Waltham Brooks

Grazing marsh with a large open water area important for birds.

Almost opposite our Amberley Wildbrooks nature reserve, just across the river, lies the grazing marsh of Waltham Brooks. In winters of very heavy rainfall almost the entire reserve becomes a giant lake. Fortunately the river banks of the Arun floodplain have been built up for flood defence creating a good elevated walk-way to view the reserve from. Wildfowl such as Teal, Shoveler, Wigeon and Pintail take advantage of the sanctuary and the feeding opportunities the flood waters offer. In summer the lake can almost dry out leaving muddy margins important for breed­ing waders such as Lapwing and Redshank and the occasional passage migrant such as Green and Wood Sandpiper.

Virtual Tour

Use the virtual tour below to explore the reserve by dragging around and clicking on where you'd like to walk.

Click 'view on google maps' to explore in more detail using the yellow figure to drag to different places on the reserve.

Postcode:
RH20 1LS
Grid ref:
TQ025181
Reserve size:
42 hectares

In this section

Reserve profile

Dogs

What you might see

Getting around

Grazing

News

Be tick aware

Be tick aware

Now summer is here it is a good time to brush up on your knowledge of ticks, where they live and what sensible precautions you can take.

Dip into the world of dabbling ducks

Dip into the world of dabbling ducks

Ducks can be split into two broad groups: dabblers and divers. As the name suggests, diving ducks feed mainly by diving underwater, using their strong feet (and sometimes their wings) to swim. Dabbling ducks, however, feed predominantly at the surface, sometimes even grazing on land. Many dabblers can often be seen upending, with their heads underwater and their bums in the air.

The value of casual recording

The value of casual recording

The Trust’s Senior Ecologist blogs about the value of stumbling across quite a lot of good species whilst doing other things.