Deben Estuary SSSI
Nature reserve in Suffolk, England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Deben Estuary SSSI is a 981.1-hectare (2,424-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) covering the River Deben and its banks 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) from its mouth north of Felixstowe to Woodbridge in Suffolk.[1][3] It is a Ramsar internationally important wetland site[4][5] and a Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.[6][7] It is also in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.[8] It partly overlaps two geological SSSIs, Ferry Cliff, Sutton and Ramsholt Cliff.[9]
| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
| |
| Location | Suffolk |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | TM 296 434[1] |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 981.1 hectares[1] |
| Notification | 1991[1] |
| Location map | Magic Map |
| Designations | |
|---|---|
| Official name | Deben Estuary |
| Designated | 11 March 1996 |
| Reference no. | 794[2] |
The site has been designated an SSSI for its overwintering waders and wildfowl, and for its diverse saltmarshes. It has internationally important overwintering redshanks and nationally important numbers of dark-bellied brent geese, shelducks and black-tailed godwits. The estuary also has three nationally rare plants and a nationally rare mollusc.[9]
