Oystercatcher

These sluice gates are now normally left open to allow the tides to change naturally. The pool was originally created to retain water at low tide for shipping waiting to enter the harbour and also when not occupied to use the water at low tide to flush out the navigable channels. With the increasing size of ships the trade has moved to the south coast with its deeper water and the area has been designated as a large nature reserve. In a recent storm the entire town was flooded and I have not been back yet to see if any changes have been made to the habitats. The area supports 10s of thousands of wintering seabirds normally.