Good numbers of wintering wildfowl and waders with a chance of a diver, rare grebe or seaduck. Supporting cast of Ring-billed Gull, raptors, gulls and woodland birds.
The densely populated area of Southend offers pockets of woodland habitat coupled with excellent sites around the Outer Thames estuary where thousands of Brent Geese choose to winter and scarce seabirds may be seen at close range off the Pier. Many sites are surprisingly under-watched offering the chance of finding a local rarity.
Birds
Red-throated Diver, Little Egret, wildfowl inc Dark-bellied Brent Geese with possibility of Black Brant, Marsh and Hen Harrier, Peregrine, Merlin, large numbers of waders including Avocet with possibility of Purple Sandpiper, Ring-billed and Mediterranean Gull, Kittiwake, Guillemot, Barn and Short-eared Owl, all three Woodpeckers, Rock Pipit, Stonechat, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Hawfinch, Snow and Corn Bunting.
To give yourself the best chance of a
decent day list, start your day at Hockley Woods, which is to be found at
TQ834924 alongside The Bull pub, just off the B1013, four miles
Arriving at dawn, the children’s play area will be seen almost adjacent
to the car park. To avoid disturbing the birds, view the play area from the
perimeter fence only. This is the only reliable site in south-east
After spending the first hour of the day here, head now towards the car
park and onwards to the coastal sites. All of the following sites are tidal
dependant to varying degrees, with high tide being preferable for all except
the Gulls at Westcliff seafront which are best two hours either side of high
tide. So to get the most out of your birdwatching in Southend, it would be
desirable to spread your visit over two days. If this is not possible, there
will still be plenty of birds to see, they just wont
be as close.
The first coastal site to visit will be
The island is divided in half by the access road. The western half has
a circular cinder ash path that will take you out to the brackish lagoon at the
western tip where you will also find two hides. Over high tide, good numbers of
Ringed Plover, Redshank, Dunlin, and
possibly Avocet and Snipe will be roosting on the lagoon. Kingfisher usually winter on the island
and the lagoon offers the best chance of seeing one. Just to the north of the
lagoon in Benfleet Creek a few Spotted
Redshank and Greenshank winter
most years. Whilst walking the cinder path, Skylark will be seen and heard and a flock of Corn Bunting are usually present between the car park and lagoon.
The western half of the island is well known locally for hosting up to three Short-eared Owls each winter. They can
be seen hunting in the daytime over the saltings in Benfleet Creek and the
rough grassland around the model aircraft field. Keep a lookout for Stonechat this is the best area locally
to find them with up to six birds present some years. Dartford Warbler has occasionally been reported on the island in
recent years. If one is present it favours the company of Stonechat.
To explore the eastern half of the island, follow the obvious wide
grassy track that starts just south of the car park at the kissing gate. The
track leads to the eastern tip of the island where large numbers of Curlew, Black-tailed and Bar-tailed
Godwit, Knot, Lapwing, Golden and Grey Plover
roost over high tide on the adjacent saltmarsh. In recent years Little Egret have also established a
high tide roost with up to ninety birds in the autumn, there should still be at
least twenty present in December. The eastern tip is also the favoured feeding
ground of the Dark-bellied Brent Goose
with up to 6,000 present. If viewing conditions and time allow, check through
the flock as Black Brant and Pale-bellied Brent Goose are now annual
and have already both been reported this winter. The obvious stand of large
trees has held a wintering Barn Owl
in recent years. Retrace your steps back to the car park, listening for the
squeal of Water Rail from the network
of borrowdykes.
It is now time to drive towards Southend Pier along the seafront from
Chalkwell but not before stopping at Westcliff seafront to see ‘Rossi’ the Ring-billed Gull. There are plenty of
pay and display parking bays here. ‘Rossi’ is present this winter for his eighth winter and is most likely to be loafing on the sea
with the Black-headed Gull flock
immediately in front of the Rossi ice cream parlour. Other favoured places are
on top of the lampposts and the groynes. Several Mediterranean Gulls will also be present and small parties of Sanderling and Turnstone will be picking their way around the foreshore at your
feet.
Continue your drive towards the start of the Pier where you can pay to park in a roadside bay, or one of the many car parks in Southend town centre.
There is a charge of £3.00 if you want to ride the train towards the
end of the 1.34 mile pier where most the birds will be found. The pier
structure itself is home to Mediterranean
Gulls, and occasional Kittiwake
and Shag. Turnstone will be picking their way around the structure and Purple Sandpiper has been recorded
infrequently. In the ‘lifeboat bay’ birds will often sit out the entire tidal
cycle affording excellent views. In recent year Great Northern Diver, Red-necked
Grebe, Slavonian Grebe, Guillemot and Razorbill have all spent several days in the ‘bay’. Regular
scanning of the Thames on the seaward side will offer the possibility of
further Divers, with all three
species present together last winter, and day counts in excess of 100 Red-throated Divers in optimum
conditions in early 2003. A brisk north east wind will see good numbers of
usually scarce birds driven into the
Having spent an hour or two on the Pier, make your way back to the
relative warmth and comfort of your car. Continue east along the seafront in
the direction of Shoebury but firstly pull over a few hundred metres east of
the Sea Life Adventure Centre and walk up onto the sandy shore near the
derelict loading jetty. For the last two winters a Purple Sandpiper has roosted between the loading jetty and the
foreshore 400 metres to the east. Small mixed flocks of Dunlin, Sanderling and Ringed Plover will be roosting on the
beach or the loading pier and if present, the Purple Sandpiper will be with them. A flock of Snow Buntings have also made this stretch of beach their home for
the last two years. They are much more mobile and could be anywhere between the
loading pier and Uncle Tom’s Cabin beside Shoebury Coastguards two miles to the
east, which itself hosted a Ring-billed
Gull in 1999/2000.
The final destination for the day will be the MOD land known as
Wakering Stairs, accessed from
As you make your way back to the car in the failing light with rosy
cheeks the ghostly flight of the Barn Owl and the evocative call of skeins of
Dark-bellied Brent Geese flying overhead to roost should bring your day to a
magical end.
See the text for details. Most sites have free and open access except Southend Pier which is open 08:00-18:00 during winter weekends and 08:00-16:00 during the week in winter, and Wakering Stairs. Local bus routes service all sites. Check www.arrivabus.co.uk for details.
(Birdwatch to make suggestions)
For the most accurate and up to date FREE local news, see the local
RSPB website at www.southendrspb.co.uk/sightings or SOG website at
www.sognet.org.uk Both sites share news and are
updated daily. Please E-mail your sightings to Graham Mee of the RSPB at:
sightings@southendrspb.co.uk
South east Essex RSPB: Graham Mee – E-mail: grahamm@southendrspb.co.uk
Southend Ornithological Group: Paul Baker – E-mail:
baker22@btinternet.com
There are many hotels and B&B’s in Southend including:
Camelia Hotel – 01702 587917 www.cameliahotel.com
Premier Travel Inn – 0870 9906370 www.premiertravelinn.com
As you would expect there are hundreds of eating establishments in and around Southend catering for all tastes.
Excellent fresh seafood and shellfish can be purchased from the vendors
at Old Town Leigh Cockle sheds just east of Leigh train station.