Blackwater Map

[phyllosc]

Attached is an OS map of the area - it doesn't quite match the aerial photo I posted earlier in the week.

This time I think I've got the boring technical stuff right so it should load up on screen.

I tend to walk the section of river bank between river and the flooded gravel pits, starting at Heybridge Basin. If the tide is high or there are few birds around I cross over to the canal and walk this way back to the Basin. To the north on the map there are some more gravel pits which I do very infrequently as I was once chased by a huge black dog and only avoided a mauling by vaulting a fence - no small job for a fat fortysomething, I can tell you!

Charles, for your patchwork studies: the river is tidal and thus brackish. The gravel pits are fresh water and have reed and bushy scrub around them. The scale is 1 kilometre to each grid square.

Dave

[Andrew]

Seems similar to Bowcombe Creek in Kingsbridge, a neat little offshoot of the main estuary except Bowcombe is cut off by a bridge so does not have boating interference. Do boats come up your 'creek'?

[phyllosc]

Andrew

My creek is full of boats. There is a lot of leisure and racing craft (no power boats and jet skis thankfully) on the river as well as some rather majestic, preserved Thames sailing barges.

According to the OS web site, in the late 19th century the area that is now gravel pit use to flood in the winter. I bet it was teeming with birds in those days.

Dave

[Andrew]

What are the brown lines on Northey Island, I presume they are muddy tidal channels?

[Dave Smith]

Hi Phyllosc (Dave)
That is a very nice area to cover. I have walked that route many times (having lived in Maldon since 1974).

[Charles Harper]

Thanks Dave, talk to you later.

[phyllosc]

Andrew.

I cannot see any brown lines! The purple edge on the island is a marking the boundry of National Trust ownership. I've never been over to the island.

Dave.

You'll know the patch a lot better than me then. I confess to not doing it to often as I tend to most of my birding in Suffolk. I bird it more in the winter time I guess but will start doing more from now for the wader passge. Other than the Terek the best bird I've seen there was a Black Tern last August. How about you, what good birds have you seen there?

Dave

[Michael Frankis]

Originally posted by Andrew
What are the brown lines on Northey Island, I presume they are muddy tidal channels?

Yes, tidal creeks.

Michael

[phyllosc]

I still can't see any brown lines!

Dave

[Michael Frankis]

Hi Dave,

Sort of buffy-grey, 1½-2mm wide on my monitor, and edged in black. There's a whole network of them on Northey Island!

What sort of monitor do you have, is it one of the old monochrome ones?

Michael

[Dave Smith]

You'll know the patch a lot better than me then. I confess to not doing it to often as I tend to most of my birding in Suffolk. I bird it more in the winter time I guess but will start doing more from now for the wader passge. Other than the Terek the best bird I've seen there was a Black Tern last August. How about you, what good birds have you seen there?

My turn to confess, I know that area mostly by going on family walks and although I will always have my binoculars have never done any serious birding there. Most of my birding is with the Essex Birdwatching Society on their excellent field meetings or I go to Abberton, Fingeringhoe or Hanningfield. I bought my scope about 3 years ago and have been on a steep learning curve ever since.

Dave

[phyllosc]

If you mean the network of creeks that are the same colour as the exposed low water mud in the main river then I'm with you. It's a srange colour to describe: a kind of greenish, buffy grey, to my eyes.

I'm using a 'state of the art' flat screen Compaq.

Dave