Coatham Marsh Nature Reserve
Coatham
Marsh is a small surviving remnant of a much larger marsh which was originally
part of the Tees estuary. The area has been subjected to industrial workings
for centuries. It was first developed as salt pans, this may well have
been from the middle ages onwards. It is however during the last century
that the most dramatic changes have taken place in this area. The encroachment
of industry onto the salt marsh has been relentless. Today the remaining
fragments are cut off from the sea but still retain their brackish pools
and some of the original saltmarsh flora.
Coatham marsh has attracted quite a surprising number and variety of species during the last 20 years or so. Birds such as Stone Curlew, Great Reed Warbler, Little Egret, Spoonbill, Mandarin Duck, etc. In particular it is attractive to waders and almost anything can turn up. Birds seen over the years include, Common, Curlew, Green, Wood and Pectoral Sandpipers, Greenshank, Snipe, Jack Snipe, Little and Temminck's Stints,
Location of Coatham Marsh Google Map
Birds seen on the marsh
As
you might expect for a marsh there are Herons, Kingfisher, Moorhen, Coots
etc. The list of ducks visiting the various pools is more extensive with
Bufflehead, Little and Great Creasted Grebe, Long-Tailed, Tufted, Gadwall,
Garganey, Goldeneye, Goosander, Merganser, Pochard, Mallard, Widgeon, American
Widgeon, Shelduck, Teal, Pintail, Shoveler, Scaup and Smew recorded over
the years.