On Tuesday 12th August BNHS members undertook a walk at Wallasea Island setting off around 2:30pm on a blisteringly hot afternoon with a cloudless sky. We walked eastwards along the estuary wall which divides the River Crouch to the north and the man made lakes to the south. In the distance to the north lay Burnham-on-Crouch on the other side of the river. The landscape was very sparse and arid. Nonetheless we could see in many directions. In the distance we could see birds that had gathered together in isolated pockets on various small islands in the estuary and on the man made lakes to the south. They were all at the limit for our binoculars and were difficult to see clearly but nonetheless some could be identified.
Bird List: Black-headed Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Little Egret, Great or Long Necked Egret, Spoonbills (flock possibly 15 in number) and a Marsh Harrier. Others which were more obscure but were probable sightings:- Common Crow, Coot, Gold Finch, Great Crested Grebe, Linnet, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oyster Catcher, Pheasant, Reed Bunting, Sandpiper, Shelduck, Teal, and Wagtail.
After walking for an hour in an Eastward direction along the river wall we turned and walked back with the sun in front of us to our starting point by the car park at around 4:30pm. As we walked back we saw in the mid distance a herd of cows move down to one of the man made lakes for a drink and cooling off whilst the sun was still very hot. Photographs by Bill Brand.
This article is an abridged version of the one published in the BNHS Summer Bulletin 2025.