As the weather gets colder it becomes even more important to help our birds and put out food in your garden. At our Wildlife Garden in Wat Tyler Country Park, our feeders have been bustling with birds, with great views of many garden species including Jay and Great Spotted Woodpecker. We’ve even had a Tree Sparrow and Bullfinch drop in for a brief visit, so why not pop down to our Visitor Centre and see what’s about.

Tree Sparrow - David Lee

Elsewhere on our reserves, wader numbers are beginning to increase with decent flocks of Lapwing on Vange Marsh and Curlew on West Canvey Marshes. West Canvey has also recently been attracting flocks of over 100 Stock Dove feeding in the fields near the Pantile. The real stars of the show however, have been the returning Short-eared Owls. Up to four birds have been seen at West Canvey, mainly from the sea wall and in the fields near the Pantile.

Article by Michael Poole - Assistant Warden

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