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Essex

Little Owl Athene noctua ©Nigel Blake Website

Birding Essex

Essex is a large county with a great variety of habitats, from the mud flats & sea-watching of the north Thames, many scattered woodlands, an area of chalk-land in the extreme north west, large reservoirs, coastal salt-marsh & last, but not least, vast arable fields that, surprisingly in some areas, still support large numbers of Corn Buntings.

Essex is heavily populated; this means that a lot of public areas are intensively used by the public, which means early mornings are quite commonplace on Essex birders days in the field.

There are many excellent local nature reserves (see below); which cater for a good range of birds & general wildlife.

Estuaries, Salt Marsh & Grazing Marshes – Essex is a county with many good examples of this sort of habitat, having as it does an indented & eroded coastline. Places worth a visit are the Blackwater estuary and Stour estuary including: Tollesbury Wick, Old Hall Marshes RSPB, Copperas Bay RSPB Reserve, Hamford Water, Rainham Marsh, Aveley Bay, Havengore Creek, Reeveshall Marsh, and Fingringhoe Wick.

Farmland, Lakes & Woodland – Farmland in Essex is very intense but some areas still hold good numbers of Corn Bunting, Yellowhammer etc. Good areas are the Dengie peninsular, which runs north south from Bradwell in the north to Holliwell point in the south. It is short on both woodland and lakes but there are some good examples, such as: Amwell Lakes, Berwick Ponds, Connaught Water, Dagenham Chase, Danbury Lakes CP, Gunners Park, and Hainault Forest.

Reservoirs – There are many good reservoirs to choose from each with their own character, including: Abberton and Hanningfield. The Lea Valley reservoirs are mostly permit access only & stretch from Walthamstow (G London) in the south to Hoddesdon (Hertfordshire) in the north. The best area is around Fishers Green.

Migration points – The best-known migration area has to be the Naze, which is the point of land NE of Walton-on-the-Naze. Its huge area of bushes with a scattering of Sycamores provides ideal habitat for tired migrants, but can be frustrating to try & find birds or re-find them. It has had many rarities in its time the most well attended twitch was the Red-throated Thrush the first for Britain, which stayed for some time around the outskirts of the town.

Sea-watching – The place to sea-watch in Essex is the Thames estuary, Specifically: Southend Pier and Wakering Stairs.

Top Sites

Abberton Reservoir
Webpage Satellite View
Excellent for wildfowl & occasional rarities, it also has the advantage of a visitor centre selling everything from food to optics. (August 2011 access restricted by construction work - check the Essex Wildlife Trust website for access details)
Aveley Bay
Satellite View
River Thames & marshy fields.
Berwick Ponds
Satellite View
Reedy ponds.
Bradwell Bird Observatory
Satellite View
Lies on the south shore of the Blackwater estuary by the river mouth, access from Bradwell-on-sea.
Canvey Island
Satellite View
Seafront shelters, this is just far enough up river to funnel the birds close in before they turn around & fly back to sea, Long-tailed Skua & Sabines are regular on Easterly winds in August/September.
Connaught Water
Information Satellite View
Good for Mandarin & woodland species.
Copperas Bay RSPB Reserve
Satellite View
access east of Mannningtree.
Copperas Wood
Satellite View
This is an Essex Wildlife Trust reserve.
Dagenham Chase
Satellite View
Lake & surrounding fields.
Danbury Lakes & Country Park
Satellite View
Hawfinch & woodland.
Fingringhoe Wick Nature Reserve
Website Satellite View
An Essex Wildlife trust reserve & is excellent for a wide range of species. In spring it is probably the best place in the country to see Nightingales sitting in the open in full song. Up to 40 pairs in this reserve. The Fatbirder has sat in his car in the car park here hearing 10 nightingales and seeing three or four without even breaking sweat! The reserve has salt marsh, estuary, scrub and young woodland and there is a gravel pit close to the entrance road which is excellent for swifts and hirundines.
Fishers Green
Satellite View
Complex, which is accessed off the B194 just north of Waltham Abbey. This area is famous for it's wintering Bitterns, which show extremely well from the Bittern hide. It is also very good for Smew in the winter.
Gunners Park
Satellite View
Good for migrants.
Hainault Forest
Website Satellite View
Typical woodland species.
Hamford Water
Information Satellite View
Area is excellent, especially in winter, but access & parking are difficult. Best access is from Walton-on-the-naze. The John Weston Nature Reserve on the Naze is a special protection area and the backwaters behind the Naze, called Hamford Water, is a National Nature Reserve and is recognised as being an internationally important wetland for birds (RAMSAR).
Hanningfield Reservoir
Website Satellite View
Smaller than Abberton but has a totally different character, it often gets sea birds for example, which Abberton does not , there are hides & a visitor centre.
Havengore Creek
Satellite View
Holland-On-Sea
Satellite View
Holland Haven lies just south of Walton-on-the-Naze & is Excellent for migrants, gardens along the seafront held a Steppe Shrike for sometime in 1996.
Old Hall Marshes
Webpage Satellite View
…In winter, 4,000 brent geese feed on the pasture, with small flocks of ruffs and golden plovers. Thousands of wigeons, teals, shelducks, grey plovers, curlews, redshanks and dunlins frequent the marshes. Divers, grebes, goldeneyes and occasional seaducks are seen in the estuarine channels. Short-eared owls, hen harriers, barn owls and merlins regularly hunt the reserve…
Rainham Marsh
Webpage Satellite View
Thames foreshore & rough grassland recently purchased from the Army by RSPB - a grazing marsh hardly changed in centuries. The Rubbish tip is renown for attracting unusual gulls.
Reeveshall Marsh
Satellite View
Southend Pier
Satellite View
Sea Watching.
Tollesbury Wick
Webpage Satellite View
Open access is from the village of Tollesbury.
Wakering Stairs & The Broomway
Website Satellite View
Sea watching & migrants. The Broomway is a Byway Open to All Traffic, which means that the public is entiled to drive any kind of vehicle over it, rather than traffic being restricted to certain kinds as would be the case with a public footpath or public bridleway.

Contributors

Adrian Kettle
Abberton, Colchester, England | akettle@globalnet.co.uk
https://twitter.com/birderkettle?lang=en
Roy Ledgerton
| r.ledgerton@virgin.net

County Recorder

Michael Tracy
Robins, Hayhouse Road, Earls Colne, Colchester CO6 2PD
micktrac@aol.com
07500 866335

Number of Species

Number of bird species: 390

County Bird - Brent Goose Branta bernicla

Useful Reading

Essex Bird Reports

| Essex Bird Reports and the excellent magazine Essex Birding are produced by the Essex Birdwatching Society (EBWS) and are obtainable from the Membership Secretary. Please check their website for further details | ISBN: Buy this book from NHBS.com
Tetrad Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Essex

| By M K Dennis | Essex Birdwatching Society | 1996 | Paperback | 312 pages, Colour photos, line illustrations, distribution maps, figures | ISBN: 9780902131095 Buy this book from NHBS.com
The Birds of Essex

| By Simon Wood | Christopher Helm | 2007 | Hardback | 656 pages, Line drawings, maps, tables, 32 colour plates | ISBN: 9780713669398 Buy this book from NHBS.com
Where To Watch Birds In East Anglia

| By Peter & Margaret Clarke | Christopher Helm | 2002 | Paperback | 270 pages, B/w illustrations, maps | ISBN: 9780713658644 Buy this book from NHBS.com

Useful Information

Abberton Reservoir

Essex Wildlife Trust, 01206 738172

Observatories

Bradwell Bird Observatory
Observatory Website Satellite View
The reserve is run jointly by Essex Wildlife Trust and the Essex Birdwatching Society. The latter also operates Bradwell Bird Observatory, situated in the grounds of Linnett's Cottage on the edge of the reserve…

Organisations

Bishop's Stortford Natural History Society
Website
Welcome to the BSDNHS. We are a traditional but forward-looking Natural History Society preserving the old skills of recording and observation whilst not hesitating to move forward and embrace new technology and ideas. We pride ourselves on being a Society and social interaction at our meetings is an important part of our philosophy. You would be very welcome to join us at any of our planned programme events and visits as outlined below.…
Essex Bird Watching Society
Website
We are the county bird society for Essex and collate data on the status of birds within Essex including much of N.E. London. This data is analysed to produce the Essex Bird Report. We also publish Essex Birding magazine twice a year.
Essex Wildlife Trust
Website
We manage 93 nature reserves covering 7,700 acres of land. We give advice on wildlife problems and campaign on wildlife issues. We run five visitor centres that welcome 200,000 visitors per year. We have a membership of over 16,000 that is growing fast. Our members are the backbone of the Trust, funding its activities, providing volunteers that are vital to its operation, and spreading the word to others. Without them the Trust would not be able to function and wildlife would be under even greater threat.
Harlow Conservation Volunteers
Website
Harlow Conservation Volunteers (HCV) is a group of volunteers who work for nature conservation in and around Harlow - Essex. Their aim is to improve the environment for wildlife, nature conservation, and recreation, and to improve public access. All over the country conservation volunteers do practical work which makes a major contribution to our natural heritage. They manage trees, woodlands, and hedgerows; build bridges, hides, steps, and stiles; and clean out streams and ponds. They work on footpaths, clearing them of vegetation and making them easy to walk along; they work mostly on nature reserves and public open spaces, but occasionally on privately owned land. The work done depends on the time of year, but has included coppicing, tree planting, hedge-laying, scrub control, wild flower planting, constructing boardwalks, and even charcoal making.
Holland Haven Birding
Twitter
All holland haven cp (in ne Essex) recent sightings, updates and info by the group of local birders. Run by @lonsdalebirding . Holland haven blog link below.
RSPB Chelmsford & Central Essex Local Group
Webpage
The group's aim is to support actively the work of the RSPB in the local community and to involve RSPB members and the wider public in the Society's conservation, public affairs, education, fundraising and other activities. We have regular monthly indoor meetings locally throughout the year and have occasional day-trips to local nature reserves.
RSPB Colchester Local Group
Webpage
The group's aim is to make people aware of the need for wildlife conservation, to introduce more members to the RSPB and to raise funds for our local nature reserves. We hold indoor meetings with slide presentations on the second Thursday of the month between September and April.
RSPB South East Essex Local Group
Webpage
The South East Essex Local Group supports the RSPB in carrying out the Society's objectives in the Thames Estuary area. Those objectives include: promoting the conservation of wild birds and their habitats, informing and involving the RSPB's members in conservation issues, developing policies and practical actions to protect important wildlife habitats and working with central and local government to create and implement solutions to conservation problems.
Southend Ornithological Group
Website
The Southend Ornithological Group (SOG) is an informal group of birders who watch and record birds from sites in the Southend area of Essex, England. Some areas of this website, such as record submission and the chat forum, are restricted to known SOG birders.
The Greater Thames Marshes Nature Improvement Areas
Information
Nature Improvement Areas (NIAs) were nationally launched in April 2012. The Greater Thames Marshes NIA has been awarded £571,875 funding over 3 years…
Wakering & District Natural History Society
Facebook Page
Early in 1980 John Threadgold was approached by Councillor Ernie Adcock to see if he would be willing to start up a Natural History group in the village. The answer being 'Yes', John then had to liaise with the Parish Clerk to fix up a meeting place and then get some helpers. The obvious choice for help was George Bailey who was a keen photographer and a fellow member of the South Essex Natural History Society…

Reserves

Abbreviations Key

Accessible Essex Reserves
Webpage Satellite View
Each of the following links lead to a BFA assessment of the reserve by BFA members and others, using the BFA form. ALL types of mobility problem are assumed so there are details of path surfaces, gradients and distances as well as benches and hide details.
EWT Abberton Reservoir Visitor Centre
Webpage Satellite View
Visitors can enjoy walks on Essex Wildlife Trust’s Nature Reserve; with stunning panoramic views across the Reservoir and surrounding villages as well as superb views of the water’s edge from three accessible bird hides.
EWT Bradwell Shell Bank Nature Reserve
Webpage Satellite View
Bradwell Cockle Spit on the Dengie Peninsular consists of some 30 acres of shell bank together with extensive saltmarsh. The spit has been built up by tidal currents and is mainly cockle and oyster shells.
EWT Cranham Marsh Reserve
Webpage Satellite View
The reason is that Cranham Marsh is home to wildlife that is so rare or so threatened that it has been listed for national action: animals like the water vole - Ratty from Wind in the Willows - or the great crested newt, and birds like the song thrush, once common in suburban gardens but now worryingly scarce are cause for concern.
EWT Fingringhoe Wick Nature Reserve
Webpage Satellite View
Essex Wildlife Trust's first nature reserve and visitor centre, set in a spectacular position overlooking the Colne Estuary, even on the dullest of days the views are fantastic. It offers the visitor real peace and quiet and a chance to escape from it all. A wide range of habitats are on view here, including grassland, heathland and ponds.
EWT Hanningfield Reservoir
Webpage Satellite View
Providing panoramic views over the 870 acre reservoir. The visitor centre is set in mature woodland and has proved a popular bat roost, with a beautiful carpet of Bluebells in the spring.
EWT John Weston Nature Reserve
Webpage Satellite View
This 9 acre reserve lies within the Naze public open space. It consists of Blackthorn and bramble thickets, rough grassland and four ponds or 'scrapes', three of them excavated since the reserve was established.
EWT Tollesbury Wick Nature Reserve
Webpage Satellite View
This 600 acre site is a rare example of an Essex fresh water grazing marsh, worked for decades by traditional methods sympathetic to wildlife. Tollesbury Wick is home to Essex Wildlife Trusts flying flock of sheep. You should be be able to see Marsh Harriers at most times of the year.
Essex Reserves
Website Satellite View
A number of pages about reserves in Essex from Essex Wildlife Trust…
Lee Valley Park
Website Satellite View
Covering a thousand acres on either side of the River Lee between Waltham Abbey (Essex) and Broxbourne (Herts) River Lee Country Park is a unique patchwork of lakes, waterways, green open spaces and countryside areas all linked together by paths, walkways and cycle tracks. The River Lee Country Park abounds with wildlife throughout the year and is the perfect venue for informal, outdoor recreation.
Nature Net
Website Satellite View
List of reserves etc
RSPB Old Hall Marshes
Webpage Satellite View
In winter, 4,000 Brent geese feed on the pasture, with small flocks of ruffs and golden plovers. Thousands of wigeons, teals, shelducks, grey plovers, curlews, redshanks and dunlins frequent the marshes. Divers, grebes, goldeneyes and occasional sea ducks are seen in the estuarine channels. Short-eared owls, hen harriers, barn owls and merlins regularly hunt the reserve.
RSPB Rainham Marsh
Webpage Satellite View
One of very few ancient landscapes remaining in London, these medieval marshes right next to the River Thames were closed to the public for over 100 years and used as a military firing range. We managed to acquire the site in 2000 and set about transforming it into an important place for nature and a great place for people to visit. Now you can expect to see breeding wading birds in spring and summer, and large flocks of wild ducks in winter.
RSPB Stour Estuary
Webpage Satellite View
The Stour Estuary is a nature reserve in Essex, England, east of Colchester on the estuary of the River Stour. Enjoy trails up to five miles long as you stroll through the woods. To watch wading birds, ducks and geese on the estuary, visit during the autumn and winter.

Forums & Mailing Lists

EBwS Bird News
@EssexBirdNews
The EBwS's aim is to promote birdwatching & all bird conservation issues in Essex with news gleaned from local & national sources.
East London Birders Forum
Facebook Page
Mike Dent started the ELBF in August 1997 as a forum for local birders to network more easily and to accumulate data on the local avifauna while promoting the importance and enjoyment of local patch birding. Things have changed over the last 18 years and we have moved with the times from initially meeting once a month in a pub in Chingford to the creation of our website and now inevitably embracing Facebook.
Southend Ornithological Group Bird News

Sightings

Guides & Tour Operators

Birding Pal
Information
Local birders willing to show visiting birders around their area

Places to Stay

Click on WAND to see Fatbirder’s Trip Report Repository…

Bird Watching Holidays Essex
Accommodation
Essex is ideal for bird lovers and those looking for Birdwatching holidays, and near the Essex Coast there are some wonderful Bird Reserves, - the Stour Estuary near Harwich and also Old Hall Marshes near Maldon. Enjoy a Bird watching break in Essex and stay in one of our farmhouse B&B's or Holiday Cottages where you will find a haven of wildlife on the farm, throughout the countryside, and on the coast.

Essex

Birding Essex

Abberton Reservoir

Aveley Bay

Berwick Ponds

Bradwell Bird Observatory

Canvey Island

Connaught Water

Copperas Bay RSPB Reserve

Copperas Wood

Dagenham Chase

Danbury Lakes & Country Park

Fingringhoe Wick Nature Reserve

Fishers Green

Gunners Park

Hainault Forest

Hamford Water

Hanningfield Reservoir

Havengore Creek

Holland-On-Sea

Old Hall Marshes

Rainham Marsh

Reeveshall Marsh

Southend Pier

Tollesbury Wick

Wakering Stairs & The Broomway

Adrian Kettle

Roy Ledgerton

Michael Tracy

Number of bird species: 390

Essex Bird Reports

Tetrad Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Essex

The Birds of Essex

Where To Watch Birds In East Anglia

Abberton Reservoir

Bradwell Bird Observatory

Bishop's Stortford Natural History Society

Essex Bird Watching Society

Essex Wildlife Trust

Harlow Conservation Volunteers

Holland Haven Birding

RSPB Chelmsford & Central Essex Local Group

RSPB Colchester Local Group

RSPB South East Essex Local Group

Southend Ornithological Group

The Greater Thames Marshes Nature Improvement Areas

Wakering & District Natural History Society

Accessible Essex Reserves

EWT Abberton Reservoir Visitor Centre

EWT Bradwell Shell Bank Nature Reserve

EWT Cranham Marsh Reserve

EWT Fingringhoe Wick Nature Reserve

EWT Hanningfield Reservoir

EWT John Weston Nature Reserve

EWT Tollesbury Wick Nature Reserve

Essex Reserves

Lee Valley Park

Nature Net

RSPB Old Hall Marshes

RSPB Rainham Marsh

RSPB Stour Estuary

EBwS Bird News

East London Birders Forum

Southend Ornithological Group Bird News

Birding Pal

Bird Watching Holidays Essex

Birdline East Anglia

Brian Anderson - Brian’s Birding Blog

Chris Jones - Chris' Birding

Dave Morrison - Dave Mo Birding

David Bradnum - Bradders Birding

Jim Anderson - Jim's Birding Blog

Jim Anderson - Tick 'N' Go Birding

Lee Brown - Lee's Local Birding

Mark Braun - Birding Braunie

Mick Rodwell - Holland Haven Birding

Paul Hawky - Hawkys Blog

Steve Arlow - Birders Playground

Photographer - Ian Rose

Photographer - Peter Mann - Manny's Wildlife