Farlington Marshes

40 years old on 14 January 2002, Farlington Marshes is the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust's oldest reserve. It is leased from Portsmouth City Council.

Access

The lake in December

Birdlife

These coastal grazing marshes cover an area of 121 Hectares and are internationally important and renowned for the birds. At migration times and in winter, large flocks of wildfowl and waders can be seen. You are unlikely to miss the Brent Geese in winter, which can also be seen on other grasslands in the area. Short-eared Owls are around at the same time of year, and may be seen hunting during the day. A Peregrine Falcon visits the area regularly. Among the many species breeding on the reserve are Bearded Tit, Lapwing and Redshank. 2002 brought regular sightings of Osprey in Langstone Harbour, most often perched on one of the islands, and sometimes fishing in the harbour.

Flora

Over 300 species of flowering plants have been recorded, some of which are only found on coastal marshes. Corky-fruited water-dropwort is abundant on the meadows. There are 50 different grasses, ranging from the common species to unusual hybrids.

Bulrushes in February

Fauna

Five rare Horse-flies have been found here, and a Soldier-fly known from only a few sites in Britain. The ponds north of the A27 (accessible only through the pedestrian underpass) seem to get far fewer visitors than the main part of the reserve, but are well worth a visit for dragonflies and pondlife. The distinctive Red-eyed Damselfly may be found at Peter's Pond, where it favours the various water-lilies. This is also a good place to see Water Vole, rapidly heading towards extinction in many counties. There are about 100 individuals on the reserve, forming an isolated population. Peter's Pond is shown on the left.

Signs and Designations

There are various information boards around the site, the main one being at the Eastern Road end. The brick hut has various notices and leaflets. A set of panels on the western sea-wall show some of the birds that you may see.

Farlington Marshes is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and is the city's only Local Nature Reserve. Internationally, it is designated as a Special Protection Area for Birds (SPA) and as a Ramsar site. The reserve is next to Langstone Harbour, which has been put forward as a candidate Special Area of Conservation (cSAC), but this new designation does not apply to the reserve itself.

See also descriptions by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, Hampshire County Council and Ralph Hollins.

Farlington SINC

North of the A27, but not part of the reserve, is a triangular relic of coastal grazing marsh covering about 10 hectares. Most of it is designated as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) since it retains many of the species for which Farlington Marshes is valued. It forms the northern half of an area shown as Ashey Marsh on the 1839 Tithe Map, so it could perhaps be known as North Ashey Marsh. The land is drained via a culvert under the A27 into Farlington Marshes. There is no public access, although you can walk along the western hedgerow where it ajoins Farlington Playing Fields.

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