Virtual Field Trips
Dell Quay to Chichester Marina
3. Farmland
From the footpath it is possible to see a wide
range of habitats.
On one side there is water, mud,
saltmarsh and reeds. Beside the footpath there
are hedgerows with mature trees, shrubs and
flowers. On the other side there is farmland.
Click to view panorama of this stop
Different habitats
Different habitats
This is a good place to see the different
habitats that there are between water and
dry land.
Rising tide
Rising tide
At high tide, seawater fills the channel. Ducks, geese and swans swim on the surface whilst fish and other marine animals move up the channel with the tide to feed. Animals such as crabs, cockles and periwinkles all come out of hiding to feed at high tide.
Birds feeding
Birds feeding
As the tide goes out, the mud is uncovered. Many of the animals hide away to stop themselves drying out or being eaten by the birds that come to feed on the mud. Wading birds have long legs and beaks. They feed by wading along the edge of the water or probing the mud with their long beaks. Oystercatchers, redshanks and little egrets all feed in this way.
Sea Aster
Sea Aster and Sea Couch Grass
Higher up the beach where it is drier, saltmarsh can be found. The tide only covers these areas occasionally. Plants grow here that can tolerate being sprayed with salt water but do not like being regularly covered in seawater. Sea purslane with its grey-green leaves grows well here and in late summer the saltmarsh is coloured purple by the flowers of sea aster and sea lavender. See if you can spot the grass that looks blue - this is sea couch grass.
Sea Couch Grass
Wooden Bridge
Wooden bridge
In between the areas of saltmarsh there are muddy creeks. The footpath crosses several of these with wooden bridges.
Reeds
Reeds
Above the saltmarsh there are patches of reeds. These like to have their roots in water but their leaves dry.
Click here to discover more about reeds .
Hedgerow
Hedgerow
In many places the path is bordered by a line of mature oak trees and shrubs such as blackthorn and hawthorn. Brambles and wild roses ramble through them and other flowers grow at the base
Bee on bramble flowers
Bee on bramble flowers
These hedgerows are important to many different kinds of wildlife. Insects such as bees feed on the nectar of flowers.
Rosehips
Rosehips
Birds build their nests in the trees or denser shrubs. In autumn there are many seeds, berries and nuts to be found on the different trees and shrubs. These include sloes on the blackthorn, rosehips on the wild roses and acorns on the oak trees. The birds and other animals feast on these to fatten up to help them get through the winter when food is scarce.
Crops
Crops
The fields beside the path are used for growing crops. The farmer often grows different crops each year. These include lettuce, peas and wheat. Look for the patterns made by the growing plants.
There are often tractors or people working in the fields.
Fields may look as though they have grass growing in them but it may be wheat. Please don’t walk on the plants as this will stop them growing – keep to the footpath.
Barn
Barn
The barn is used for storing crops.
The fields provide food and nesting sites for farmland birds such as skylarks. They nest on the ground and fill the air with their beautiful song whilst flying. Sometimes the farmer leaves part of the edge of his fields without crops to grow naturally. These areas become full of wild flowers and help provide food for the birds and other animals.
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