Ribble and Alt Estuaries

The mouth of the River Ribble south of Lytham St Annes

The Ribble Estuary in 1917.

The Ribble and Alt Estuaries lie on the Irish Sea coast of the counties of Lancashire and Merseyside in north-west England, and form the boundaries of a number of nature preservation schemes. (Ribble Estuary: 53°41′N 2°50′W, Alt Estuary: 53°31′N 3°04′W.)

Protected area

A large number of different species of waders and wildfowl, listed below, use the estuaries as feeding and over-wintering areas. This wide variety of bird species has led to the estuaries being officially designated as a Special Protection Area and as a Ramsar site. The Ribble Estuary has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest since 1966 and is now covered by Natural England's Ribble Estuary "National Nature Reserve".

Species

Breeding season

• Common Tern Sterna hirundo
• Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus
• Ruff Philomachus pugnax

Over wintering

• Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica
• Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa islandica
• Bewick's Swan Cygnus columbianus bewickii
• Dunlin Calidris alpina alpina
• Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria
• Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola
• Knot Calidris canutus
• Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus
• Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchus
• Pintail Anas acuta
• Redshank Tringa totanus
• Sanderling Calidris alba
• Shelduck Tadorna tadorna
• Teal Anas crecca
• Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus
• Wigeon Anas penelope

Migratory

• Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula
• Sanderling Calidris alba

See also

• River Alt
• River Ribble

References

• "Classification as a Special Protection Area". Joint Nature Conservation Committee. 
• "SSSI citation sheet". English Nature. 

External links

• NaturaL England: Ribble Estuary National Nature Reserve