Hodbarrow RSPB reserve
{{Short description|Nature reserve in Cumbria, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox protected area
| name = RSPB Hodsbarrow
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| photo = Millom - view over Hodbarrow nature reserve.jpg
| photo_caption = View over reserve
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| location = Duddon Estuary, Cumbria, England
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| area_ha = 3.28
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| operator = Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
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| website = [http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/seenature/reserves/guide/h/hodbarrow/index.aspx Hodbarrow]
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Hodbarrow RSPB Reserve is a nature reserve run by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) on the edge of the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. It is on the Duddon Estuary near the town of Millom and covers an area of {{convert|3.28|ha}}.
History
The nature reserve was purchased by the RSPB in 1986. It occupies a site where iron ore was mined from {{circa|1850}} until the 1960s.{{cite web |url=https://co-curate.ncl.ac.uk/hodbarrow-iron-ore-mines/ |title=Hodbarrow Iron Ore Mines (1850 - 1968) |website=co-curate.ncl.ac.uk |publisher=Co-Curate Newcastle University |access-date=5 August 2023}} The mining caused subsidence. Flooding increased after the closure of the mine, as the site was no longer dewatered. The reserve continues to be protected from the sea by a seawall built by John Aird & Co. and completed in 1905.{{cite web |url=http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=876 |title=Hodbarrow Sea Defences |publisher=Engineering Timelines |access-date=30 November 2019}}
Habitats
Most of the area of the reserve is taken up by Hodbarrow Lagoon, a flooded part of the former mine, which is described as a "coastal lagoon".{{cite web |url=http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/seenature/reserves/guide/h/hodbarrow/work.aspx |title=Hodbarrow |publisher=RSPB |access-date=30 November 2019}} Some of the reserve is scrubland.{{cite web |url=http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/wood/26459/hodbarrow/ |title=Hodbarrow |website=woodlandtrust.org.uk |publisher=Woodland Trust |access-date=5 August 2023}}
Facilities
There is a car park on the Millom side of the reserve from which you can walk to the seawall. (Alternatively, there is more direct pedestrian access to the seawall from Haverigg).
File:Lighthouse at edge of Hodbarrow lagoon - geograph.org.uk - 268459.jpg
A bird hide is located on the seawall which gives views of the lagoon.
Protection status
The lagoon was originally a separate Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), notified in 1983. Following an amalgamation of SSSIs, it is part of the Duddon Estuary SSSI.{{cite web |title=Duddon Estuary, Cumbria |url=http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1000104.pdf |publisher=Natural England |access-date=17 August 2015 |archive-date=27 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120427052522/http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1000104.pdf |url-status=dead }}
The Duddon estuary is also an Important Bird Area,{{cite web |url=http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/duddon-estuary-iba-united-kingdom |title=BirdLife International (2023) Important Bird Area factsheet: Duddon Estuary |website=birdlife.org |publisher=BirdLife International |access-date=5 August 2023}} and a Special Protection Area (Morecambe Bay and Duddon Estuary SPA).{{Cite web |title=Morecambe Bay and Duddon Estuary SPA |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/851114/Morecambe_Bay_and_Duddon_Estuary_SPA_Factsheet.pdf}}
Birdlife
Hodbarrow has breeding populations of terns. It was one of the sites involved in a project funded by the LIFE programme called "LIFE on the edge improving the condition and long-term resilience of key coastal SPAs in S, E and N England". In the case of Hodbarrow, slag was moved to create a new island in the lagoon for the benefit of little, common and sandwich terns.{{Cite web |title=LIFE on the Edge |url=https://www.projectlote.life/ |access-date=10 January 2022}}
Hodbarrow is also renowned for large numbers of wildfowl during the winter, especially teal, wigeon, coot, mallard, tufted duck, common pochard, goldeneye, red-breasted merganser, and occasionally long-tailed duck, eider, goosander, pintail and shoveler.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/hodbarrow/ RSPB Hodbarrow]
- [http://sites.google.com/site/millomweb/ Millom's premier information website]
- [http://www.millom.org/ Millom information website]
- [http://www.thecumbriadirectory.com/Cumbria_Countryside/Nature_and_Wildlife_Reserves/reserve_view.php?reserve=hodbarrow_nature_reserve The Cumbria Directory - Hodbarrow Nature Reserve]
{{coord|54.1998|-3.2651|type:landmark_region:GB|display=title}}
Category:Nature reserves in Cumbria
Category:Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reserves in England
Category:Birdwatching sites in England
Category:Iron mines in England
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