Doxey Marshes
Encyclopedia
Doxey Marshes is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest
for its wet grassland
habitat
and its breeding wading birds and wildfowl. It is particularly noted for its populations of breeding snipe
. The habitat is one of the most threatened nationally, along with related wildlife such as snipe, lapwing
, little ringed plover
, otter
and water shrew
.
Doxey Marshes lies within the floodplain
of the River Sow
and periodically it breaches its banks and subjects the marshes to flooding. Wading birds love the shallow pools and muddy edges this flooding leaves behind as a source of food. In the autumn and spring during the migration period, Doxey
can attract all kinds of rare birds.
Fishing permits for the 2007/8 season are available for Doxey Marshes Nature Reserve from George Bates, Market Square, Stafford.
Grazing throughout the summer is a very traditional way of managing wet grassland and keeps the grass short enough for ground nesting birds to keep a look out for predators. Cattle numbers are monitored to avoid trampling of eggs and nests early on in the breeding season.
Large areas of rush that are unpalatable to cattle are cut by hand in sections to allow open feeding areas and some cover.
Willow trees are pollarded to help them live longer. This is an ancient way of managing willow trees, the branches are cut off above cattle head height and to discourage crows and magpies from perching in the branches and predating on chicks and eggs. The musk beetle likes to live on the rotting wood inside these old willow pollards, noctule bats live in the holed and cracks in the trunk and otters sometimes lie up in the thick bush of pollarded branches to hide away from people in the daytime. The OS grid reference for Doxey Marshes is
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
for its wet grassland
Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
and its breeding wading birds and wildfowl. It is particularly noted for its populations of breeding snipe
Snipe
A snipe is any of about 25 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill and crypsis plumage. The Gallinago snipes have a nearly worldwide distribution, the Lymnocryptes Jack Snipe is restricted to Asia and Europe and the...
. The habitat is one of the most threatened nationally, along with related wildlife such as snipe, lapwing
Lapwing
Vanellinae are any of various crested plovers, family Charadriidae, noted for its slow, irregular wingbeat in flight and a shrill, wailing cry. Its length is 10-16 inches. They are a subfamily of medium-sized wading birds which also includes the plovers and dotterels. The Vanellinae are...
, little ringed plover
Ringed Plover
The Common Ringed Plover or Ringed Plover is a small plover.Adults are 17-19.5 cm in length with a 35–41 cm wingspan. They have a grey-brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with one black neckband. They have a brown cap, a white forehead, a black mask around the eyes...
, otter
Otter
The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....
and water shrew
Water Shrew
Water Shrew may refer to any of several species of semi-aquatic red-toothed shrews:*Asiatic water shrews **Malayan Water Shrew **Himalayan Water Shrew **Sunda Water Shrew...
.
Doxey Marshes lies within the floodplain
Floodplain
A floodplain, or flood plain, is a flat or nearly flat land adjacent a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge...
of the River Sow
River Sow
The River Sow is a tributary of the River Trent in Staffordshire, England.The river rises to the south of Newcastle-under-Lyme and flows south to become the major river through Stafford. It also flows near Bishop's Offley and Tixall. At Baswich it is joined by the River Penk, before meeting the...
and periodically it breaches its banks and subjects the marshes to flooding. Wading birds love the shallow pools and muddy edges this flooding leaves behind as a source of food. In the autumn and spring during the migration period, Doxey
Doxey
Doxey is a village and civil parish in the borough of Stafford in Staffordshire, England. It is a north-western suburb of Stafford. The village became a civil parish on April 1, 2005....
can attract all kinds of rare birds.
Fishing permits for the 2007/8 season are available for Doxey Marshes Nature Reserve from George Bates, Market Square, Stafford.
Management of the Marshes
Doxey Marshes Nature Reserve is managed by Staffordshire Wildlife Trust.Grazing throughout the summer is a very traditional way of managing wet grassland and keeps the grass short enough for ground nesting birds to keep a look out for predators. Cattle numbers are monitored to avoid trampling of eggs and nests early on in the breeding season.
Large areas of rush that are unpalatable to cattle are cut by hand in sections to allow open feeding areas and some cover.
Willow trees are pollarded to help them live longer. This is an ancient way of managing willow trees, the branches are cut off above cattle head height and to discourage crows and magpies from perching in the branches and predating on chicks and eggs. The musk beetle likes to live on the rotting wood inside these old willow pollards, noctule bats live in the holed and cracks in the trunk and otters sometimes lie up in the thick bush of pollarded branches to hide away from people in the daytime. The OS grid reference for Doxey Marshes is