Riverside site a 'hidden gem' for wildlife

Redshank are a popular sight at Dunston Staiths during their migration season

A wildlife site, described as a "hidden gem", is gearing up for its annual surge of activity, experts say.

Formerly a place from where coal was loaded on to ships, Dunston Staiths, on the River Tyne at Gateshead, is now home to a variety of species that have laid claim to its mudflats.

Birds including curlews and lapwing will be in the area over the winter period, during migration season, while the mudflats also provide a home for a variety of crustaceans and mammals, such as otters.

Heather Devey, of the Wild Intrigue nature group, described the area as an "under-rated" oasis.

Built in the 1890s, the Grade II-listed structure was once among 30 or so of its kind on the River Tyne, during the north-east of England's industrial heyday.

At more than 500m (1,650ft) in length - and looking similar to a pier - it is reputedly the largest timber structure in Europe.

Black-headed gulls are another familiar visitor to the River Tyne site

"It's like stepping back in time," Ms Devey said.

"There's been so much development along the river, but the Staiths has become a really important threshold where the estuary has been able to flourish.

"The framework itself has actually helped to hold back a lot of the mud and silt that comes from the Tyne and from the River Teams, and it's built up.

She said the amassed mud "supports marine invertebrates, like lugworm, and different crustaceans such as crabs and shellfish, that the migrant birds come to feed on".

'So peaceful'

Hundreds of redshanks, with their distinctive bright orange legs, will be among the waders on the mudflats, along with a similar number of lapwing - which Ms Devey says can be seen for about a month as they pass through on their way to other countries.

"The birds have the feet for it, but also the right kind of beaks," she explains. "They use their long bills to get to the richness of life hiding beneath the surface.

"They've travelled huge distances and spend every winter with us. They're really loyal to their nest sites, and their autumn and winter sites."

"This time of year, through to November I'd say, is a real peak of activity for wildlife.

"In the summer it looks beautiful, but in the autumn, the soundscape is really something."

Riverside walks are staged by Wild Intrigue across the year

Working life on the Staiths drew to a close in the 1970s, and since then there have been a number of fires on site.

The listed structure is currently looked after by the Tyne & Wear Building Preservation Trust and the National Trust, and forms part of the Tyne Derwent Way - a nine-mile (14km) trail connecting historic sites along the river.

Wild Intrigue, a not-for-profit organisation based at Ouseburn, in Newcastle, is the nature lead on the scheme, and hosts public events throughout the year - including bird-watching walks and nature safaris along the riverside.

Ms Devey added: "Dunston Staiths is so peaceful. You've got the hustle and bustle of Newcastle and central Gateshead, and then you're in this wild oasis that I think is really under-rated as a spectacle.

"It's a bit of a hidden gem.