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 ...
(SSSI) in
Essex
Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
. It consists of mudflats, salt marshes, scrub and wild grassland, and includes the
Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...
foreshore. It has been so recognised for its biological (including ecological) value, rather than geological. A definition five percent larger forms the Benfleet and Southend Marshes
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 cer ...
. In the centre-west, more than ten percent of the Site is the Leigh National Nature Reserve (NNR), which has been appraised in detail in ''A Nature Conservation Review'' as a site of national importance. The SSSI and NNR include the eastern half of
Two Tree Island
Two Tree Island is a small island lying north-east of Canvey Island and south-west of Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, England. It covers and is connected to the mainland at Leigh by a single span bridge.
The island was reclaimed from the Thames Estuar ...
, in
Leigh on Sea
Leigh-on-Sea (), commonly referred to simply as Leigh, is a town and civil parish within the city of Southend-on-Sea, located in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. In 2011 it had a population of 22,509.
Geography
Leigh-on-Sea is on th ...
which is managed by the
Essex Wildlife Trust
The Essex Wildlife Trust (EWT) is one of 46 The Wildlife Trusts, wildlife trusts which cover the United Kingdom. The EWT was founded in 1959, and it describes itself as Essex's leading conservation charity, which aims to protect wildlife for the ...
. A narrow majority of the Site is the Southend on Sea Foreshore Local Nature Reserve.
The marshes and mudflats have internationally important numbers of wildfowl and wading birds, including the
dark-bellied brent goose
The brant or brent goose (''Branta bernicla'') is a small goose of the genus ''Branta''. There are three subspecies, all of which winter along temperate-zone sea-coasts and breed on the high-Arctic tundra.
The Brent oilfield was named after t ...
,
grey plover
The grey plover or black-bellied plover (''Pluvialis squatarola'') is a large plover breeding in Arctic regions. It is a long-distance migrant, with a nearly worldwide coastal distribution when not breeding.
Taxonomy
The grey plover was forma ...
red knot
The red knot or just knot (''Calidris canutus'') is a medium-sized shorebird which breeds in tundra and the Arctic Cordillera in the far north of Canada, Europe, and Russia. It is a large member of the ''Calidris'' sandpipers, second only to the ...
. Scarce invertebrates, such as the
white-letter hairstreak
The white-letter hairstreak (''Satyrium w-album'') is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.
Appearance and behaviour
A dark little butterfly that spends the majority of its life in the tree tops, feeding on honeydew, making it best observed thr ...
and marbled white butterfly, have adapted to specific habitats in the marshes.
Major landowners within Benfleet and Southend Marshes SSSI include the
Ministry of Defence
A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
,
Network Rail
Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and railway infrastructure manager, infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. ...
and
Crown Estate
The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...