The Webb Royce Swamp (aka Webb-Royce Marsh) is a diverse wetland wildlife habitat located in a large flat-bottomed valley south of Essex, New York across Lake Shore Road from Split Rock Mountain Wild Forest. Comprised of an extensive hardwood swamp bordered by agricultural fields, the Webb Royce Swamp is especially popular among birders drawn to the abundance of ducks and other waterfowl, osprey, black-crown night herons and northern harriers. (A comprehensive list of birds you’re likely to find at Webb Royce Swamp is included later in this post.)

Webb-Royce Swamp… [is] a 305-acre state preserve that local birders call “the magic triangle,” referring to the three roadways that encircle it: Cross, Clark and Lake Shore roads. Visitors can walk an easy half-mile hike to the cattails at the edge of the marsh. Some birds that may be seen are egrets, black-crowned night herons, blue-winged teals and Virginia rails… (‘The Natural History Tour is going to take you away … ’, by Lee Manchester, Lake Placid News, August 9, 2002)

A 700-foot long accessible access trail provides scenic views of Webb Royce Swamp for birders, wildlife observers and outdoor photographers of all abilities.

• The trailhead parking lot is located on the east side of Clark Road about 0.6 miles from Route 9/Lake Shore Road.
• Leaving the parking lot, the hardened access trail travels through a field in the early stages of succession, then crosses a hedgerow into another field that is actively mowed before ending at a raised pad overlooking the swamp.
• The pad provides unblocked views across a large expanse of the swamp and serves as a turn around spot for wheelchairs.
• The variety of habitats that can be viewed from the access trail provides an opportunity to view a wide range of bird species and other wildlife. (NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation)

In the Webb Royce Swamp in Essex there were beavers that kept the swamp flooded until the 1990s. Local families ice-skated among the trees that remained standing and the hummocks that bulged from under the snow. In recent years, the beavers moved out. Stories vary as to how and why. Now the swamp is dry except for rainfall. The birding is still excellent and the groundcover is habitat for a new mix of plants and animals. (Press-Republican)

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Webb Royce Swamp Resources

Handy Interactive Birding Map from Visit Adirondacks.

Plant species inventory prepared in 2007 by wetland monitors from SUNY Plattsburgh. (Unfortunately the link address no longer works, but we’ll leave it up in case you want to investigate.)

Webb Royce Swamp bird photos, songs, range and breeding habits from Cornell Lab of Ornithology:

• American Black Duck
• American Wigeon
• Barrow’s Goldeneye
• Blue-winged Teal
• Brant
• Bufflehead
• Canada Goose
• Canvasback
• Common Eider
• Common Goldeneye
• Common Merganser
• Gadwall
• Greater Scaup
• Green-winged Teal
• Harlequin Duck
• Hooded Merganser
• Lesser Scaup
• Long-tailed Duck (Oldsquaw)
• Mallard
• Mute Swan
• Northern Pintail
• Northern Shoveler
• Red-breasted Merganser
• Redhead
• Ring-necked Duck
• Ruddy Duck
• Snow Goose
• Tundra Swan
• White-winged Scoter
• Wood Duck