Photos & 360: Somerset Long Bay & Reserve
In the second of our five-part series for 2022 World Wetlands Day, we take a look at the Somerset Long Bay & Reserve in the west end, which is described as a “brackish to freshwater pond with mangrove islets.”
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources said, “Somerset Long Bay Pond is a former tidal swamp that was filled in as a garbage dump and then restored into a brackish to freshwater pond with mangrove islets, separated from the sea by a beach dune.”
A UK Government information sheet notes, “Although small, this is an unusually fine example of a fresh/brackish pond with islets behind a beach, in which American coot, moorhen and pied-billed grebe nest with regularity.
“This pond is separated from the ocean only by low sand dunes, therefore the storm or tidal surge experienced during hurricanes, such as Hurricane Emily in 1987, can flood it with sea water, destroying or disrupting the freshwater ecosystem of the pond for many months.
“The sea flooding experienced during Emily disrupted the breeding of water birds such as gallinules and American coots. It was many months before the salt water seeped out of the pond.”
As far as ‘Species Information’ it states, “Top-minnows Gambusia holbrookii are present in the pond. Moorhen Gallinula chloropus, American coot Fulica americana and pied-billed grebe Podilymbus podiceps breed in the pond. Important stopover and wintering site for migrant ducks, herons and egrets.”
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Well worth a visit for all!