The Long Drag
The Long Drag is over a mile long and gives access to some of the best birding sites
in the Tees Estuary. The area has changed considerably over the last 20 years or
so. It originally formed part of the Seal Sands seawall prior to the wholesale reclamation
of Seal Sands during the 1970s but now, instead of looking out over extensive mudflats,
it has some of the most extensive reed beds in the Tees area, a series of brackish
pools (known as the Long Drag Pools) and an inter-tidal lagoon. Reed Warbler breeds
and Bearded Tits are now regular visitors.
The pools and adjacent Brinefields, often have breeding Little Ringed Plovers and
are excellent for wildfowl and waders. Recent rare and scarce species have included
Great White and Little Egrets, Spotted Sandpiper, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Green-winged
Teal and Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. On the landward side of the Long Drag is a large
area of scrub and developing woodland, which can for migrants, which have included
Golden Oriole and Great Spotted Cuckoo. Access to the Long Drag is either southwards
from the Seal Sands hide or northwards from Seal Sands Road off the A178. Park on
the slag area at the end of the Long Drag, walk across the railway, up the bank
and follow the track, with pools to the left and reed-beds to the right.
HIDE OVERLOOKING THE INTER-TIDAL LAGOON
LONG DRAG LOOKING TOWARDS THE POWER STATION
|