Essex Rivers Hub

Description of Section

Surrounding land was managed grassland with some urban drainage from surrounding housing. The river has been straightened and a culvert at the beginning of this stretch was heavily blocked by rubbish. The water was brown at the time of the survey suggesting there was a lot of silt in the water which had been made worse by recent heavy rain. The area was open with little shading from trees or scrub.

The area (land use)

The dominant land use for this stretch of river is rough grassland.

No livestock were recorded.

Channel characteristics

The river channel consists of mainly unknown, and riffles are absent.

At the time of recording the flow of water was medium and the channel was 1-2m wide and <0.5m in depth.

For most of this stretch the channel profile is steep.

Bankside trees were rare, marginal plants and in-channel plants are frequent. Woody debris was noted to be rare.

Engineering

The channel has been straightened and man-made enhancements are present along this stretch of river.

Field drains were recorded as present and barriers / culverts are Present in the upstream section only.

Condition

Areas of trampling / poaching were absent and areas of erosion were present in the upstream section only at the time of the survey.

Additional Information

The area was open with little shading.

Wildlife

During the survey the following was seen or heard: Greenfinch, Little Egret, Magpie, Goldfinch, Long-tailed Tit, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Goldcrest, Dunnock, Wood Pigeon, House Sparrow, Collared Dove, Sparrow, Blackbird, Grey Heron, Great Tit, Song Thrush, Sky Lark, Grey Wagtail.