SPA description
(information as published 2001)
Tamar Estuaries Complex
The Tamar Estuary lies on the border between Devon and Cornwall
on the southern coast of England. The estuary system is a large
marine inlet on the English Channel coast comprising the estuaries
of the rivers Tamar, Lynher and Tavy which collectively drain an
extensive part of Devon and Cornwall. The Tamar river and its
tributaries provide the main input of fresh water into the estuary
complex, and form a ria (drowned river valley) with Plymouth lying
on the eastern shore. The broader lower reaches of the rivers form
extensive tidal mud-flats bordered by saltmarsh communities. The
mud-flats contain extensive and varied infaunal communities rich in
bivalves and other invertebrates, and feeding grounds for
waterbirds in numbers of European importance. Saltmarshes provide
important feeding and roosting areas for large numbers of wintering
and passage waterbirds.
Qualifying species
For individual species accounts visit the Species
Accounts section
This site qualifies under Article 4.1 of the
Directive (79/409/EEC) by supporting populations of European
importance of the following species listed on Annex I of the
Directive:
On passage;
Little Egret Egretta garzetta, 72 individuals
representing at least 9.0% of the population in Great Britain
(Count as at 1993)
Over winter;
Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta, 201 individuals
representing at least 15.8% of the wintering population in Great
Britain (5 year peak mean 1991/2 - 1995/6)
Little Egret Egretta garzetta, 42 individuals
representing at least 8.4% of the wintering population in Great
Britain (Count as at 1993)
Note:
Many designated sites are on private land: the listing of
a site in these pages does not imply any right of public
access.
Note that sites selected for waterbird species on the basis of
their occurrence in the breeding, passage or winter periods also
provide legal protection for these species when they occur at other
times of the year.