The Dee Estuary

The River Dee flows into the estuary and out to sea into Liverpool Bay.

The estuary contains large areas of sand and salt marsh. It is very important for wildlife, especially wading birds and wildfowl - it is one of the top ten estuaries in Europe for birds, and the most important wetland site in Wales. Much of it is a protected nature reserve, and many birdwatchers visit the area.

Aerial photographs of the Dee Estuary by Brendon Cox
Click HERE for more aerial photographs of the Dee Estuary
Map of the estuary

Salt Marsh The Dee estuary has large areas of salt marsh, especially on the English side. A salt marsh is an area of flat land alongside the sea which fills with salty seawater during high tides, then drains again during low tides. It has many snaking channels, called tidal creeks, and is an important habitat for many plant and animal species.
Aerial photograph of salt marsh at Parkgate	Close up: salt marsh at Connah's Quay
Salt marsh at  Neston, showing many tidal creeks
Click the picture to the right to learn more about the salt marsh habitat (and to control the animation)
Wildlife on the estuary
The Dee Estuary is a protected area because of the wildlife found there, especially birds. Many of these birds only spend part of the year on the estuary - they migrate there from colder parts of the world during the winter months. The estuary is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a Special Protection Area and part of the RSPB's Dee Estuary Nature Reserve. Up to 100,000 wading birds from the Arctic spend the winter months on the estuary. They have migrated up to 5000 miles from their breeding grounds to find a warmer climate and food such as lugworms and shellfish. Click the picture on the right to watch a beautiful film by Sebastian Narbutas about the Dee estuary and its birdlife
A flock of Little Terns	Oystercatchers on the beach
The Great Knot: the most numerous bird on the estuary	A Curlew: its long beak lets it find food deep in the mud
Seals on a sandbank at the mouth of the estuary
Birdwatching on the estuary Click the picture below to play a video RSPB Bird Hide at Point of Ayr Click the picture below to see photos of birds on the Dee estuary. Click HERE to find out which birds  are most commonly seen on the estuary.