Its location at the mouth of the Mersey acts as a magnet for many species. Large numbers of redshank and turnstone roost on the reserve along with the largest coastal roost of cormorants in the UK .

A breeding colony of more than 150 pairs of common terns is one of the largest in the north of England. The spring migration of the little gull brings several hundreds to Seaforth. There are also several species of birds of prey resident in the area, as well as swifts, meadow pipits, pied wagtails, dunnocks and linnets.

It is part of a wider area called the Mersey Narrows which is a site of Special Scientific Interest. This site includes the Egremont foreshore opposite Seaforth Dock and the two together form a network of sites for rare birds, which feed on Egremont and then fly over to Seaforth to rest and hide from predators. The lagoons and pools create a special area for vegetation.

The Mersey Narrows and the north Wirral coast have also been proposed as a Special Protection Area, and as such it is protected under UK and EU law.

Tim Melling, RSPB senior conservation officer, said: “We have advised Peel that if they want to carry out their plans for the reserve they will need to demonstrate that there are no alternative locations and that there are imperative reasons of overriding public interest for the proposal.

“Most importantly, they will need to provide adequate land elsewhere to compensate for the affected area and have this in place before they begin work on the development. Unless all of these stringent conditions can be met, their proposed port development will not be able to proceed.”

But according to Peel’s Mersey Ports Master Plan, the proposed developments could have a positive environmental impact, reducing the amount of road freight which comes from the port: “In the face of increasing fuel and road freight costs and carbon reduction targets, businesses are actively scrutinising how to reduce their freight costs and reduce their carbon footprint. Movement of freight by water and rail is much more competitive in terms of costs and emissions per mile when compared with equivalent journeys by road.”

At the 20-year development strategy presentation, Mr Hodgson explained: “95% of cargo goes out of the port by road and we want to shift that to 70-75%.”