Skippers Island

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Skippers Island is 1,500m long by 800m at its widest point, and surrounded by saltmarsh. It is about 500m from the mainland, linked by two causeways built in the 19th century for the passage of livestock but now reduced to muddy pathways. It was given to Essex Wildlife Trust by the late E.F. Williams.

The highest parts of the island, composed of London clay, are covered with extensive thorn thickets. Rides have been cut through them and are mown regularly, producing fine flower-rich swards of grass.

The lower land used to be enclosed from the sea as grazing marsh but now, following breaches in the sea wall, it has reverted to saltmarsh. About one-third of the island is rough pasture and it has several pools of fresh but often brackish water.

The island has large stands of hog's-fennel, foodplant of Fisher's estuarine moth, and also adderstongue fern, parsley water-dropwort, dyer's greenweed and lax-flowered sea-lavender.

Its breeding birds include shelduck, oystercatcher and, in the thickets, several species of warbler and occasionally nightingales. Outside the breeding season there are good numbers of brent geese and many species of duck and wader. Birds of prey are often seen in winter, the most regular being the short-eared owl. Common seals occur frequently.

As well as Fisher's estuarine moth, it has large numbers of Essex skipper butterflies, feathered ranunculus and rosy wave moths, and Roesel's and short-winged conehead bush-crickets.