The Wild Side of Essex: Summer by the Stour Estuary (Day Trip)

Summary

The Stour Estuary lies between Essex and Suffolk, set in a gently rolling landscape recently recognised as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The day will take in a range of sites, starting and finishing at the Wrabness Nature Reserve (Essex Wildlife Trust), scrubland featuring Whitethroats, Nightingales and (hopefully) Turtle Doves, one of few local sites where the latter is reliable, and rich grasslands with Burnet moths and Great Green Bush-crickets.

Continuing along the upper shore will take us past low cliffs, with breeding Sand Martins and fascinating London Clay geology, mudflats which could hold the first few returning northern waders, and salt marshes, now at their flowery best. En route we can seek farmland birds such as Corn Bunting, as well as take a brief look at Wrabness Churchyard and the startling, remarkable creation of Grayson Perry, A House for Essex.

In the middle of the day, hopefully in warm sunshine, we will be in Stour Wood RSPB reserve, a largely Sweet Chestnut ancient woodland with a continuous history of coppicing in recorded times. The birdsong and spring flowers will be past their best, but the rich woodland rides support important butterfly populations, including White Admirals and Silver-washed Fritillaries. And just possibly, given their very recent recolonisation of the area, Purple Emperors.

• Nightingales and Turtle Doves possible
• A mixture of habitats on this Day Trip
• Visit an active Sand Martin colony
• Search for a range of butterflies and other insects
• An insight into the region's geology
• Led by Chris Gibson