Visit to St. Nicholas Church and surrounding areas – 18th April 2024

Date: 8th April 2024 

Time: from 7 a.m.

Weather: dry, sunny, light wind, 4°C to 8°C

Whilst it was a lovely sunny morning, it was even colder than my visit to my other local patch site at Noak Bridge Nature Reserve yesterday.

I had another very productive spring visit although I only visited the northern section of the site, primarily with the intention of watching and photographing Red Foxes. During my visit, I recorded 25 bird species, my highest total of the year to date and including 3 further species added to my 2024 bird site list, namely Willow Warbler, Collared Dove and Black-headed Gull.

As I arrived in the northern section of the site, I walked to a location where I have previously seen Red Foxes. I scattered the remains of a chicken and some dog biscuits (I forgot the tinned dog food!) and then covered myself with my bag hide to wait for a Red Fox. I waited …. and waited …. and waited …. and finally gave up after 1.5 hours!

After walking to the far end of the site, I eventually returned past the location where I had been patiently waiting for a Red Fox to appear and there was one peering through the grass at me! I saw another Red Fox distantly on the track in the woodland when I had almost returned home.

Photo: Red Fox

After my first site record of Willow Warbler at my other local patch site at Noak Bridge Nature Reserve yesterday, I had yet another encounter with a singing male this morning in the bushes surrounding the small pond at the extreme northern end of the site. This species was once relatively common in Essex but it is now relatively difficult to record so seeing 2 singing male Willow Warblers in consecutive days was totally unexpected.

Photo: male Willow Warbler

Photo: male Willow Warbler

I recorded both Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps during my visit: I saw 1 singing male Chiffchaff, heard 2 other singing males and heard 2 calling birds plus I heard 3 singing male Blackcaps.

Whilst waiting for the Red Foxes, I saw a soaring Common Buzzard (for the third successive visit), a briefly displaying Stock Dove, singles of both Green Woodpecker and Great Spotted Woodpecker and 4 fly-over Mallards. Whilst watching the Willow Warbler, I also saw 2 male Mallards and a single Moorhen on the small pond.

The cold temperature meant that I failed to record any butterfly species.

Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):

Willow Warbler

Chiffchaff

Blackcap

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Robin

Wren

Dunnock

House Sparrow

Blackbird

Song Thrush

Common Buzzard

Green Woodpecker

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Jay

Magpie

Carrion Crow

Stock Dove

Collared Dove

Woodpigeon

Mallard

Moorhen

Black-headed Gull

Herring Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull 

Red Fox

Site totals for 2024 to date (2023 totals in brackets):

Birds = 36 (47)

Mammals = 3 (3)

Butterflies = 3 (23)

Dragonflies and damselflies = 0 (12)

Reptiles = 0 (0)

Amphibians = 0 (0)

Total species list for the site

Birds = 65

Mammals = 7

Butterflies = 25

Dragonflies and damselflies = 11

Reptiles = 1

Amphibians = 0

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Record from my flat - Cormorant

At lunchtime today, I had a very distant view of a Cormorant flying north and presumably away from the main lake at nearby Gloucester Park where anything up to 15 birds can be seen roosting in the trees on the island or fishing in the lake itself.

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Visit to Noak Bridge Nature Reserve – 17th April 2024

Date: 17th April 2024

Time: from 8 a.m.

Weather: dry, sunny, light wind, 6°C to 8°C

It was a surprisingly cold morning for my first April visit to the reserve this year but nonetheless it proved to a very successful one with 20 bird species recorded, including a first site record plus 3 further first records of the year.

Firstly, and perhaps slightly unexpectedly, I had my first site record of Willow Warbler, a singing male which I first located in one of the bushes at the edge of Meadow Pond and, later on, presumably the same bird in bushes adjacent to the track to Fox Pond. Last year, I had a singing male Willow Warbler at my St. Nicholas Church local patch sites for 2 days but despite much searching I failed to see it before it moved on. This species was once relatively common in Essex but it is now relatively difficult to record.

The 3 first records for the year were Lesser Whitethroat, Greenfinch and Pied Wagtail.

As in April 2023, I first heard a singing male Lesser Whitethroat in the bushes at the end of the southern section of the boardwalk in the eastern section of the reserve. However, it relocated to the bushes adjacent to the boardwalk leading to Meadow Pond and I eventually had good views of it in the bushes around Meadow Pond itself.

Greenfinch and Pied Wagtail were both fly-over records of calling birds, the former over Willow Pond although I failed to see it and the latter over Meadow Pond.

Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps were easy to hear and see across the reserve but particularly in the eastern section of the reserve from the boardwalk and around Meadow Pond. I saw 2 singing male Chiffchaffs and heard 3 other singing males plus I saw 3 Blackcaps, including 2 singing males plus a female, and heard 5 other singing males.

Chiffchaffs proved to be very easy to photograph unlike the Willow Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat where, despite having good views of both birds, I disappointingly failed to get any photos.

With regard to other birds, the presumed pair of Moorhens were again present on Meadow Pond and I heard another calling bird on Willow Pond which I failed to see.

There were no Mallards on Meadow Pond or Willow Pond during this visit but I did see 3 birds flying over as I arrived at the reserve and I saw a male flying over Meadow Pond.

As I made my way back from the storage shed to the Spanish Steps, I heard a calling Green Woodpecker in the wooded area stretching to the north towards Willow Pond.

Unlike my last visit on 30th March 2024 when I saw 3 butterfly species, the much colder temperature this morning inevitably meant that I saw none.

Finally, I saw 4 Grey Squirrels during my visit, 1 near the Spanish Steps, 1 at Meadow Pond and 2 at Fox Pond.

Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):

Willow Warbler

Lesser Whitethroat

Blackcap

Chiffchaff

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Long-tailed Tit

Robin

Wren

Greenfinch

Dunnock

Pied Wagtail

Green Woodpecker

Jay

Magpie

Carrion Crow

Woodpigeon

Mallard

Moorhen

Herring Gull

Grey Squirrel

Here are some photos from my visit ….

Photo: male Chiffchaff

Photo: male Chiffchaff

Photo: male Chiffchaff

Photo: male Chiffchaff

Photo: male Chiffchaff

Photo: male Chiffchaff

Photo: male Chiffchaff

Photo: Jay

Photo: Magpie

Photo: Woodpigeon

Photo: Long-tailed Tit

Photo: Grey Squirrel

Site totals for 2024 to date (2023 totals in brackets):

Birds = 27 (36)

Mammals = 2 (2)

Butterflies = 3 (15)  

Dragonflies and damselflies = 0 (11)

Reptiles = 0 (1)

Amphibians = 0 (2)

Total species list for the site:

Birds = 49

Mammals = 4

Butterflies = 22

Dragonflies and damselflies = 14

Reptiles = 2

Amphibians = 3

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Trip away from SS15 – Benfleet and Hadleigh Downs (Hadleigh Country Park), Essex – 10th April 2024

This morning, I had another spring visit to Benfleet and Hadleigh Downs after previous trips on 3rd May 2023, 22nd March 2022 and 17th April 2020. 

This large hilly area comprising a mosaic of grassland, scrub and light woodland runs down to grazing marsh and the seawall and saltmarsh alongside Benfleet Creek. There are spectacular views of the Thames estuary down to Southend and across to Kent.

The main purpose of my visit was to hopefully see and photograph Adders again. I have previously been successful at this site before but not on my visit during 2022. 

Firstly, a bit about Adders ….

Adders have an ill-deserved reputation. Yes, they are the UK's only venomous reptile but they are very wary of any disturbance and invariably sense our presence and slither away long before we see them. They are very timid and they will only bite in self-defence (for example during attempted capture and handling or when antagonised) or through accidental encounters such as being inadvertently stepped on. 

Whilst Adders bite hundreds of people every year in the UK causing some nasty side effects, only 14 fatalities have been recorded since 1876 and none since 1975. Therefore deaths from Adder bites are significantly rarer than deaths as a result of wasp or bee stings. Dogs are much more vulnerable to a very serious health reaction or death arising from a bite although fortunately, unlike on some of my other visits to Benfleet and Hadleigh Downs, I saw no dogs at all, let alone any let off the lead by their irresponsible owners.

Adders demonstrate obvious sexual dimorphism. Males typically have black markings against an off-white or silver-grey background with a steel-grey underside. In the breeding season, males can show an almost bluish tinge. Females typically have dark brown markings against a light brown or straw-coloured background with a dull brown underside. Females are considerably larger (50cm to 70cm in length) than males (40cm to 55cm in length).

However, both sexes are variable in appearance and individuals of various shades of brown, grey and brick-red plus wholly black melanistic individuals have been recorded. Both sexes also show the characteristic and diagnostic dorsal zig-zag pattern along the length of the upper body (black in males and brown in females) and red eyes with a vertical pupil.

Benfleet and Hadleigh Downs covers a large area so I deliberately focused on a location where I had seen Adders before. During my slow and quiet walk along that location, I had several very brief sightings of an Adder moving through the dense undergrowth. I also had extended views of 2 different female Adders basking in the sun to warm up. Unlike on my last visit on 3rd May 2023, when I got some excellent photos to include the head and eye, on this occasion I only managed record photos of the Adders curled up.

Photo: typical Adder habitat at Benfleet and Hadleigh Downs

Photo: female Adder

Photo: female Adder

With regard to birds, my visit to Benfleet and Hadleigh Downs was relatively disappointing, especially compared with my recent visit to RSPB Canvey Wick on 9th April 2024. However, I did record Chiffchaff (5 singing males heard including 2 seen), Blackcap (male and female seen plus another singing male heard), Cetti's Warbler (singing male heard), Mediterranean Gull (several heard calling distantly but unseen), Little Egret (1 flew over)

I also recorded my first Orange Tip of 2024 (2 males) plus Peacock (2) and Red Admiral (1).

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Trip away from SS15 - RSPB Canvey Wick, Canvey Island, Essex – 9th April 2024

This morning, I again visited RSPB Canvey Wick, primarily to try and record spring migrants.

Canvey Wick is a former landfill site and the location of a proposed oil refinery on Canvey Island in Essex. The site closed in the 1980s and then lay derelict for years. It became a liability for the former landowner, East of England Development Agency (EEDA), and, along with Natural England, they approached the Land Trust to help find a sustainable exit strategy for the land to provide high quality open space next to land identified for commercial development. 

The Land Trust subsequently established a steering group with key stakeholders, including Natural England, Castle Point Borough Council, RSPB and Buglife and secured funding from the Government to assess and prepare a "vision" for the site. The site was recognised as a priority within the Thames Gateway South Essex Green Grid Strategy and secured endowment funding from the Parklands initiative which allowed acquisition of the site.

The Land Trust helped transfer a landowner’s liability into an asset, provided expertise in sustainable land management benefiting local communities and conservation and securely invested and protected the endowment, thereby removing the risk of continued dereliction. The RSPB is the appointed managing partner with significant involvement from Buglife to advise on enhancing the habitats for the rare and endangered invertebrates.

Canvey Wick is now a well-established 93.2 hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and it was designated as such on 11th February 2005, the first "brownfield" site to be protected specifically for its invertebrates. The RSPB manage 18.5 hectares of the SSSI as a nature reserve in partnership with Buglife and on behalf of the Land Trust.

It is a unique ex-industrial habitat but it also has grassland and scrub habitats plus small wooded areas and it is adjacent to the important estuarine habitats of Holehaven Creek.

It is known to be exceptionally rich in plant, insect and animal species with as many species per square metre as a rain forest and it is one of the most important sites in the UK for endangered invertebrate species (the site is home to over 1300 species of invertebrate including at least 30 on the UK "Red List" of endangered species).

More information .... 

RSPB - Canvey Wick

Buglife - Canvey Wick

Land Trust - Canvey Wick

Wikipedia - Canvey Wick

The Guardian - Canvey Wick: the Essex "rain forest" that is home to Britain’s rarest insects

And so on to my visit to RSPB Canvey Wick .... 

I recorded 35 bird species and 2 butterfly species.

The highlights of my visit, which were primarily summer migrants, were as follows: Nightingale (8 singing males with 3 seen well), Common Whitethroat (5 singing males), Chiffchaff (at least 15 singing males with 6 seen), Blackcap (at least 15 including 2 singing males seen and 2 females seen), Cetti’s Warbler (at least 15 singing males including 2 seen), Reed Bunting (1 male), Marsh Harrier (male in flight carrying what seemed to be a Brown Rat), Kestrel (1), Sparrowhawk (2), Green Woodpecker (1), Great Spotted Woodpecker (unseen bird heard “drumming”), Pheasant (unseen bird heard calling), Greenfinch (at least 10), Chaffinch (unseen singing male), Mediterranean Gull (2 pairs flew over calling), Black-headed Gull (at least 10), Little Egret (1 flew over), Mallard (6 flew over), Brent Goose (at least 30 still present on Holehaven Creek), Common Redshank (at least 20 on Holehaven Creek), Avocet (4 on Holehaven Creek and 6 flew over), Curlew (6 on Holehaven Creek), Oystercatcher (2 on Holehaven Creek),  Shelduck (at least 20 on Holehaven Creek) 

I will be visiting RSPB Canvey Wick again before the end of April to hopefully see most if not all of the spring migrants that I failed to record on this visit, namely Cuckoo, Lesser Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Sedge Warbler and hirundines.

Photo: male Nightingale

Photo: male Cetti's Warbler

Photo: male Cetti's Warbler

During my visit, I also saw a single Speckled Wood (my first record of the year) and a single Peacock.

Photo: Speckled Wood

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