South Walney is one of two

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

s on

Walney Island Walney Island, also known as the Isle of Walney, is an island off the west coast of England, at the western end of Morecambe Bay in the Irish Sea. It is part of Barrow-in-Furness, separated from the mainland by Walney Channel, which is spanned b ...

, England. The nature reserve has an area of 130 ha leased from Holker estates. It has been managed by the

Cumbria Wildlife Trust Cumbria Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the county of Cumbria, England. It runs more than 40 nature reserves, and aims to broaden the awareness and knowledge of the wildlife in the county. History The trust was established in 1962 as ...

since 1963. The reserve is notable for: *

Gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century ...

s. There are lesser black backed gulls and

herring gull Herring gull is a common name for several birds in the genus '' Larus'', all formerly treated as a single species. Three species are still combined in some taxonomies: * American herring gull (''Larus smithsonianus'') - North America * European ...

s. Numbers have declined considerably since the 1970s. :Among the reasons for the decline has been predation. In 2021 Cumbria Wildlife Trust reported that a predator-proof fence had protected chicks at the reserve. *

Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...

s. It is the only

grey seal The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. In Latin Halichoerus grypus means "hook-nosed sea pig". It is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or " ...

colony in Cumbria. Accessed via

HighBeam Research HighBeam Research was a paid search engine and full text online archive owned by Gale, a subsidiary of Cengage, for thousands of newspapers, magazines, academic journals, newswires, trade magazines, and encyclopedias in English. It was head ...

(subscription required). Numbers have increased since the 1970s. Until recently South Walney was classed as a haul-out site rather than a breeding colony, but two pups were born there in 2015, and five the following year. The reserve is the home of the Walney Bird Observatory which collates bird records from across the island. Around 300 species of bird have been recorded on Walney Island since the foundation of the bird observatory in 1964.

Facilities

South Walney Nature Reserve is open daily 10am to 5pm (4pm in winter). The road to the reserve can be affected by

high tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables c ...

s. There are

bird hide A bird hide (blind or bird blind in North America) is a shelter, often camouflaged, that is used to observe wildlife, especially birds, at close quarters. Although hides or hunting blinds were once built chiefly as hunting aids, they are now commo ...

s. A seal webcam went live in 2016.
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Protection

Sites of Special Scientific Interest

South Walney and Piel Channel Flats are designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest for biological and geological interest. The SSSI includes the South Walney part of the Walney Island Geological Conservation Review Site. The SSSI is contiguous with two other SSSIs: * the Duddon Estuary SSSI (within the

Walney Channel The Walney Channel separates Walney Island from the British mainland. The northern portion of the channel opens into the Duddon Estuary and is both narrower and shallower. The southern half of the channel is wider and is regularly dredged to allow ...

, which separates Walney Island from the

mainland Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or dem ...

) * the Morecambe Bay SSSI.

Special Protection Area

Both the Duddon Estuary and Morecambe Bay were designated

Special Protection Areas A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cert ...

(a protected area under the European Union

Birds Directive The Birds Directive (formally known as Council Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds) is the oldest piece of EU legislation on the environment and one of its cornerstones which was unanimously adopted in April 1979 as the Dire ...

). In 2016, before the

United Kingdom European Union membership referendum The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar to ask the electorate whether the country shoul ...

, there were consultations on a successful proposal that Morecambe Bay and Duddon Estuary be combined in a new SPA. The combined SPA includes a marine extension west of Walney Island to protect foraging areas of

tern Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated as a subgroup of the family Laridae which includes gulls and skimmers and consists of e ...

s. This marine extension is not to be confused with the " West of Walney"

Marine Conservation Zone A Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) is a type of marine nature reserve in UK waters. They were established under the Marine and Coastal Access Act (2009) and are areas designated with the aim to protect nationally important, rare or threatened habit ...

(designated in January 2016), which is some kilometres from the coast.

References

External links

Website

Seal cam
{{Coord, 54.048575, -3.199547, display=title Nature reserves of the Cumbria Wildlife Trust Birdwatching sites in England

Walney Walney Island, also known as the Isle of Walney, is an island off the west coast of England, at the western end of Morecambe Bay in the Irish Sea. It is part of Barrow-in-Furness, separated from the mainland by Walney Channel, which is spanned b ...