Essex Birds

RSPB Old Hall Marshes near Maldon, Essex

Leaving the mist and drizzle of London behind, yesterday I was lucky enough to take part in a college field trip to the RSPB's Old Hall Marshes reserve on the Essex coast. The sun was shining, the sky was clear and the birds were present in their THOUSANDS.

Old Hall Marshes comprises salt marsh, reedbeds, brackish pools (characteristic of estuaries, these are areas of water with a higher salt content than freshwater but not as much as seawater), grazing marsh and improved arable fields and, as such, is a fantastic site to discuss and witness the application of certain habitat management techniques. This variety of increasingly scarce habitats also means it is home to a wonderful array of bird species:

With so much birdlife around I invariably found myself juggling binoculars and camera a good 200m behind the rest of the group at times, but it was worth it. Dark-bellied Brent and Greylag geese could be seen and heard in huge numbers on the distant fields while the brackish pools on the grazing marsh were teeming with countless species of waterfowl, including Goldeneye, Wigeon, Teal and Tufted ducks. As well as great views of the surrrounding area, a bracing walk along the sea wall provided a good vantage point to see flocks of birds circling over the Blackwater Estuary. Lapwings, Starlings and Skylarks tumbled gracefully about above our heads and at one point a flock of Knot went speeding by low over the water. Forget those jokes about Essex birds, this lot are the real deal!

Geese flock over Old Hall Marshes

To capture the scene as a large flock of geese took flight I tried using the 'movie' feature on my Sony Cyber-shot. It's pretty basic and unfortunately it didn't capture much sound but hopefully gives some idea: