Axe Estuary Wetlands

About

Seaton Marshes Hide
The hide at Seaton Marshes offers views over a creek in the lower estuary, as well as freshwater grazing marsh.
In the winter months this is a great place to look for kingfishers and small waders on the estuary, such as redshank and common sandpipers, while the lagoons and scrapes on the marshes support feeding snipe, little grebe and shoveler duck. The hide is fully wheelchair
accessible, with screen sections which fold down for better viewing.

Borrow Pit
This man-made lake is home to otters and kingfishers, and buzzes with dragonflies and damselflies in the summer months. There is an extensive pond-dipping platform with wheelchair access which is always available for people to use to explore the wealth of life beneath the water!

Black Hole Marsh, Island Hide
The Island Hide perches on a round island in the middle of the saltwater lagoon, accessed via a screened walkway which means you are always surrounded by bird life! Little egrets can be seen fishing in the shallows, while in the autumn greenshank and ringed plover feed
extensively on the mud. In the summer months, shelduck crèches raft on the water while the parent birds fly off to northern Europe for their annual feather moult. The island hide is fully wheelchair accessible, with screen sections which fold down for better viewing.

Black Hole Marsh, Tower Hide
Sitting on stilts, the Tower Hide offers views across the upper estuary and is an excellent place for gull watching. Look out for roe deer feeding on the undisturbed saltmarsh on the far side of the river. Due to its elevated position, this hide is not wheelchair accessible.

Field Studies Base
The Field Studies Base is a collection of buildings on Stafford Marsh, which are the hub of the wetlands. The information centre is here, seasonally manned by volunteers. The Wetlands Classroom is the venue for school visits and many of the site events start from
here. There is also a small wheelchair-accessible hide in this area with views across Colyford Common.

Colyford Common Hide
Accessed across an extensive board walk, this hide sits on the far side of the reserve and gives views across the neighbouring estuary wetlands. A large lagoon is a great winter spot for curlew, lapwing and teal. Redshank breed in this area and the chicks can sometimes be seen in late spring from the hide. A further boardwalk leads to a viewing platform and reed bed walk as well as a field planted with winter seedcrop for finches and buntings. The hide and viewing platform are both wheelchair accessible.