Ribble and Alt Estuaries

The Ribble and Alt Estuaries lie on the Irish Sea coast of the counties of Lancashire and Merseyside in north-west England.

A large number of different species of waders and wildfowl use the estuaries as feeding and over-wintering areas, including the following:

;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"

This wide variety of bird species had led to the estuaries beinf 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 the Environment Agency's Ribble Estuary "National Nature Reserve".

See also

*River Alt
*River Ribble

External links

* [http://www.english-nature.org.uk/special/nnr/nnr_details.asp?nnr_name=ribble&C=0&Habitat=0&natural_area=&local_team=0&spotlight_reserve=0&X=&NNR_ID=132 Environment Agency: Ribble Estuary National Nature Reserve]

References

*cite web | title=Classification as a Special Protection Area | url=http://www.jncc.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=1984 | work= Joint Nature Conservation Committee
*cite web | title=SSSI citation sheet | url=http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1004299.pdf | work= English Nature