Natural England - Teesmouth: what makes it special?

Teesmouth: what makes it special?

Managed by Natural England, this coastal reserve covers over 350 hectares and has a rich range of habitats.

It is split into two main sections:

North Gare is an area of dunes and grazing marsh north of the power station. During winter, this is the domain of lapwings and flocks of curlew, which stalk the pastures alongside the approach road, while short-eared owls hunt among the dune grasslands. During the breeding season, the grasses help to conceal the nests of skylarks and meadow pipits.

Seal Sands, on the south bank of the channel, is one of the largest areas of intertidal mudflats on England’s north-east coast. When the tide is out, hundreds of waders, including redshank and dunlin, peck through the mud looking for protein-rich invertebrates.

To the south, Natural England has created a tidal lagoon and a well-positioned hide gives good views of wading birds, as well as shelduck and teal.

Wild Teesmouth

Brilliant birds
Teesmouth has a large and wonderfully varied bird population. Over 20,000 waterbirds visit the reserve each year, making it an internationally important site for birdlife.

In the spring, small numbers of ringed plover, lapwing, oystercatcher and snipe arrive to nest, while Sandwich terns, having bred further north, are fleeting visitors during July and August. Then in autumn, cormorant, curlew and redshank all arrive in large numbers.

Teesmouth is also famous for its sanderlings which arrive in the autumn, while many more pass through Teesmouth in May, on their long journey to the High Arctic.

Birds of prey also enjoy rich pickings at Teesmouth, with short-eared owls often seen hunting around North Gare, while merlin and peregrine falcons patrol Seal Sands.

Butterflies, moths and other insects
When strolling on the dunes, look out for the turquoise flash of a common blue butterfly, or the red and irridescent black markings of the day-flying burnet. Their black and yellow striped caterpillars are easily spotted on ragwort plants, too.

Plantlife
Of all the plants at Teesmouth, perhaps the most spectacular are the four species of marsh orchid which flower in June and July on the damp dune grassland inland of North Gare. Lady’s bedstraw and bird’s-foot trefoil bring more colour to the dunes, with purple milk vetch, strawberry clover, adder’s-tongue fern and various sedges add to the display.

Sensational seals
Pollution and hunting devastated the seal population around the Estuary and by 1860 one of our most impressive marine mammals had disappeared from the Tees completely. It took over a century for them to return, but by the late 1980s, common and grey seals were seen again, and today there is a population of up to 70 animals. Several pups are born each summer, making Seal Sands the only regular breeding colony of common seals on England’s north-east coast.