Data Zone
Country/territory: United Kingdom
Subnational region(s): South East
IBA Justification: A4iii, B1i, B2, C2, C3, C4, C6 (2007)
Area: 4,668 hectares (46.68 km2)
BirdLife Partner(s): Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
| Conservation status of the Important Bird Area (IBA) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment (most recent) | State (condition) | Pressure (threat) | Response (action) |
| 2007 | very unfavourable | high | low |
Site description (2007 baseline)
The Medway estuary forms a single tidal system with the Swale and joins the Thames estuary between the Isle of Grain and Sheerness. It has a complex arrangement of tidal channels, which drain around large islands of saltmarsh and grazing-marsh. The mudflats support extensive beds of algae and eel-grass Zostera. The IBA is important for wintering and passage wildfowl. Terns and gulls breed on saltmarsh islands, and wildfowl breed on the grazing-marshes.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Medway Estuary and Marshes (United Kingdom). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/medway-estuary-and-marshes-iba-united-kingdom on 16/01/2025.