Cliffe Pools is a diverse series of lagoons on the North Kent Marshes, varying from almost fresh water to 30‰ salinity, and from very shallow and seasonally drying, to permanent pools of 7 metres and greater depth. As well as the well-documented wading bird and waterfowl populations, the site also hosts an interesting range of lagoonal specialist invertebrates; the scarcity of lagoonal habitat nationally makes this site's invertebrate fauna important in its own right.

As might be expected, the wide range of habitats and conditions present required a flexible and varied approach to sampling, to fully categorise the populations present, while ensuring minimal disturbance to the bird life.