South Efford Marsh

South Efford Marsh is a nature reserve of the Devon Wildlife Trust. It is situated by the River Avon, about 0.5 mi south-west of the village of Aveton Gifford, in Devon, England.

Description
The site, area 17 ha, is leased by the Devon Wildlife Trust. It was bought by the Environment Agency in 2009; it had been a grazing marsh by the river estuary since the 1780s, when a retaining wall was built. A tidal gate was installed in 2011, which allows sea water to flow in at high tide. There is now pasture and a developing saltmarsh. Cattle are sometimes put in the marshy fields in order to keep down coarser plants.

There is a footpath around the northern half of the site; visitors are discouraged from exploring the more open southern half, where there may be nesting and feeding birds.

Birdwatching
There is a bird hide, with all-round views, at the end of the perimeter path.

There are different habitats in the site. In the northern half are sedge warbler, reed bunting and kingfisher; on the banks next to the river, birds to be seen include linnet, whitethroat and chiffchaff; in the salt and brackish water in the south, black-tailed godwit, green sandpiper and oystercatcher are among the birds that may be seen.