The name The Swale refers to the strip of water separating North Kent from the Isle of Sheppey. Kent is a county in England, south-east of London. ... The Isle of Sheppey is a small (36 square miles, 94 km²) island off the northern coast of Kent in the Thames Estuary, some 38 miles (62km) to the east of central London. ...

Sunset over the Swale

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 582 KB) Personal photo taken by Adam Miller on 21st June 2004 I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 582 KB) Personal photo taken by Adam Miller on 21st June 2004 I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version...

Geography

Originally the Swale formed a conventional river. Before the formation of the English Channel about 6500 BC the eastern coast of Britain extended much further into the area of the present-day North Sea, and the Isle of Sheppey formed part of mainland Britain. The channel now occupied by the Swale comprised a river valley facing eastwards. As sea-levels rose, water occupied the whole length of the valley, dividing today's Isle of Sheppey from the mainland. Satellite view of the English Channel The English Channel (French: La Manche (IPA: ), the sleeve) is the part of the Atlantic Ocean that separates the island of Great Britain from northern France and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. ... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ...

When the Romans arrived in Britain, the Swale extended much wider than it does today, with one part of the Isle of Sheppey — now called the Isle of Harty — a separate isle. The Isle of Harty no longer forms a separate island but the marshlands now gradually filling the channel delineate it. The channel needs constant dredging to allow use of the busy waterway. This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ...

Nature

The Swale forms both a National Nature Reserve and a Special Protection Area: the eel grass, Ray's knotgrass, white seakale, glassworts and golden samphire support rare and uncommon migrant butterflies and moths, including the Essex emerald, the ground lackey, the clouded yellow butterfly and rare hawk-moths. National Nature Reserve is a United Kingdom government conservation designation for a nature reserve of national significance. ... A Special Protection Area or SPA is a designation under the European Commission Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds (79/409/EEC). ... Eel grass isn’t actual grass or sea weed, it’s angiosperm, which is a flowering plant, and it can live for many years. ... Seakale Seakale naturalized on the Oregon coast Categories: Plant stubs | Brassicaceae | Vegetables ... Species See text. ... Binomial name Inula crithmoides (L.) The Golden samphire is a perennial coastal species, which may be found growing on salt marsh or sea cliffs across Eurasia. ... Families Superfamily Hesperioidea: Hesperiidae Superfamily Papilionoidea: Papilionidae Pieridae Nymphalidae Lycaenidae Riodinidae A butterfly is an insect of the order Lepidoptera, it belongs to either the Hesperioidea (the skippers) or Papilionoidea (all other butterflies) Superfamilies. ... A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly. ... Binomial name Colias croceus Geoffroy, 1785 The Clouded Yellow, Colias croceus, is a small butterfly of the Pieridae family, that is, the Yellows and Whites. ... Type species Sphinx ligustri (Privet Hawk-moth) Diversity 200 genera 1,200 species Subfamilies Macroglossinae Smerinthinae Sphinginae Hawk moths or Sphinx moths are moths in the family Sphingidae. ...

Birds

The Swale notably provides habitats for the following birds:

• Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta at least 17 percent of Great Britain's breeding population
• Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus at least 15 percent of Great Britain's breeding population
• Mediterranean Gull Larus melanocephalus
• Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica
• Eurasian Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria
• Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus
• Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula
• Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa islandica
• Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola
• Knot Calidris canutus
• Pintail Anas acuta
• Common Redshank Tringa totanus
• Shoveler Anas clypeata

Species Recurvirostra avosetta Recurvirostra americana Recurvirostra novaehollandiae Recurvirostra andina The four species of Avocets are waders in the same bird family as the stilts. ... Species Circus aeruginosus L. 1758 Circus spilonotus Kaup, 1847 Circus approximans Peale, 1848 The Marsh Harriers are birds of prey of the harrier subfamily. ... Binomial name Larus melanocephalus Temminck, 1820 The Mediterranean Gull, Larus melanocephalus, is a small gull which breeds almost entirely in Europe, mainly in the south east, especially around the Black Sea, and in central Turkey. ... Binomial name Limosa lapponica (Linnaeus, 1758) The Bar-tailed Godwit, Limosa lapponica, is a large shorebird. ... Binomial name Pluvialis apricaria (Linnaeus, 1758) The Eurasian Golden Plover, Pluvialis apricaria, is a largish plover. ... Binomial name Circus cyaneus (Linnaeus, 1766) The Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus) is a bird of prey of the harrier family. ... Binomial name Charadrius hiaticula (Linnaeus, 1758) The Ringed Plover, Charadrius hiaticula, is a small plover. ... Binomial name Limosa limosa (Linnaeus, 1758) The Black-tailed Godwit, Limosa limosa, is a large shorebird. ... Binomial name Pluvialis squatarola (Linnaeus, 1758) The Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola), known as the Black-bellied Plover in North America, is a medium-sized plover. ... Binomial name Calidris canutus (Linnaeus, 1758) The Red Knot, Calidris canutus (just Knot in Europe), is a small shorebird. ... Binomial name Anas acuta Linnaeus, 1758 The Pintail or Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) is a common and widespread duck which breeds in the northern areas of Europe and Asia and across most of Canada, Alaska and the midwestern United States. ... Binomial name Tringa totanus (Linnaeus, 1758) They have really long beaks for sticking them up the anus of another bird The Common Redshank or Redshank (Tringa totanus) is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae, the typical waders. ... Binomial name Anas clypeata Linnaeus, 1758 The Shoveler or Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata ) is a common and widespread duck which breeds in the northern areas of Europe and Asia and across most of North America. ...

Etymology

North Yorkshire also features a River Swale. Most definitions of the word swale indicate it to mean a 'depression in the ground to allow water to drain into'. Whether the names of two rivers have a common root remains unknown. North Yorkshire is a county, located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. ...

External links

• English Nature page
• Description of Special Protection Area

grid reference TQ999666Grid reference: TQ999666 The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using latitude or longitude. ... The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using latitude or longitude. ...