Found on John Norden's map of 1600 and named Stone Eye, this tidal creek, which joins the River Ore about a mile downstream, is wide and shallow and at low tide an expanse of mud is exposed with only a tiny tidal channel.

This mud provides excellent feeding for many hundreds of waders and wildfowl. One of the most productive ecosystems, here each square metre of mud has approximately the same calorific value as 633 Mars bars! At the edges of the creek are areas of salt-marsh. These areas provide valuable feeding and roosting areas for large numbers of over-wintering wildfowl (some species in nationally significant numbers).

Within a salt-marsh the type of plant species found changes from the high to low water marks according to the length of time (per day or month) each area of the marsh is covered with salt water. A greater number of species occur at the uppermost edge of the marshes (high tide) where the time they are exposed to salt water is shorter. Most salt-marsh plants flower in late summer or autumn.