Pitsea Marsh

Pitsea Marsh
Site of Special Scientific Interest
LocationEssex
Grid referenceTQ735863
TQ740870
InterestBiological
Area94.6 hectares
Notification1987
Location mapMagic Map

Pitsea Marsh is a 94.6-hectare (234-acre) Site of Special Scientific Interest in Pitsea in Essex. The southern half is the Wat Tyler Country Park, and the northern half is private land.[1][2]

The site has a variety of habitats, such as grassland, scrub, reedbed, fen, ponds and saltmarsh. It was reclaimed in the seventeenth century, when Pitseahall Fleet was excavated to construct sea walls. The Fleet has a large and varied bird population. Dykes and ponds support the scarce emerald damselfly, and other rare invertebrates include Roesel's bush-cricket, a harvestman Leiobunum rotundum, a hoverfly xanthandrus comtus, and a ground beetle dyschirius impunctipennis.[1]

There is access to the country park from Pitsea Hall Lane.

References

  1. ^ a b "Pitsea Marsh citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  2. ^ "Map of Pitsea Marsh". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 1 May 2016.

51°33′14″N 0°30′36″E / 51.554°N 0.51°E / 51.554; 0.51