Slimbridge
With a long stretch of the Severn Estuary along its edge and an adjoining mosaic of saltings, salt-marsh, reed beds, open water lagoons, ditches, pools, ponds and seasonally-flooded grasslands, the wildest area of WWT Slimbridge ranks as one of Europe’s finest wetlands and a world-class viewing point for wintering wildfowl.
Internationally important numbers of European white-fronted goose, Bewick’s swan, gadwall, pintail, pochard, ruff, teal and wigeon are all present, feeding amidst the shallow waters and short grass sward produced by grazing cattle.
Lapwing, oystercatcher and redshank all breed on the wet grassland, while kingfishers nest in a bank created especially for them and which can be viewed at close quarters from a nearby hide.
Many other hides overlook different parts of the reserve and upper estuary, each served by a well-surfaced path.
Another option for explorers is a Land Rover safari, led by an expert nature warden. It is believed that the presence of the nationally rare plant, grass-poly, a British Red Data Book species, results from seeds being carried in by birds from its only other major site, a field in Cambridgeshire.
Other regionally important flora include bee orchids, the unusual wasp orchid, sea arrowgrass, flowering rush and mistletoe.
The site is occasionally visited by otter and polecat. Water voles are also present as are newts. Listen in summer for skylarks and keep a look out for hawks and herons hunting. Notable invertebrates include the hairy dragonfly and a large variety of moths.
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