Bird & Wildlife Watching

11 members met in the car park on an overcast morning – it had been raining for the previous few hours but by the time we arrived the rain had stopped. We made our way slowly from the car park through the village to the seawall – identifying a few wildflowers that lined the banks and grass areas on the way. A Swallow flew overhead and Blackbird, Blue Tit, Crow, Robin and Wood Pigeon were seen. The tide was low and we had hoped to see feeding waders but apart from a Redshank and Little Egret there was little else.

Tollesbury Wick reserve covers 600 acres of coastal grazing marsh, sea walls and saltings. It is possible to walk around the reserve, about 5 miles, but we limited ourselves to the section between the entrance to the reserve near the marina and along the seawall that runs beside Woodrolfe Creek, to the bird hide. Most of the inland areas have restricted access.

The bird hide overlooks a lake which to our great disappointment had virtually dried up due to the very hot summer and there was very little bird life. However we did spend some time in the hide and were eventually rewarded by having a good sighting of a Marsh Harrier (the highlight of the morning). We also spotted a Kestrel hovering nearby, some Gadwall flew in and a Grey Heron appeared out of the reeds. Several Cormorants also flew overhead.

On the way back a Robin was heard singing, a Pied Wagtail was spotted on the beach and 30-odd Starlings were jostling for position at the top of a crane.

A welcome drink and snack were then enjoyed in the cafe.

Birds: Blackbird, Blue Tit, Crow, Robin, Wood Pigeon, Swallow, Marsh Harrier, Gadwall, Kestrel, Pied Wagtail, Mallard, Collared Dove, Redshank, Little Egret, Cormorant, Black-headed Gull, Magpie, Grey Heron, Starling, Sparrow.

Wild Flowers: Ragwort, Valerian, Bristly Ox-tongue, Yarrow, Black Horehound, Bird’s Foot Treefoil, Fleabane, Buttercup, Dandelion.

Other: Blackberries, Hazelnuts, Hips and Haws.

Joy Deacon

Next meeting: Blue House Farm, Fambridge – Wednesday, 10 October, 2018 – Meet in Car Park at 10 a.m.

This was a new location for the group but was probably not the best month for visiting – in fact August is generally a difficult month as the trees still have their foliage, the birds aren’t singing, and the winter visitors haven’t arrived.  We had chosen the location in January thinking it would be perfect for butterflies – but alas they too were hiding from us.

The woods are the largest remaining area of wild-wood that covered Essex after the Ice Age 10,000 years ago. There are several marked tracks and we chose to follow the Valley Walk which as the name suggests leads down into a valley, that has been formed by the northernmost tributary of the River Roach.   A stream flows gently through and on its banks in the patches of sunlight, speckled wood butterflies danced around landing infrequently, and when they did were so well camouflaged they were hard to find. The trees are mostly deciduous (ash, birch, sweet chestnut, oak, willow, hazel, wild service tree and coppiced hornbeam): in the 19^th century oaks were taken from the woods to be used as piles for Southend Pier.  In one glade many large, fallen, dead trunks had been carved into a selection of seats of which we took advantage.  Before they fell the oaks had stood for years – a member counted the rings on one and made it 107, which seems shorter than expected considering its size.

One informative member told us that wood ants were brought to the woods by Henry 8^th in order to attract pheasants for him to shoot; we saw several active wood ant nests and also came upon two hornets nests, both of which we were keen not to disturb!

None of us are experts on grasshoppers but we found one that was bright green and had very long antennae and therefore is probably a bush cricket and not a grasshopper, so sticking my neck out, I will say it was an oak bush cricket.

It was a lovely morning to be walking in the woods and although the wildlife was absent the conviviality of being with like-minded group members followed by a relaxing picnic meant we could chat and enjoy each other’s company.

There is much more to see in this wood than we saw today, (earthworks, plants that only grow on undisturbed ancient woodlands and of course the wildlife) and have agreed that we will return next May.

Birds: Blackcap, Great & Blue Tits, Crow, Green Woodpecker, Magpie, Wood Pigeon

Butterflies: Spotted Wood, Large White

Flowers: Bristly Ox-tongue, Self Heal, Dandelion, Bramble, Yarrow, Ribwort Plantain, Stinging Nettles, Marsh Thistle,

Fungus: Sulphur Polypore (Chicken of the Woods), Multi-Zoned Polypore

Other: Mosquito, Oak Bush Cricket, Hornets, Wasp, Wood Ants, Emperor Dragonfly, Grey Squirrel, Blackberries, Lords & Ladies Berries.

Diane Caulkett

Next Meeting: September 14^th – Tollesbury – Meet in the free Car Park at 10 a.m.

 16 members met in the Essex Wildlife Trust car park at Chigborough Lakes on an overcast but warm morning.

Chigborough Lakes is managed by Essex Wildlife Trust and consists of a series of flooded gravel pits giving a wide range of different habitats including open water, small ponds, marshy areas, grazed grassland and Blackthorn/Hawthorn scrub.

Bird sound was lacking as we started our walk around the lakes but we did hear a Chiffchaff and saw several butterflies including a Gatekeeper and Purple Emperor.  On the lake we watched a Mallard family.  As we walked further round the reserve we heard a Blackcap and Bullfinch, a Swift flew overhead, and on another lake there was one lone Greylag, Little Grebe, a Tufted Duck, several female Mallards and a Common Tern flying overhead.

Continuing around the Reserve we heard more Blackcaps and Wren and came upon a further lake where there were a number of Little Egrets, several Grey Herons and Cormorants nesting in the trees.  On the lake there were Coots, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Pochard and Gadwall.  Speckled Wood Butterfly and a Lesser Treble Bar Moth were also spotted.

There was an abundance of wildflowers around the Reserve and the experts among us identified those listed below.

Back at the car park we saw a Skylark and Swallow.

9 of us then went on to Heybridge and met 2 more of our members at the Lock Tearooms.

After lunch we walked along the seawall.  The tide was going down and apart from Black-headed and Herring Gulls the only waders we saw were an Oystercatcher, Lapwing and one Redshank.  In the trees we spotted Goldfinches, Sparrows and a Linnet and on the lake were a number of gulls and ducks, most of them being too far away to identify.

Altogether a most enjoyable day.

Birds:   Common Tern, Swift, Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Wren, Robin, Goldfinch, Magpie, Crow, Tufted Duck,  Little Egret, Mallard (and ducklings), Blackcap, Cormorant, Little Grebe, Pochard, Moorhen, Wood Pigeon, Green Woodpecker, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Collared Dove, Great-crested Grebe, Chiffchaff, Bullfinch (heard), Grey Heron, Gadwall, Reed Warbler, Black-headed Gull, Skylark, Swallow, Starling, Oystercatcher, Herring Gull, Redshank, Lapwing, Linnet.

 Butterflies:  Gatekeeper, Peacock, Speckled Wood, Lesser Treble Bar Moth, Meadow Brown, Small White, Green-veined White

 Wild Flowers:  Flowers: Hedge Bindweed, Spear Thistle, Cow Parsley, White Clover, Daisy, Ragwort, Bramble, Agrimony, Stinging Nettle, St John’s Wort, Yarrow, Knapweed, Bird’s Foot Trefoil, Great Reedmace, Rosebay Willowherb, Selfheal, Teasel, Woody Nightshade, Field Bindweed, Red Deadnettle, Black Horehound, Pink Campion, Yellow Water Lily, Fleabane, Bristly Ox-tongue, Mallow, Sea Lavender.

Other:  Badger Set, Mosquito, Damsel Fly, Hover Fly, Rabbit, Frog (baby), Shrew (dead), Cinnabar Moth Caterpillars, Red-tailed Bumble Bee

Joy Deacon

 Next meeting:       Wednesday, 8 August 2018  – Hockley Woods –  meet in Car Park at 10 a.m.

Nine members met in the Car Park of Abbotts Hall Farm on a warm, sunny morning.

The main office of the Essex Wildlife Trust is at Abbotts Hall Farm which Essex Wildlife purchased in 1999. It is a 700-acre working coastal farm south of Colchester and Abberton Reservoir. The Essex Wildlife Trust aims to show how wildlife can flourish alongside profitable farming. To create additional coastal marsh the 3.5 kilometre seawall has been breached in a number of places. In addition there is a large freshwater lake, and there are also beautiful gardens which are lovingly and carefully tended by volunteers. Bird viewing hides have been built and give good views over the freshwater lake and over the marsh, sea water and mud flats and therefore a chance to see many varieties of bird.

As we walked down to the hide looking out onto the area where the seawall had been breached we commented on the lack of birdsong and only had fleeting glances of one or two small birds which we were unable to identify and two rabbits. From the hide we could see in the distance a number of waders and as we didn’t have a telescope found them hard to identify, although we did make out Godwits, Oystercatcher. Shelduck, Cormorant, Lapwing and Herring and Black-headed Gulls.

There were no wildflower experts in our group today and although there were wildflowers in abundance the only ones we managed to identify were those shown below.

As we walked from there to the Lake Hide one member spotted a Yellowhammer. A little further on we noticed a large nest box in a tree and saw a bird fly from it, and after scanning the nest box for a while with our binoculars saw that there were at least 2 young in the box as they kept popping their heads up. Our initial thought was that they were Kestrels and after talking to the staff at Abbotts Hall were proved right.

From the Lake Hide we were delighted to see a pair of Mute Swans with 8 cygnets, Coot and Little Grebe (both with chicks), Tufted Duck, Moorhen and Mallard and spotted a Blackcap and Reed Bunting in the trees surrounding the hide.

Four of us then went on to Abberton. From the causeway we saw lots of Mute Swans and Greylags, several Egyptian Geese, Mallards, Pochards, Pied Wagtails and a large number of Cormorants nesting in the trees and at the Visitors Centre a Kestrel, Skylark, Mallard with chicks, Reed Bunting and a large number of Greylag on the reservoir.

A most enjoyable day with lovely weather.

Birds: Cormorant, Godwit, Shelduck, Rook, Lapwing, Herring and Black-headed Gull, Mute Swans, Tufted Duck, Coot, Moorhen, Kestrel, Pochard, Oystercatcher, Yellowhammer, Mallard, Little Grebe, Blackbird, Sparrow, Greylag, Great Crested Grebe, Canada Geese, Reed Bunting, Blackcap, Common Tern, Wood Pigeon, Little Egret, Egyptian Goose, Pied Wagtail, Skylark.

Wild Flowers: Pink Clover, Buttercup, Dog Rose, Comfrey.

Butterflies: Peacock, Red Admiral, Little Blue, Large Tortoiseshell, Small Heath, Cinnabar Moth.

Other: Rabbit, Common Blue Damselfly.

Joy Deacon

NEXT MEETING: Chigborough Lakes and Heybridge Basin.

On a warm and sunny morning 11 members met in the Visitors Centre which looks out onto the bird garden and feeders. There is usually quite a lot of activity around the feeders but today it was very quiet and all we saw was a Robin and Blackbird and a Little Egret some distance away.

We enjoyed a drink and then started walking to the new hide situated on the recently developed intertidal area. On the way we heard a lot of birdsong including Chiffchaff, Whitethroat, Blackcap and Nightingale but only got fleeting glances of the birds which made it very difficult to identify them. The new hide is comfortable and spacious and the 11 of us and a few other visitors had plenty of space to look out over the mud flats. There we spotted Shelducks, Dunlin, Grey Plovers, Black-tailed Godwits, Redshank, Oystercatchers and Common, Black-headed and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. As we did not have a telescope some birds which were quite a distance away were difficult to identify.

We then made our way leisurely back to the Visitors Centre and sat out in the sunshine and ate our lunch.

After lunch 7 of us stayed on and walked to the Lake Hides. There wasn’t much activity on the lake but we spotted Coots, Moorhens, Swan, Little Grebe and Mallards. Walking back through the woods we saw a Great Spotted-woodpecker, Blackcap and Whitethroat and stopped for some time listening to two Nightingales calling to each other, although we could not see them.

Driving out of the Reserve 3 of us stopped at the Gravel Pit and were delighted to see a large number of Sand Martins. Sand Martins are summer visitors to Britain and Ireland and they appear in Spring in order to breed. They tunnel into the sand of vertical gravel pit faces to nest between March and September and are fully protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. We also spotted Mute Swan, Shelduck, Crow, Starlings and a Rabbit.

Altogether a most enjoyable day.

Birds: Robin, Blackbird, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Cormorant, Whitethroat, Nightingale, Skylark, Blue Tit, House Martin, Wood Pigeon, Magpie, Pheasant, Green Woodpecker, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Cuckoo, Reed Warbler, Mallard, Little Grebe, Tufted Duck, Coot, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Little Egret, Redshank, Canada Geese, Greylag Geese, Shelduck, Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Black-tailed Godwit, Grey Plover, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull (36).

Flowers: Alkanet, Small-flowered Cranesbill, Buttercup, Daisy, Shepherd’s Purse, Wild Pansy, Dandelion, Gorse, Broom, Hawthorn, Oak, Wild Radish, Groundsel, Speedwell, Common Field Speedwell, Germander Speedwell, Ground Ivy, Chickweed, Thyme-leaved Sandwort, Red Deadnettle, White Deadnettle, Lesser Stitchwort, Bluebell, Ribwort Plantain, Black Medick, Common Stork’s Bill, Field Pennycress, Cow Parsley, Cowslip, Fairy Flax, Purple Vetch, Red Campion, White Campion, Holly (37)

Butterflies: Peacock, Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Orange Tip (5)

Other: Hoverfly, Slowworm, Bloodsucker, 7-Spot Ladybird, Wasp, Hawker (Dragonfly) (6)

Gravel Pit: – Sand Martin, Swan, Shelduck, Crow, Starling, Rabbit

Joy Deacon

Next Meeting: 13th June 2018 – Abbotts Hall Farm (Headquarters of Essex Wildlife)

Navigating through woodland on a grey day with no sunshine and with a map (provided by the visitor centre) that lacked detail is difficult – and yes we did get lost going round in a circle and having to be directed by some friendly golfers.  After the group leader handed the map to John, there were no problems.

Although we could hear plenty of birdsong we struggled at times to find the birds and when we did the greyness of the day subdued their colours. Jays, a normally shy bird, were prolific and their pink colour and bright blue wing feathers were the one bright spot in the greyness. They were not quite so prolific as the squirrels that foraged and leapt through the trees, amusing us with their antics.

We came upon a dead tree trunk, still standing and containing numerous holes, a sort of ready-made bird hotel.  One of the photographers amongst us took a photo and when portrayed on his computer screen found there was a squirrel’s head poking out from one of the holes.

Wood anemones grew in patches beside the muddy paths, and Prittle Brook that we walked beside for a time, had a good flow of water.  There are seven woods in the area all linked by footpaths but they are spread out and we only covered Belfairs Park Wood and part of the Belfairs Nature Reserve.  The area is important not only as a green space for the urban area but because it has several threatened native species present: the dormouse, heath fritillary butterfly and the song thrush.  It also has the unusual wild service tree, which is an important indicator of ancient woodland.

The Belfairs Woodland Centre provides information and has a refreshment area and activities for children; being school holidays it was bustling, but we managed to find a table outside where it was warm enough to sit and enjoy our lunch.

Birds: Blackbird, Song Thrush, Robin, Wren, Starling, Blue & Great Tits, Chiffchaff, Dunnock, Crow, Wood Pigeon, Stock Dove, Jay, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker

Flowers:  Gorse, Primrose, Wood Anemone, Ground Ivy, Blackthorn, Hazel Catkins, Groundsel, Pussy Willow

Other: Grey Squirrel, Bumble Bee

Diane Caulkett

Next Meetings: 9^th May Fingringhoe Wick Nature Reserve, 10.00 in the Visitor Centre.