Wakering & District
Natural History Society

Wildlife Cruise

Report by Richard Kirton

Sunday 22nd October 2000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was on a chilly Sunday morning that we boarded the chartered boat 'Springer' at Essex Marina at Wallasea Island. The skipper, John Rogers, greeted us all as we arrived at his boat and it was not long before we got under way, heading in an easterly direction along the River Crouch, towards Foulness Island.  'Springer' is a Harbour Pilot vessel, 33ft long with a large flat stern which makes it ideal for groups of people wishing to observe wildlife along the river. Onboard was a toilet and small saloon.

As we progressed along the River Crouch, Brian Dawson, our host, explained where we were going and the sights that we could expect to see. He pointed out the various breaches of the northern sea wall of Wallasea Island that had been made. We were treated to sightings of Cormorants, Lapwing, Redshank, Greenshank, Black-headed Gulls (see photo) and Little Egrets along the river banks as well as in the air, flocks of them including Avocets and Canada Geese flying immediately above us.

Brian commented that he had the opportunity in September to fly over the entire area and was taken back by the awesome sight of the many islands and waterways that make up the region. Starting at Essex Marina there is Wallasea Island flanked by the Rivers Crouch and Roach. The Roach runs past Foulness Island and Potton Island and gives access to New England Island, Havengore Island and Rushley Island via the Middleway which runs out to Maplin sands.

The coastal flood defences in Essex were finally breached on Tuesday 4th July 2006 and created the UK's largest man-made marine wetland in a government-funded scheme to protect endangered wading birds such as Avocets. The £7.5m project involved bulldozing 300m of sea wall at Wallasea Island to create 115 hectares of varied wetland habitat that includes mud flats, salt marsh, saline lagoons and small islands.

The aim of the new wetland area is to  provide a long term winter home to thousands of wading birds including the Redshank, Dunlin, Avocet and Ringed Plover. Other species such as Little Terns and Brent Geese will also benefit. The area will also help protect nearby properties by providing a run-off area for flood water. In the middle ages Essex had an estimated 35,000 hectares of salt marsh but this was gradually lost to agriculture and development. Only 2,000 hectares remain.

Our skipper, John Rogers, stopped the boat at Potton Island where we saw three Common Seals on the mud flats. Common Seal pups are born around June each year and in 1995, the Sea Mammal Research Unit recorded a total of 78 Common Seals off the coast of Essex during an aerial survey: 12 at Hamford Water, 3 at Pyfleet Channel, 40 at Foulness Sands and 23 on East Barrow, a sandbank 10km east of Shoeburyness. The Essex Common Seal population appears stable (37 individuals counted at Foulness Sands in 1998) and is thought to total around 100 animals.

Foulness is England's fourth largest island, but for much of its modern life has been out of bounds to the public because the Ministry of Defence chose it as a testing ground for munitions. The island is remote, isolated, bleak in winter and refreshingly cool on the hottest of summer days. Its profusion of Brent Geese and other wading birds were not to be deterred, and they saved it from further pollution when the plan to build London's third airport on the adjoining Maplin Sands was dropped on environmental grounds.

The island is now peaceful and extensively farmed. The size of Foulness Island is approximately 6,310 acres and the landscape is typically Essex coastal marsh, flat with occasional scrub and low growing trees. Two villages, Churchend and Courtsend are located at the north of Foulness. These villages, plus isolated farmsteads make up 83 dwellings in which live about 200 people.

As we turned off down the river Roach towards Barling and passed the first bend in the river we could see in the distance many yachts and several speed boats. As we passed Paglesham boatyard and entered Paglesham Reach it was apparent that we were about to mingle with a boat race that had already started.

There were boats all around us and on several occasions our skipper had to take evasive action. Situated further along the north bank of the River Roach towards Stambridge is Paglesham Lagoon. Although we did not go that far, it is a sizeable fresh water area with extensive reed beds that extend the length of the river wall from Stambridge Mill to Paglesham boatyard. The Lagoon is one mile from the nearest road and can normally only be reached through means of a footpath making this area a very quiet and peaceful spot. Just to the North of the Lagoon is Barton Hall Grove, a large copse which for some years has attracted the only Heronry in this part of Essex.

After a couple of hours on board we were ready for the very welcome hot cup of coffee served up by Brian and John, the skipper. The coffee was accompanied by one or two of Gill's (almost mandatory now) hard home made  ginger biscuits. It did not seem long before the trip was over and we were back at Essex Marina. We were very lucky to miss the rain but just as we got into the car to go home, it started pouring and rained hard for most of the afternoon. We all had a thoroughly enjoyable trip and I personally would love to do it again at a different time of the year.

Nature Break was formed by Brian Dawson in 1991, a non profit making organisation, offering opportunities for all ages, to explore the wealth of wildlife in and around our Essex rivers and estuary's. The boat will cruise to parts of the river not accessible by car or on foot where birds and seals can be observed in their own environment without disturbance. If you are interested in a Nature Break and see these birds and seals for yourselves Brian can be contacted as follows:

Telephone: 01268 491540

Web Site: http://beehive.thisisessex.co.uk/wildlifecruises

Email: bs.dawson@ukonline.co.uk