Burham Marsh nature reserve is a 11 hectare tidal Reed bed

Reed bed

Reed beds are natural habitats found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions andestuaries. Reed beds are part of a succession from young reed colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground...

 on the River Medway

River Medway

The River Medway, which is almost entirely in Kent, England, flows for from just inside the West Sussex border to the point where it enters the Thames Estuary....

 5 miles northwest of Maidstone

Maidstone

Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...

. It is just east of Snodland

Snodland

Snodland is a small town in the county of Kent, England, located on the River Medway between Rochester and Maidstone. It has a population of about 12,000 people....

 but being on the right bank of the river it is accessed via Burham

Burham

Burham is a village and civil parish in the Tonbridge and Malling district ofKent, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,251. The village is near the Medway towns.The history of Burham can be traced to Roman times...

. It is part the Holborough to Wouldham Marshes SSSI.

Access

Cars may be parked at Burham Court Church at TQ 717621. A public footpath runs along the river embankment (the sea wall) from which there are good views of most of the reserve and adjacent meadows.

The path is mostly level but soft in wet weather.

Fauna and flora

Breeding species include reed and sedge warbler and water rail. Wintering species include bearded reedling, snipe, redshank and bittern. During the migration periods significant numbers of swallow and sand martin are seen.

The River Medway at this point attracts a variety of birds including kingfisher, cormorant and various species of duck including teal, shelduck and wigeon. The low lying grassland areas provide grazing and roosting areas for large numbers of geese and ducks, including greylag and wigeon. Herons can often be seen fishing in the dykes which drain this area.

Botanical interest includes the rare marsh sow-thistle (Sonchus

Sonchus

Sonchus is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family Asteraceae. Most of the species are annual herbs, a few are perennial, and some are even woody...

 palustris) and marsh mallow (Althaea officinalis

Althaea officinalis

Althaea officinalis is a species indigenous to Africa, which is used as a medicinal plant and ornamental plant...

).