Birding around/from Chelmsford (1 Viewer)

[dwatsonbirder]

Hello,

I am moving just outside of Chelmsford on Sunday from Norfolk & would be interested to hear any local knowledge for birding sites in this area. I am aware of the works of J.A. Barker and that "the Peregrine" should give me somewhere to start from.
Also could anybody recommend any travel links to the Essex Coast/Hanningfield Res from Chelmsford please? Id quite like to try & get to either Bradwell or Walton if conditions look favorable...
Will join EBS asap.
Thanks

 

[Steve Arlow]

As Chelmsford is Centrally placed in the county numerous birding areas are within easy reach however if you are reliant on public transport, which I have interpretted from your post, then some, if not most, of these may be difficult to get to.

Hanningfield Res has several hides and the causeway but is difficult to get to without a car.
Abberton Reservoir is perhaps a better option than Hanningfield with two very good birding causeways and trails and hide system from the visitor centre, again car needed.
Bradwall is a fair way away from any real public transport and even if you drive there its a fair walk to the Obs area and the Dengie coast.
Old Hall Marshes RSPB is a big reserve and parking is on a permit basis unless you walk in from the public road, there may be a bus that drops off nearby but it would be a near one and half miles before you get close to first set of wader pools.

Holland Haven Country Park is a very good birding location and probably turns up more birds than the Naze area north of Walton.
Fingringhoe Wick is a decent reserve, again car needed.
Heybridge Basin near Maldon along the Blackwater is good with nearby Chigborough Lakes.

To the South you have Rainham Marshes, the new Thames Gateway reserves at Vange Marshes, West Canvey Marshes and soon to be opened Bowerss Marshes. There is Canvey Wick, Two Tree Island and way to the east of the south east region Gunners Park (for migrants), Southend Pier for passage seaabirds and wintering divers and grebes and so on.

There may well be some smaller individual birding areas immediately around Chelmsford.

Searching of the threads in the Essex forum will throw out more information including information websites for sightings and locations and access.

 

[dwatsonbirder]

Thanks for the reply Steve, I shall be sure to check out a few of the sites, shame about the lack of transport links to Hanningfield, I was hoping that it could have become my local patch. I see that there are decent links to Southend, I shall be sure to check out Gunners Park & Holland Haven, as both appear to have quite a lot of decent habitat.

 

[Steve Arlow]

Gunners Park is not the place it once was with over development going on and the best bushes and migrant traps being ripped out and wild areas being made like bowling greens.

There are still some pockets left but with increasing numbers of dog walkers and a new school being built at the north end more disturbance by children is surely to happen.

It is better in autumn than in spring but still turns up a good spread of migrants such as Pied and Spotted Flycatchers and numerous warblers with some excellent rares over the years, such as Red-rumped Swallow, Red-throated Pipit, Woodchat Shrike, Dotterel, Bluethroat and so on.

Holland Haven has a birding Website and is an excellent area though again very poplular with non birders. The Southend Ornithological Group and Southend RSPB group have details on birding sites and sightings in the South East.

 

[simmojunior]

Two tree island is an excellent site for waders and warblers, near to Leigh on Sea station.

 

[dwatsonbirder]

Thanks for the information, I shall be sure to check out Leigh on sea and some of the other sites. Do you konw if it s possible to attend an Essex birdwathcing society meeting & join up on the night? I have downloaded the form but it appears you can only join for a years membership beginning jan 1st.

 

[Steve Arlow]

You don't have to be a member to attend walks, field meetings or indoor evening meetings, you would probably need to pay a non members fee for entrance/attendance.

Membership should be for as long as you want it though usually a minimum of a years membership renewable each year. This is by Direct Debit, Check out the EBS website for details of membership www.ebws.org.uk.

There are many good birding areas in Essex though sadly none that come close to those found in Norfolk.

Two Tree Island is an excellent area though be aware that it is used heavily by dog walkers and there is a 'Toy' plane flying field there which would make an otherwise peaceful day noise ridden. If you are wanting waders a high morning tide will result in many birds roosting on the lagoon, overlooked by a large hide. I say morning as it is west facing so a sunny afternoon you would be looking into the sun. The west end is more open and favoured by wintering Short-eared Owls and Stonechats whilst in spring is favoured by often very showy Grasshopper Warblers, amongst others.

The East end of the Island, an EWT reserve, has spring/summer singing Nightingales and an autumn/winter egret roost, which has accounted for Night Heron and Cattle Egrets this year.

Generally though the island is good year round. Its about half mile walk from Leigh Train Station along the seawall.

 

[neil78]

Thanks for the information, I shall be sure to check out Leigh on sea and some of the other sites. Do you konw if it s possible to attend an Essex birdwathcing society meeting & join up on the night? I have downloaded the form but it appears you can only join for a years membership beginning jan 1st.

The membership runs on a calendar year basis, but if you join after 1st October you will get the remainder of 2011 and all of 2012 included.

If you join before 30th September you will only get the remaining three months of the year, but will receive the 6 monthly Essex Birding magazine and the 2009 Essex Bird Report when (if) it comes out.

 

[Fozzybear]

Hi dwatsonbirder - welcome to the area, good to have another local on here. :t:

You 'can' get to Hanningfield Reservoir via a bus (Regal busways 14) though it means a bit of a walk north from Downham to the reserve (only 0.5-1 mile but add on walking around the reserve and it can be a bit heavy on the feet). Only one bus every couple of hours though so you need to get your timing right! Take a look at www.travelinesoutheast.org.uk for the bus routes and times. I tend to only go 'very' occasionally but it's usually worthwhile as Hanningfield does get some goodies from time to time and there's usually a reasonable amount of stuff to see anyway... unless you only want to see really good stuff! Last time I went was April last year (God! haven't been for AGES!) when I saw Goldeneye and Black-necked Grebe there.

There are plenty of places local to Chelmsford for regular birdwatching though: around Writtle is quite good, as is Little Waltham where there's a nice nature reserve. There's also a fair nature reserve in Chelmsford town (the Chelmer Valley reserve, following the river north of Victoria Road), though that gets a lot of public use and isn't well cared for! You can find quite a range of birds there though, including Goosanders and Bullfinches - I've seen Nightingale there too. The main Central Park in town is worth checking out, in winter there are usually quite a number of Goosanders, Tufted Ducks and the like, and you sometimes find Kingfishers and Grey Wagtails here too.

I mostly go around the east of Chelmsford, from the town centre along the river Chelmer. The Baddow Meads (flood meadow) and Manor Farm to the east of that are sandwiched between Chelmer Village and Great Baddow/Sandon and can be pretty decent - I've been birdwatching and walking there for about 3-4 years and so far have seen just short of 90 species in that area. It can be pretty bleak some days but go early morning and you sometimes you get a lot of activity.

To the east are Little Baddow and Danbury, both good places to visit but not ones I've explored as much as I would like. The woods and commons there are definitely worth investigating though. You can walk along the river all the way from Chelmsford to Maldon, about 13 miles or so, though I've not yet done the whole length (have walked halfway there and back). There's a bus service from Chelmsford to Maldon that goes through Danbury which is pretty good and Maldon in the winter can be really excellent, lots of waders and ducks on the muddy estuary and at Heybridge Basin.

South of Chelmsford you've got Galleywood Common, plus east of Galleywood there's farmland with some footpaths and small spinneys that are good to walk around. Not really places for spectacular visitors but good regular places to check out - there are lots of Yellowhammers, hares and badgers on the farmland (possibly a good place to look for Barn Owls too) and I've seen Spotted Flycatchers on the common.

 

[johnbuchanan]

As has been mentioned, Maldon is easy to get to by bus from Chelmsford. The Blackwater estuary is already filling up with wintering birds, with many hundred Golden Plover and Redshank and over a thousand Black-tailed Godwit on the mud. The first Wigeon have just arrived and the Brent Gese will be here soon. You can bird from either side of the river. I would suggest two options- either get the bus to Maldon, walk down through the Prom Park and then follow the sea wall East beyond past the tip or else get the bus over to Heybridge, head to the end of Hall Road and then walk along the sea wall round the Pits.
All the best
John

 

[dwatsonbirder]

Thats great, thanks to everybody for all the replies, really useful to hear about the area around Chelmsford in particular. I think I've got more than enough areas to be checking now, just down to getting out & finding some birds!

 

[ochota]

J.A Baker and birdwatching in Chelmsford

Dear All,
My name is Stanisław Łubieński, I am a Polish journalist interested in birds. On Saturday 30th I’ll be visiting Chelmsford on a 1 day trip from London and hoping to find some information about J.A. Baker, whom I very much admire. I am writing a book about birdwatching and I want to introduce J.A. Baker to Polish readers.
Could you please tell me where I can such information in Chelmsford?
Thank you in advance.
Best regards,
Stanisław Łubieński

 

[andygolfer]

Thats great, thanks to everybody for all the replies, really useful to hear about the area around Chelmsford in particular. I think I've got more than enough areas to be checking now, just down to getting out & finding some birds!

I vbisit the Phyllis Currie EWT reserve at Great Leighs quite regularly, about 3/4 mile north-west of the village (and bus route), a nice reserve with a couple of ponds (one could be described as a lake) meadowland and varied woodland. There's a nice hide overlooking the larger pond. I've not seen anything very unusual but it's a pleasant spot for a quiet session of birdwatching