Departmental Brief: Teesmouth and Cleveland Coast potential Special Protection Area (pSPA) and Ramsar Natural England March 2018 SPA Departmental Brief version 11.2 Page 1 of 95 07/03/18 Table of Contents Summary .......................................................................................................................... 4 1. Assessment of SPA against Selection Guidelines ................................................. 6 1.1. Stage 1 .................................................................................................................. 6 1.2. Stage 2 .................................................................................................................. 7 2. Assessment of Ramsar site interests ..................................................................... 8 2.1 Criterion 5 .............................................................................................................. 8 2.2 Criterion 6 .............................................................................................................. 8 3. Rationale and data underpinning site classification ................................................ 8 4. Site status and Boundary ..................................................................................... 10 4.1. Description of the existing SPA/Ramsar and boundary ........................................ 10 4.2. Description of the pSPA, Ramsar extension and boundaries ............................... 11 4.2.1 Seaward boundary of the pSPA ........................................................................... 11 4.2.2 Landward boundary of the marine extent of the pSPA ......................................... 20 4.2.3 Terrestrial extension of the pSPA and Ramsar .................................................... 20 5. Location and Habitats .......................................................................................... 21 5.1. Portrack Marsh .................................................................................................... 22 5.2. South end of Cowpen Marsh ............................................................................... 22 5.3. Number 4 Brinefield ............................................................................................. 22 5.4. Greenabella Marsh .............................................................................................. 22 5.5. Greatham Tank Farm .......................................................................................... 22 5.6. Hartlepool Bay and foreshore .............................................................................. 23 5.7. Seal Sands brownfield extension ......................................................................... 23 5.8. Vopak foreshore .................................................................................................. 23 5.9. Bran Sands South ............................................................................................... 23 5.10. Coatham Marsh ................................................................................................... 23 5.11. Coatham Lagoons ............................................................................................... 23 5.12. Greatham North / Saltern Wetlands ..................................................................... 23 5.13. Cowpen Bewley ................................................................................................... 23 5.14. RSPB Saltholme .................................................................................................. 24 6. Assessment of Ornithological Interest .................................................................. 25 6.1. Survey information and summary ........................................................................ 25 6.2. Annex 1 species .................................................................................................. 25 Pied avocet Recurvirostra avosetta ..................................................................... 25 Ruff Calidris pugnax ............................................................................................ 26 Common tern Sterna hirundo .............................................................................. 26 Sandwich tern Thalasseus sandvicensis ............................................................. 27 Little tern Sternula albifrons................................................................................. 27 6.3. Regularly occurring migratory species ................................................................. 27 Red knot Calidris canutus ................................................................................... 27 Common redshank Tringa totanus ...................................................................... 28 6.3.1. Waterbird assemblage ......................................................................................... 28 Eurasian wigeon Anas penelope ......................................................................... 29 Gadwall Anas strepera ........................................................................................ 29 Northern shoveler Anas clypeata ........................................................................ 30 Northern lapwing Vanellus vanellus .................................................................... 30 Sanderling Calidris alba ...................................................................................... 30 Herring gull Larus argentatus .............................................................................. 30 Black-headed gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus ................................................... 31 7. Qualifying and assemblage bird species’ use of proposed terrestrial extensions to the SPA and Ramsar................................................................................................. 31 7.1. Portrack Marsh .................................................................................................... 31 7.2. Cowpen Marsh .................................................................................................... 31 7.3. Number 4 Brinefield ............................................................................................. 31 7.4. Greenabella Marsh .............................................................................................. 32 7.5. Greatham Tank Farm .......................................................................................... 32 7.6. Hartlepool Bay and foreshore .............................................................................. 32 SPA Departmental Brief version 11.2 Page 2 of 95 07/03/18 7.7. Seal Sands brownfield extension ......................................................................... 32 7.8. Vopak foreshore .................................................................................................. 32 7.9. Bran Sands South ............................................................................................... 33 7.10. Coatham Marsh ................................................................................................... 33 7.11. Coatham Lagoons ............................................................................................... 33 7.12. Greatham North / Saltern Wetlands ..................................................................... 33 7.13. Cowpen Bewley ................................................................................................... 33 7.14 RSPB Saltholme .................................................................................................. 34 8. Comparison with other sites in Great Britain ........................................................ 38 9. Conclusion........................................................................................................... 41 10. References .......................................................................................................... 42 Annex 1: Map 1. Displaying the existing Teesmouth and Cleveland Coast SPA and proposed pSPA extension ................................................................................................... 44 Annex 1: Map 2. Displaying existing Ramsar site and proposed Ramsar extension ........ 45 Annex 1: Map 3. Displaying the existing SPA and Ramsar sites with proposed extension area 46 Annex 2: SPA Citation ..................................................................................................... 47 Annex 3: Ramsar Citation ............................................................................................... 50 Annex 4: Data Sources ................................................................................................... 52 Annex 5: Detailed information on the definition of little tern foraging areas and seaward boundary definition. ............................................................................................. 53 1. Background and overview ................................................................................... 53 2. Data collection ..................................................................................................... 53 2.1 Seaward extent of little tern distribution (boat-based survey) ............................... 53 2.2 Alongshore extent of little tern distribution (shore-based surveys) ....................... 54 3. Data analysis ....................................................................................................... 54 3.1 Site-specific options ............................................................................................