Nature Reserves and other Protected Areas

Hayle Estuary RSPB Reserve

There are actually several dislocated sites in Hayle owned and/or managed by the RSPB, including, Ryans Field, Lelant Water, Carnsew Pool, and Copperhouse pool. Together these are managed as Hayle Estuary.

There is a free car park and bird hide overlooking the Ryans Field site squeezed in between the A30 Flyover, Railway line and Hayle Causeway. It has to be said that the views from the hide itself are usually not very inspiring. I have sat their for ages and seen bugger all! There is a wider range of birds to be more easily seen on the estuary of Lelant Water a few hundred metres away by the Old Quay House Pub. You can also walk up the river to St Erth, where you may see kingfishers and (very lucky), otters.

Being the most South Westerly Estuary in Britain, Hayle Estuary is an important site, especially in winter and at the equinoxes when you will see lots of migrating birds. Expect to see all the 'normal' estuarine resident and migratory species including Oyster Catcher, Redshank, Greenshank, Dunlin, Little Egret, Lapwing, Curlew, Heron and a range of ducks from Shellduck to teal. The odd Eagle has also been spotted, paying a fleeting visit from flying display at the nearby Paradise Park bird garden and wildlife sanctuary (well worth a visit).

You can also walk down the causeway - take care it can be a fast and busy road to Carnsew Pool where you will undoubtedly see Shags swimming and sunning themselves. Hayle Estuary has more than its fair share of unusual birds, in the recent past these have included a small flock of spoonbills, an American Robin, Pied-Billed Grebe and Ring Billed Gulls.

To visit the Copperhouse Pool, you can either park for free at the bottom of Clifton Terrace, near the open air swimming pool, or you can pay and go in the commercial road car park by the town library. You can then walk in a complete circle around the pool if you wish.

Gwithian Green Local Nature Reserve

Gwithian Green is a small reserve situated in the heart of the village of Gwithian and is a habitat mosaic of grassland, wetland and woods.

It is a quiet reserve highly valued by the local residents, you are invited to enjoy the tranquillity and wildlife of this area in very small groups to minimise disturbance.

At its heart is the Green itself which is a haven for butterflies and where the Clouded Yellow is being encouraged. There are also many other species of butterfly and moth, while the ponds provide a habitat for dragonflies and damselflies.

Red River Nature Reserve

Running (not continuously) from Camborne to the sea at Gwithian the Red River is a naturally regenerated industrial river valley.

Now a partially wooded, with areas of heath and some beautiful lakes and ponds along the way. Some great wildlife has been spotted on the Reserve including badgers, foxes, otters, woodpeckers and a whole array of butterflies and insects. The plants are very special too. The area is still regenerating and lots of conservation work goes on to clear areas for habitat improvements and to create better access to previously hidden places.

The Red River - Gwithian

Gwithian Sand Pit Nature Reserve

Only just announced this will be a new reserve on the site of the Hanson's Quarry. More on this when we have it....

Mexico and Gwithian Towans Nature Reserve

Probably one of the most visited dune areas in Cornwall, Gwithian Towans also boasts some amazing flora and fauna, nationally recognised through the SSSI designation that runs from Gwithian to Mexico Towans.

Gwithian Towans is common land managed by Penwith District Council and Cornwall County Council and is home to plenty of interesting and even rare plants and animals. The small ponds on the cliffs is home to frogs, newts, toads. Butterfly populations are very healthy on the Towans in general and the spring and summer months are filled with the calls of the skylarks that nest in the tufts of  grass.

Gwithian Towans

St Erth Sand Pits Nature Reserve

Originally declared an SSSI not because of the wildlife but because of its geology semi-mature woodland now dominates the site above Vicarage Gate at St Erth.

The sand and clay deposits in the pits are called the St Erth beds. The blue clay element of these contains a rich and diverse fossil fauna including sea snails, sponges, corals, jellyfish, worms, seasquirts, fish and the most diverse ostracod assemblage yet described in the world, including over 350 species.

The St Erth bed are amongst the youngest rocks in Cornwall being of Pliocene Age

The fossils contained here tell us that the clay was laid down in a shallow arm of sea separating West Penwith from the rest of Cornwall. The waters were as warm as the Mediterranean is today and sea levels were as much as 45m higher than at present.

The fine refractory sand was used as moulding sand for Harvey's Foundry in Hayle and he clay used in local pottery - most notably by Bernard Leach

Carrick Gladden SSSI

This includes the dunes on the Western shore of St Ives Bay from Lelant to Carrick Gladden and also the inertial mudflats and some elements of Hayle Harbour, including the 'Triangular Spit'

Upton Towans Nature Reserve

The reserve affords stunning views across St Ives Bay as the sand dunes (or Towans), rise steeply from the beach.   Marram grass is dominant near the sea but as distance from the sea increases so does the range of plants to be found.

The pyramidal orchid has very distinctive, bright purple-red flowers arranged in a dense pyramid, with narrow, unspotted leaves at the base of the plant and sheathing leaves up the stem. This orchid needs a limy soil and so is only found on dunes and coastal blown sand in Cornwall.

Insects found include the glow worm - not a worm at all, but a beetle  25mm (1") long, and its 'glow' is caused by a cold chemical reaction. Only the wingless, females glow to attract the males.

Glow worm larvae are carnivorous and prey on small snails, tracing them by the slime trails, paralysing and sucking them empty. Piles of unbroken but empty snail shells are a good indicator of glow worms (birds will break the shells).

You may be lucky enough to see one of the area adders which are nationally protected animals.  While adders are poisonous, their bite is not normally fatal to anything bigger than a mouse - I would liken it to a large bee sting - very unpleasant but not life threatening. Should you see an adder use your common sense. Just be careful, stand well back, do not attempt to pick it up, prod it or otherwise interfere with it.

Upton Towans is a fantastic example of the power of nature. Beautiful dunes now almost entirely conceal the history of Upton Towans with the occasional derelict building reminding us of the past. If you look carefully at some of the dunes you will see they are actually square and the legacy of dynamite bunkers.

Bunkers on Dynamite Towans

Loggans Moor Nature Reserve

This is a species-rich meadow with abundant wild flowers, underlain by chalky sand with areas of reeds and grassland. It owes its amazing diversity to the sandy soil and natural springs feeding wet areas, combined with the long unbroken use for grazing. In spring hundreds of frogs, toads and newts make their way to the traditional breeding pools in the meadow.

Plants growing include marsh and dune species with the Marsh Orchid almost (but not quite) totally replacing the Pyramidal Orchid of the true dune habitat.

Marsh Marigold and Yellow Flag Iris are seasonally common and of course the water provides a habitat not only for the amphibians already mentioned but also countless insects of all shapes and sizes.