An idyllic riverside nature reserve
Jim Asher
The busy community of birds at Hungerford Marsh includes yellow wagtail, kingfishers and water rail.
Waterland
Hungerford Marsh is a rich mix of water meadows, reedbeds, damp scrubland and patches of woodland. A lovely place to visit at any time of year, it affords delightful views towards the picturesque town of Hungerford, which dates from Saxon times.
Splash of colour
Colourful wetland wild flowers include yellow iris, ragged-robbin, southern marsh-orchid and fen bedstraw. Marsh-marigolds, a familiar sight in England until widespread field drainage in recent times, adorn the ground here in spring.
Bustling birdlife
BBOWT has recorded 120 different bird species on this reserve including heron, kingfisher, yellow wagtail, water rail, little grebe and grasshoper warbler. In winter, look out for siskins on the alder trees. River birds include mute swans, mallard, moorhen and coot.
April 2013: Listen to Gavin Bennet, Assistant Reserves Ecology Officer, as he goes looking for summer visiting birds.
Species and habitats
- Habitats
- Grassland, Wetland
- Species
- Marsh-marigold, Ragged-Robin, Water Avens, Yellow Iris, Grass Snake, Coot, Grey Heron, Kingfisher, Little Grebe, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Siskin, Snipe, Water Rail, Yellow Wagtail
Nearby nature reserves
- Kintbury Newt Ponds
- 4 miles - Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust
- Inkpen Crocus Field
- 4 miles - Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust
- Inkpen Common
- 4 miles - Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust
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