Widewater Lagoon is a Local Nature Reserve in Lancing in

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

. It is owned by

West Sussex County Council West Sussex County Council is the upper tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of West Sussex in England. The county also contains seven district and borough councils, and 158 town, parish and neighbourhood councils. The county c ...

and managed by Lancing Parish Council. This coastal saline lagoon is separated from Lancing Beach by a man-made shingle bank. The water is brackish and there are wildfowl such as

heron Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus ''Botaurus'' are referred to as bi ...

s and

swan Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe (biology) ...

s. A survey of the lagoon in 2013 found a wide range of flora and fauna including the rare water beetle '' Enochrus bicolor.'' There is access from Brighton Road, West Beach Road and via the footpath and cycle path running eastwards from Lancing beach green. The

Ivell's sea anemone Ivell's sea anemone (''Edwardsia ivelli'') is a possibly extinct species of sea anemone in the Family (biology), family Edwardsiidae. It is Endemism, endemic to a single location, Widewater Lagoon in West Sussex, England, where it was first disc ...

is only known from this lagoon.

References

{{Local Nature Reserves in West Sussex Local Nature Reserves in West Sussex