The mud flats are a roosting site for gulls and waders, especially in the colder months.

The mud flats (TQ 208 056) including the RSPB Reserve has been notified from 1987 as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) under Section 28 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981.

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Adur Estuary 2005

2 December 2011
  

On the River Adur there was the  usual collection of common gulls and waders; most noticeable were the Greater Black-backed Gulls and Lapwings as the tide was low and the mud flats revealed. There were a few Grey Plovers.  
 

The Sea Purslane, Halimione portulacoides, is a small greyish-green shrub abundantly found on the mud flats of the River Adur that are even covered twice daily by ther neap tides, but also nearer the high tide margins. It is a halophytewith leaves with a silvery sheen filled with air (not sap) and are dead when the plant reaches maturity.  Halimione = Daughter of the Sea (Greek)

5 November 2009
On the return journey (from Lancing Ring) the tide had receded revealing some of the mud flats on which a pair of Redshanks were courting, running around together, flying short distances in unison and swimming together in the shallow river, like ducks. 

25 October 2009
About fifty Lapwings all rose in unison from the mudflats on the River Adur north of the Toll Bridge, spooked by a female Sparrowhawk seen above the trees near Ricardos. The Sparrowhawk was seen much closer from the Coombes Road over the Ricardos testing ground. A Linnet perched on a fence near Cuckoo's Corner. In the field to the north a few hundred Common Gulls rested on the ploughed Broad Bean field, occasionally rising up in unison for no reason that could be ascertained.

11 October 2009
On a cloudy day with spots of rain there were scores of Greater Black-backed Gulls and occasional Grey Plovers on the mudflats at mid neap tide south of the Toll Bridge in Old Shoreham. 

A Lapwing wheeled around waiting to land when more of the mud was exposed. 

1 March 2009
There were two Oystercatchers feeding over the mud flats south of the Toll Bridge with hundreds of gulls.

The gulls were mostly a mixture of Common Gulls and Black-headed Gulls, with frequent Herring Gulls and occasional Greater Black-backed Gulls.

21 December 2008
 

There were thousands of birds on the River Adur at low tide, notably thousands of Lapwings, thousands of medium-sized gulls, mainly Common Gulls, hundreds of Dunlins, Redshanks, occasional Grey Plover, a few Cormorants and Mute Swans, scores of Great Black-backed Gulls andhundreds of Black-headed Gulls all noted in the area between the Railway Viaduct and Cuckoo's Corner. Thousands of Common Gulls settled on the ploughed field north of Cuckoo's Corner. 
 

10 October 2008
At low tide on the mud flats opposite Coronation Green in Shoreham town, a handful of Grey Plovers were feeding on the southern bank in the middle of the River Adur, before a Redshank and a band of about ten Turnstones appeared on the near bank, constantly on the move, literally turning over the small stones in search of morsels. A Cormorant, a Little Egret, a few Dunlins and immature Herring Gulls were noted. A pair of Mute Swans flew overhead calling loudly. 
 

Further up the estuary on the main part of the river in the vicinity of Cuckoo's Corner there were about three hundred gulls, which were mainly Common Gulls, but contained other species including Great Black-backed Gulls. A Cow wandered down to the exposed mud flats and began to drink from the tidal river. 
 
 

3 December 2007
A Kestrel hovered over the Sea Purslane at low tide south of Old Shoreham Tollbridge and then descended. The target prey was not determined.

25 August 2005
After the rain I ventured out as the spring tide nearly lapped against the banks of the Adur estuary. Just south of the Toll Bridge there was still a margin of vegetation above the high tide mark on the east side of the river, with Orache and other wild grasses and plants and this area hosted dozens of active grasshoppers that appeared to jump at least of metre. They looked slightly different from the two commonly found on the downs meadows and wastelands on the edge of  town. I think some of them are probably the Lesser Marsh Grasshopper, Chorthippus albomarginatus.
Adur Grasshoppers
 

Estuarine Flowering Plants

The upper tidal zone of the mud-flats contained Sea Purslane and Glasswort in prevalent amounts and bunches of Townsend's Cord Grass.

Adur Estuary 2005

20 October 2003
The low tide means that it is just about possible to examine some of the plants on the flats without squelching through the soft mud.
Small patches of what is probably Townsend's Cord Grass, Spartina townsendii, were found south-east of the Toll Bridge. Townsend's Cord Grass has a particulary interesting origin (see the Reader's Digest "Secrets of the Seashore" page 75, a new plant species evolving in the nineteenth century).

Spartina	Cord Grass

Although not quite so dramatic as Widewater, the Glasswort, Salicornia, on the estuarine margins have now turned a dramatic red. 
Glasswort Images

19 October 2003
The neap tide variation between 2.36 metres (low at 12.04 pm) and the high tide of 4.4 metres (6:14 pm in darkness) is one of the smallest possible. (The equinoctial spring tide variation could be up to 7 metres). 
BMLSS Tides

16 September 2003
The green of the Glasswort, Salicornia, on the River Adur was in contrast to the rich red-purple hues of the mostly submerged (this year) Glasswort on Widewater. 

On close examination, the larger river Glassworts seemed to have a red line up their stems. 

 


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Verdant Mud 1999

In the prolonged hot and dry spell for the complete month of July, the mud flats on the part of the River Adur that runs through the centre of Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, turned green with a rapid spread of the salt tolerant green plant known as the Common Glasswort, Salicornia europea. This plant is collected for food when it is known as Marsh Samphire, and is meant to be a poor man's asparagus. It tastes like a mouthful of seawater to me. The plant roots in the estuarine mud in salinities of about 3.2% but variable from full salinity with an incoming spring tide, to fresh water running out over the top of the sea water.
 

       Young shoots
This bright green plant has cylindrical stems with paired branches like the stems which are the leaves. As the year goes on the stems and branches turn a slight yellowish hue in autumn. The small flowers are the same colour as the rest of the plant and are inconspicuous. All the plants occur outside of the main stream of the river near mean low water mark. The seeds need exposure to air to germinate and will not establish if they are permanently submerged.

Nearer the riverbank, Sea Purslane, Halimione portulacoides, predominates. It is easily distinguished from Glasswort because its conventional leaves have a silvery sheen. 

Seablite, Suaeda maritima, is extremely frequently to be found, and the Sea Aster, Aster tripolium, also commonly occurs. 

The Sea Lavender, Limonium vulgare was introduced, but may no longer occur. The Cord Grass, Spartina spp. occurs. 

 

Irish Moss


In the river opposite Ropetackle (Between the Norfolk bridge and the Railway Viaduct), in the pools between the mussel beds at low tide, small clumps of Irish Moss, Chondrus crispus, grow on the mussel and oyster shells and small flint rocks. This red seaweed is usually a dark brown, sometimes with a slightly iridescent hue, and in very bright sunlight, the weed will turn green at the tips and stranded specimens are often bright green as shown in the image (above) scanned in by David Wood (Shoreham Beach).
 


 
 
 
 

Irish Moss (normal colours)


 

Mud Dwellers

RagwormHediste diversicolor
Peppery Furrow Shell   Scrobicularia plana

 
 
THE ADUR ESTUARY
A SURVEY OF THE MARINE FLORA AND FAUNA
1960 TO 1992

Grey Seal Report, River Adur
 

Local Wildlife Links  (SE England)

Adur Nature Notes 2000
Adur Nature Notes 2001
Adur Nature Notes 2002
Adur Nature Notes 2003
Adur Nature Notes 2004
Adur Nature Notes 2005
Adur Valley
Adur Valley Wildlife
Bridges of the Adur
British Trust for Ornithology
Chalk Rivers Biodiversity (JNCC)
Cornwall (Geomorphology, Eclipse etc.)
Dungeness, Kent, England
Friends of Lancing Ring
History of the Adur Estuary by H. C. Brookfield (written 1950-1)
Orford Ness:  Coastal Ecology of a Shingle Bank (excellent references)
Rare Birds Photographic Index (by month) (All of Britain)
Rye Harbour Nature Reserve
Rockpooling Page
Seashore Page
Shingle Coast  (Coastal Fringe of Shoreham Beach)
Shoreham-by-Sea Wildlife Page
Sussex Ornithological Society
Sussex Wildlife Trust
Sussex Wildlife Web Sites
Trees (British) External site
UK-LEPS Discussion Group (for Butterflies and Moths)
World Oceans Day