Two Tree Island

The island itself consists of grassland, scrub, reedbed and lagoons, and supports a number of interesting plants and 'escapes'. A wide variety of birds is seen, and particularly migrants. Kestrels hover over the grassland and short-eared owls visit during the winter, hunting for field voles, and large numbers of little egrets roost here. Water vole, kingfisher, water rail, reed and sedge warblers may be seen in the lagoons and reedbed, while adder, slow worm and common lizard frequent the grassland. Insects of note include the marbled white butterfly, roesel's bush-cricket, the house cricket and the lesser marsh grasshopper.

The western section has a network of surfaced paths. At its western tip is a lagoon with a bird hide, from which you can see birds such as redshank and heron feeding. Recently avocets have started to nest here also.

The eastern section is part of Leigh National Nature Reserve, along with the adjoining saltmarsh and a large area of intertidal mudflats. The saltmarsh, along the southern shore of the island, is one of the best surviving in the Thames estuary. Among many typical saltmarsh plants it has golden samphire, sea wormwood, sea purslane, common and lax-flowered sea lavenders and sea aster.

The mudflats support dense beds of eel grass and provide a valuable feeding ground for wildfowl and waders, and especially the dark-bellied brent goose. The concentration of thousands of these birds arriving on their autumn migration is of international importance. Waders such as curlew, dunlin, redshank, grey plover and knot occur in significant numbers outside the breeding season.

The Leigh cockle sheds nearby bring winter flocks of turnstone close inshore and attract some of the rarer gull species.

Management consists mainly of controlling the growth of invasive scrub (hemlock is a particular threat), tending hedges and maintaining hides. More soil cover is being added to exposed patches of the old tip to encourage plants to colonise.

Visiting