RSPB Minsmere is a nature reserve owned and managed by the Royal Society
for the Protection of Birds at Minsmere, Suffolk, England, since 1947.
The 1,000-hectare (2,500-acre) site covers areas of reed bed, lowland
heath, acid grassland, wet grassland, woodland and shingle vegetation.
It is conserved as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, Special Area
of Conservation, Special Protection Area and Ramsar site. It supports
bird species such as the bittern, stone-curlew, marsh harrier, nightjar
and nightingale, as well as a wide variety of other animals and plants.
The Minsmere marshes were the site of a medieval abbey and a Tudor
artillery battery. Reclaimed as farmland in the 19th century, they were
re-flooded during World War II to protect against possible invasion.
The reserve has a visitor centre and eight bird hides. Potential threats
to the site include coastal erosion and flooding or salination as
climate change causes rising sea levels.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSPB_Minsmere>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1775:
American Revolutionary War: Continental Army Colonel Henry Knox
arrived at Fort Ticonderoga in New York to arrange the transport of 60
tons of artillery that would be used to strengthen the Siege of Boston.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_train_of_artillery>
1916:
Amid the First World War and following his loss of support in
Parliament, British Prime Minister H. H. Asquith resigned.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._H._Asquith>
1958:
Britain's first motorway, the Preston By-pass, opened to the
public.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preston_By-pass>
1995:
Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 56 crashed shortly after takeoff
from Nakhchivan Airport, killing 52 people on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azerbaijan_Airlines_Flight_56>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
shrinking violet:
(idiomatic) Often in the negative form no shrinking violet: a very shy
person, who avoids contact with others if possible.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/shrinking_violet>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
I do not mistrust the future; I do not fear what is ahead. For
our problems are large, but our heart is larger. Our challenges are
great, but our will is greater. And if our flaws are endless, God's love
is truly boundless. Some see leadership as high drama, and the sound of
trumpets calling, and sometimes it is that. But I see history as a book
with many pages, and each day we fill a page with acts of hopefulness
and meaning. The new breeze blows, a page turns, the story unfolds. And
so today a chapter begins, a small and stately story of unity,
diversity, and generosity — shared, and written, together.
--George H. W. Bush
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_H._W._Bush>
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