Wikipedia:Today's featured article/January 29, 2017

Saltmarsh behind the beach

Titchwell Marsh is an English nature reserve owned and managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Its 171 hectares (420 acres) on the north coast of Norfolk, about 8 km (5.0 mi) east of the seaside resort of Hunstanton, include reed beds, saltmarshes, a freshwater lagoon, a sandy beach, and woodland. The reserve is important for some scarce breeding birds, such as pied avocets on the islands, and western marsh harriers, Eurasian bitterns and bearded reedlings in the reeds. It has regularly attracted rarities, as its location is important for migrating birds, and shelters the endangered European water vole. Facilities include three bird hides, a seawatching platform, two nature trails, and a visitor centre. In 2010 and 2011 the banks around the freshwater lagoon were improved and the brackish lagoon was converted to tidal saltmarsh (pictured), a more effective barrier to encroachment by the sea. Titchwell Marsh is archaeologically significant, with artefacts dating to the Upper Paleolithic, and has remains of military constructions from both world wars. (Full article...)

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