of non-indigenous plant and animal species, including Nutria (now exterminated).
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Designation
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Owner
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Since 1977, the reserve has been under the full ownership of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedforshire, SG19 2 DL.
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Documentation
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Council of Europe (1980), Minsmere Nature Reserve United Kingdom, Strasbourg, 27p..
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Habitat types
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Flora
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Fauna
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Potential vegetation
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Geomorphology
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Wetland areas range from silt/clay loams near the coast to sandy peat inland. Woodland, heathland + formland lie on a series of buried pebble beaches overlying estuarine shelly sands + deep chalk deposits
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Educational interest
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A field-teaching scheme, run by RSPB teacher-naturalists, operates throughout the year and attracts c 1000 children pa. Courses cover Adaptation, Migration, Habitat Management, and in 1997, a special Avocet topic. The reserve is also used as a demonstration site for habitat, species + visitor management techniques, and as a training site for a range of practical conservation skills.
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| Cultural heritage |
The diversity of habitats found on the reserve result from a long history of management by men. Recent acquisition of the grazing marshes included the purchase of the site of the original Leiston Abbey, built in 1182, which is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument. |
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| URL official |
http://www.disabledbirdersassociation.org.uk/Minsmere.htm |
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