Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
in
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
. It is owned and managed by
Southampton City Council
Southampton City Council is the local authority of the city of Southampton. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local government services including c ...
. It is part of Solent and Southampton Water
Ramsar site
A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O)
*** Permanent 8 ha (P)
*** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts)
**
Special Protection Area
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 certa ...
, and of
Lee-on-The Solent to Itchen Estuary
Lee-on-The Solent to Itchen Estuary is a biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest which stretches along the coast between Southampton and Gosport in Hampshire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site. It is part of Solent ...
, which is a
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 ...
. It has been a local nature reserve since 1989
It comprises a narrow strip of woodland, a parallel strip of shingle and saltmarsh and a substantial area of mudflats. At low tide the mudflats are exposed attracting wading birds and wildfowl: curlew, oystercatchers and dunlin can be seen throughout the year. In winter, the site is also used as a stop-over for other migrating birds such as brent geese.
At low tide, mudflats are exposed, and these attract feeding estuary birds. The mudflats are also nationally and internationally important. Local volunteers, Friends of Chessel Bay, team up with the City Council twice a year to combat the large amount of litter which accumulates in the bay, and carry out management of the Reserve. The reserve suffers from high levels of plastic pollution due to its position on the bend of Itchen.