Rye Meads

Rye Meads
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Tufted duck in Rye Meads RSPB reserve
Area of Search	Hertfordshire
Grid reference	TL385105
Interest	Biological
Area	58.5 hectares
Notification	1989
Location map	Magic Map

Rye Meads is a 58.5 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Rye House, Hertfordshire. It is also part of the Lea Valley RAMSAR site (a group of internationally important wetland sites) and a Special Protection Area. The SSSI is divided into three areas. North of Rye Road is the Rye Meads nature reserve, which is open to the public. The western half of this nature reserve, next to the River Lea in the Lee Valley Regional Park, is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). The eastern half is managed by the Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust (HMWT). The SSSI also includes a meadow and lagoons owned by Thames Water south of Rye Road which is not open to the public.^[1]^[2]^[3]

The RSPB reserve has ten birdwatching hides, trails and a visitor centre. Birds include kingfisher, snipe, green sandpiper, shoveler, gadwall and tufted duck.^[4]

The HMWT site is an ancient flood meadow which has a variety of habitats including reedbed, marshy grassland and fen. It is grazed by ponies and water buffalo.^[5]

The entrance to the nature reserve is on Rye Road. There is a path around the site, but a one-way turnstile blocks wheelchairs and pushchairs, and only allows access from the RSPB half to the HMWT area, not vice versa.

References

↑ "Rye Meads citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
↑ "Map of Rye Meads". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
↑ "Rye Meads (SSSI SPA RAMSAR)". Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, South East Hertfordshire Local Group. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
↑ "Rye Meads". Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
↑ "Rye Meads". Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 11 December 2014.

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Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Hertfordshire

Biological	Aldbury Nowers Alpine Meadow Amwell Quarry Ashridge Commons and Woods Ashwell Springs Benington High Wood Blagrove Common Bricket Wood Common Croxley Common Moor Frogmore Meadows Great Hormead Park Hertford Heath Hunsdon Mead Knebworth Woods Moor Hall Meadows Northaw Great Wood Oddy Hill and Tring Park Patmore Heath Plashes Wood Redwell Wood Roughdown Common Rye Meads Sarratt Bottom Sawbridgeworth Marsh Sherrardspark Wood Tewinbury Therfield Heath Thorley Flood Pound Tring Reservoirs Tring Woodlands Turnford and Cheshunt Pits Wain Wood Water End Swallow Holes Whippendell Wood Wormley-Hoddesdonpark Wood North Wormley-Hoddesdonpark Wood South

Geological	Castle Lime Works Quarry Downfield Pit, Westmill Hillcollins Pit Little Heath Pit Moor Mill Quarry, West Oughtonhead Lane Westwood Quarry

Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust

Dacorum	Aldbury Nowers Alpine Meadow Long Deans Tring Reservoirs

East Hertfordshire	Amwell Quarry Balls Wood Danemead Hertford Heath Hunsdon and Eastwick Meads King's Meads Patmore Heath Rye Meads Tewin Orchard and Hopkyns Wood Tewinbury Thorley Wash Waterford Heath Willowmead

Hertsmere	Hilfield Park Reservoir

North Hertfordshire	Ashwell Quarry and Quarry Springs Blagrove Common Fox Covert Hawkins Wood Hexton Chalk Pit Oughtonhead Purwell Ninesprings

St Albans	Broad Colney Lakes

Stevenage	Ridlins Mire

Three Rivers	Frogmore Meadows Longspring Wood Stocker's Lake

Watford	Cassiobury Park

Welwyn Hatfield	Fir and Pond Woods Gobions Wood Lemsford Springs Stanborough Reedmarsh Stocking Springs Wood

Hillingdon	Broadwater Lake Old Park Wood Uxbridge Alderglade

Former reserves	Barkway Chalk Pit Darland's Lake Nature Reserve Hill End Pit Marshalls Heath Pryor's Wood Rowley Green Common Sawbridgeworth Marsh Telegraph Hill

Coordinates: 51°46′34″N 0°00′22″E / 51.7760°N 0.0061°E / 51.7760; 0.0061

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