Duddon Estuary Site of Special Scientific Interest
The Duddon Estuary is the sandy, gritty estuary of the River Duddon that lies between Morecambe Bay and the west Cumbrian coast.
It opens into the Irish Sea to the north of the Furness peninsula; Walney Island forming part of its southern edge. Its 28 miles (45 km) of shoreline enclose an area of 13 square miles (35 km2), making it the second largest estuary in Cumbria after the Solway Firth.
The main settlements alongside the Duddon estuary are Haverigg, Millom, Foxfield, Kirkby-in-Furness, Askam and Ireleth and Barrow-in-Furness.
The estuary as a whole was designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1990 with the amalgamation of five previously separate SSSIs: Duddon Sands, Sandscale Haws, North Walney, Hodbarrow Lagoon and Haverigg Haws. It is a Ramsar site.
The Duddon Estuary is significant for natterjack toads. It supports one fifth of the national population of the rare amphibian that is only found at 50 sites in the UK, of which five are in the Duddon Estuary.
The Duddon Estuary is an Important Bird Area. Species to be seen include pintail, red knot and common redshank with wintering waterfowl including common shelduck, red-breasted mergansers, Eurasian oystercatchers, ringed plover, dunlin and Eurasian curlew.
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