Stodmarsh NNR is one of my favourite haunts, its about 20 to 30 mins drive depending on which end of the reserve I go.
The variety of habitats varies a lot at the Stodmarsh end there is woodland, reedbeds and some really good walks between the various hides.
With this variety in habitat you can target particular species set yourself a goal for the day to spot and photograph that species.
If your lucky you will get what you want, within reason you will always find something of interest and in some cases rarities do turn up in the most unexpected places.
There is a flikr page dedicated to Stodmarsh NNR you can find it here :
Its worth checking the page to see what has been spotted recently.
From the Stodmarsh end you have the most variable habitat there is wooded areas where you find Tree creepers, Woodpeckers, within minutes you can be in reed beds where you could see Bittern, Bearded Tits, Marsh Harrier.
The nearest hide would be the Reed Bed Hide it is disabled friendly and maybe 600m walk from the car park.
There are also toilet facilities in the car park.
Looking North across the open waters you might be lucky and get a Kingfisher land on the perch in front of the hide, there is normally plenty of other activity, just sit quite and wait for the magic to happen.
A walk through the wooded tracks can take you out along the Lampen Wall towards the Tower Hide, which is a good place to spot Bitterns, (although I have never seen one from there myself ).
Tower Hide as the name suggests has 2 flights of stairs to negotiate to gain access, looking west across one of the main lake areas and east across reed beds.
Or you can head off towards the Marsh Hide which is situated more or less in the middle of the reserve and is accessible from both Stodmarsh and Grove car parks via a fairly long walk, on route if you keep your eyes open you can see Little Owl, Barn Owl, Bearded Tits, Reed Bunting, Hobby to name but a few.
It is a great place to go to lose a few hours out in the fresh air just too see what rocks up.
