Nine intrepid explorers chose to brave the slightly chilly weather on the 27th February to go bird watching on Two Tree Island. The land was reclaimed from the sea in the 18th century when a seawall was built around the saltmarsh and originally used for farming. Now managed as a nature reserve and just a stones throw away from Leigh-on-Sea, it is a firm favourite walking destination and a fantastic site for birdwatching, although on our visit I was disappointed by the lack of birds on the lagoon. I had chosen the date carefully so our visit coincided with the high tide, which was to be at 12:18, which means most of the birds from the river estuary come into the lagoon, which is non tidal.
We did see 21 different species of birds, including Brent geese which overwinter along the Essex coast. There are three subspecies of Brent goose, of which we typically see the dark bellied Brent goose on our shores.
A number of waders were seen both in the lagoon and in the estuary, amongst them being Redshank, Dunlin, Sanderling and Black Tailed Godwit, and our largest wader the Curlew.
The walk although quite muddy in places was a circular route around the western part of the island, returning to the car park. There are no facilities on the island but just back over the bridge to the island is a golf range, which is open to the public. There we had a cup of coffee before return in home.
Details of future meeting dates and contact details are to be found on the Upminster u3a website at Walking with Wildlife group
Terry Smith