South Thames Estuary And Marshes
South Thames Estuary and Marshes is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest which stretches between Gravesend and the mouth of the River Medway in Kent. Part of it is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and part is a Royal Society for the Protection of Birds nature reserve. It is part of the Thames Estuary and Marshes Ramsar internationally important wetland site and Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. The site consists of a range of habitats including mudflats, saltmarsh, grazing marsh and stretches of shingle. Inland are freshwater lagoons and some patches of deciduous woodland. Over 20,000 migratory waterfowl use this site in the winter, and some species such as greater white-fronted goose, shelduck, gadwall, teal, northern pintail, shoveler, grey plover, curlew and black-tailed godwit are present in internationally important numbers. There are also a number of breeding birds including garganey, avocet ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Site Of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man. SSSI/ASSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in the United Kingdom are based upon them, including national nature reserves, Ramsar sites, Special Protection Areas, and Special Areas of Conservation. The acronym "SSSI" is often pronounced "triple-S I". Selection and conservation Sites notified for their biological interest are known as Biological SSSIs (or ASSIs), and those notified for geological or physiographic interest are Geological SSSIs (or ASSIs). Sites may be divided into management units, with some areas including units that are noted for both biological and geological interest. Biological Biological SSSI/ASSIs may ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Grey Plover
The grey plover or black-bellied plover (''Pluvialis squatarola'') is a large plover breeding in Arctic regions. It is a long-distance migrant, with a nearly worldwide coastal distribution when not breeding. Taxonomy The grey plover was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the binomial name ''Tringa squatarola''. It is now placed with three other plovers in the genus ''Pluvialis'' that was introduced by the French onithologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. The genus name is Latin and means relating to rain, from ''pluvia'', "rain". It was believed that they flocked when rain was imminent. The species name ''squatarola'' is a Latinised version of ''Sgatarola'', a Venetian name for some kind of plover. The English common name used for this species differs in different parts of the world. It is generally known as "grey plover" in the Old World and "black-bellied plover" in the New World. Th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tripolium Pannonicum
''Tripolium pannonicum'', called sea aster or seashore aster and often known by the synonyms ''Aster tripolium'' or ''Aster pannonicus'', is a flowering plant, native to Eurasia and northern Africa, that is confined in its distribution to salt marshes, estuaries and occasionally to inland salt works. It is a perennial growing up to 50 cm tall with fleshy lanceolate leaves and purple ray florets flowering from July to September. The plants tend to be short-lived and populations need significant new recruitment each year from new seedlings. There are rayed as well as rayless varieties and only the former have long blue or white florets. The rayless form is yellow. The plant flowers well into autumn and hence provides a valuable source of nectar for late-flying butterflies such as painted lady and red admiral. Young leaves of this plant are edible and are collected for consumption on the floodplains of the Dutch province of Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I stru ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Salicornia
''Salicornia'' is a genus of succulent, halophytic (salt tolerant) flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae that grow in salt marshes, on beaches, and among mangroves. ''Salicornia'' species are native to North America, Europe, Central Asia, and southern Africa. Common names for the genus include glasswort, pickleweed, picklegrass, and marsh samphire; these common names are also used for some species not in ''Salicornia''. To French speakers in Atlantic Canada, they are known colloquially as ''titines de souris'' ('mouse tits'). The main European species is often eaten, called marsh samphire in Britain, and the main North American species is occasionally sold in grocery stores or appears on restaurant menus as sea beans, samphire greens or sea asparagus. Description The ''Salicornia'' species are small annual herbs. They grow prostrate to erect, their simple or branched stems are succulent, hairless, and appear to be jointed. The opposite leaves are strongly reduced to sma ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Puccinellia
''Puccinellia'' is a genus of plants in the grass family, known as alkali grass or salt grass. These grasses grow in wet environments, often in saline or alkaline conditions. They are native to temperate to Arctic regions of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Selected species '' Puccinellia deschampsioides'' '' Puccinellia macra'' - Wright's alkali grass :List sources : References External linksJepson Manual Treatment USDA Plants Profile {{Taxonbar, from=Q157774 Poaceae genera [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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European Golden Plover
The European golden plover (''Pluvialis apricaria''), also known as the European golden-plover, Eurasian golden plover, or just the golden plover within Europe, is a largish plover. This species is similar to two other golden plovers: the American golden plover, ''Pluvialis dominica'', and Pacific golden plover, ''Pluvialis fulva'', which are both smaller, slimmer and relatively longer-legged than European golden plover, and both have grey rather than white axillary feathers (only properly visible in flight). Taxonomy The European golden plover was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the other plovers in the genus ''Charadrius'' and coined the binomial name ''Charadrius apricarius''. The species is now placed in the genus ''Pluvialis'' that was introduced in 1760 by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson. The genus name is Latin and means "relating to rain", from ''pluvia'' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Common Tern
The common tern (''Sterna hirundo'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, its four subspecies breeding in temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migratory, wintering in coastal tropical and subtropical regions. Breeding adults have light grey upperparts, white to very light grey underparts, a black cap, orange-red legs, and a narrow pointed bill. Depending on the subspecies, the bill may be mostly red with a black tip or all black. There are several similar species, including the partly sympatric Arctic tern, which can be separated on plumage details, leg and bill colour, or vocalisations. Breeding in a wider range of habitats than any of its relatives, the common tern nests on any flat, poorly vegetated surface close to water, including beaches and islands, and it readily adapts to artificial substrates such as floating rafts. The nest may be a bare scrape in sand or gravel, but it is of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ruff (bird)
The ruff (''Calidris pugnax'') is a medium-sized wading bird that breeds in marshes and wet meadows across northern Eurasia. This highly gregarious sandpiper is migratory and sometimes forms huge flocks in its winter grounds, which include southern and western Europe, Africa, southern Asia and Australia. The ruff is a long-necked, pot-bellied bird. This species shows marked sexual dimorphism; the male is much larger than the female (the reeve), and has a breeding plumage that includes brightly coloured head tufts, bare orange facial skin, extensive black on the breast, and the large collar of ornamental feathers that inspired this bird's English name. The female and the non-breeding male have grey-brown upperparts and mainly white underparts. Three differently plumaged types of male, including a rare form that mimics the female, use a variety of strategies to obtain mating opportunities at a lek, and the colourful head and neck feathers are erected as part of the elaborate mai ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Short-eared Owl
The short-eared owl (''Asio flammeus'') is a widespread grassland species in the family Strigidae. Owls belonging to genus ''Asio'' are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or may not be visible. The short-eared owl will display its tufts when in a defensive pose, although its very short tufts are usually not visible. The short-eared owl is found in open country and grasslands. Taxonomy The short-eared owl was formally described in 1763 by the Lutheran bishop Erik Pontoppidan under the binomial name ''Strix flammea''. The specific epithet is from the Latin ''flammeus'' meaning "flammulated" or "flame-coloured". This owl is now placed with seven other species in the genus ''Asio'' that was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. Eleven subspecies are recognised: * ''A. f. flammeus'' – ( Pontoppidan, 1763): the nominate subspecies, found in North America, Europe, North Africa and n ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hen Harrier
The hen harrier (''Circus cyaneus'') is a bird of prey. It breeds in Eurasia. The term "hen harrier" refers to its former habit of preying on free-ranging fowl. It migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Eurasian birds move to southern Europe and southern temperate Asia. In the mildest regions, such as France and Great Britain, hen harriers may be present all year, but the higher ground is largely deserted in winter. The northern harrier was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the hen harrier. Taxonomy In 1758 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the hen harrier in the first volume of his ''Gleanings of Natural History''. He used the English name "The blue hawk". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a bird that had been shot near London. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his ''Systema Naturae'' for the twelfth edition, he placed the hen harrier with the falcons and eagles in the genus '' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bearded Reedling
The bearded reedling (''Panurus biarmicus'') is a small, sexual dimorphism, sexually dimorphic reed bed, reed-bed passerine bird. It is frequently known as the bearded tit, due to some similarities to the long-tailed tit, or the bearded parrotbill. It is the only species in the family Panuridae. Taxonomy and systematics The bearded reedling was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'' in 1758. He placed it in the genus ''Parus'' with the tit (bird), tits. The species has since been placed with the parrotbills in the family Paradoxornithidae, after they were removed from the true tits in the family (biology), family. More recent research suggests it is a unique songbird – no other living species seems to be particularly closely related to it. The species is now placed in the monotypic family Panuridae. Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that the bearded reedling is most closely related to the lark family A ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Avocet
The four species of avocets are a genus, ''Recurvirostra'', of waders in the same avian family as the stilts. The genus name comes from Latin , 'curved backwards' and , 'bill'. The common name is thought to derive from the Italian ( Ferrarese) word . Francis Willughby in 1678 noted it as the "Avosetta of the Italians". Biology Avocets have long legs and they sweep their long, thin, upcurved bills from side to side when feeding in the brackish or saline wetlands they prefer. Their plumage is pied, sometimes also with some red. Members of this genus have webbed feet and readily swim. Their diet consists of aquatic insects and other small creatures. They nest on the ground in loose colonies. In estuarine settings, they may feed on exposed bay muds or mudflats. The pied avocet is the emblem of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Taxonomy The genus ''Recurvirostra'' was introduced in 1758 by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his to contain a sing ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |