Marshside is a

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

nature reserve operated by the

RSPB The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...

in the Marshside area of Southport, Merseyside, England. It lies north of the centre of Southport, on the southern side of the Ribble estuary, and is part of the wider Ribble & Alt Estuaries Ramsar reserve. and the Ribble Estuary National Nature Reserve. The RSPB reserve has two bird hides, the northernmost - named "Sandgrousers' Hide" - serving as a visitor centre. There are also three viewing screens. The reserve is used by large numbers of overwintering pink footed geese, from

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

, and

wigeon The wigeons or widgeons are a group of birds, dabbling ducks currently classified in the genus ''Mareca'' along with two other species. There are three extant species of wigeon, in addition to one recently extinct species. Biology There are t ...

, from

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

. In summer, species such as

avocets 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) ...

and lapwing breed there. in 2019, the RSPB acquired an adjacent area of wet grassland, Crossens Inner Marsh, in order to extend the reserve.

References

External links

* {{Official website RSPB visitor centres in England Southport