Being next to the Severn Estuary and on the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal, the Sharpness Docks area is honoured to be home to a wide range of bird species.  

Other wildlife habitats are provided by the woods on the cliff above the marina and disused basin of the old dock.  

Various brownfield sites around the docks are now grassy wildflower meadows and scrubland with plenty of shrubs and some trees.  These provide popular habitats for wildlife and you can easily see many species of plants and insects – including butterflies – as well as birds.  

With many of the birds being out on the estuary or in the sky, they are often very easy to spot even with naked eye.

The winter migratory birds are world famous – Slimbridge WWT is only a handful of miles upstream.  The upper Severn Estuary adjacent to Sharpness has a number of special wildlife or habitat protections:  it is an SSSI, a Ramsar site, a SAC and a SPA!

In the summer there are still many water birds, various birds of prey, and lots of other birds about – many to be heard as well as seen as they have delightful songs and calls and can be very chatty during the breeding season.

Wild mammals are always much harder to spot as they avoid humans and hear and smell us coming first!  But you are likely to see a few dogs out for their walk, and possibly a roaming domestic cat.

Here is a link to a Wildlife & Habitats Walk around Sharpness’s canal, Severn and docks area.  It provides a map and directions plus tips on how to find the birds and lots of photos to identify them.

Even if you cannot do the walk, it is well worth a browse.  Enjoy!

Wildlife & Habitats Walk on the Berkeley Byways website

You should be able to see most of the birds shown in the above walk/guide at any time of the year.  Bird photos in the above collage are ©Clare Glanville.