SS15 wildlife watching: Visit to St. Nicholas Church and surrounding areas

Date: 15th September 2020

Time: from 8:00 a.m.

Weather: dry, misty/hazy sunshine followed by bright sunshine, light wind, 16°C to 25°C

I had an excellent visit this morning! …. 2 new site records, a first time photo opportunity, summer migrants hanging on, several other notable bird records, the return of some butterflies, the highest number of Grey Squirrels for the site and 2 daytime Red Foxes.

All this resulted in the longest and most interesting species list for several months.

It was a strange morning in respect of the weather. Although warm, it seemed very autumnal to begin with due to the mist and hazy sunshine, the continued profusion of fruits, berries and nuts and the leaves beginning to fall from the trees. However, it soon warmed up and the temperature had reached a summery 25°C by the time I decided to return home which prompted some butterflies to fly. There was also a moment when it seemed like spring due to a very vocal Chiffchaff.

So …. where do I begin? …. it has to be the 2 new site records.

The first new site record was a Wall and I saw 2 of these butterflies flying together in the immediate vicinity of St. Nicholas Church and actually basking on the sunny south and east facing walls of the church itself. I walked around the church on 3 separate occasions during my visit and these butterflies were present each time and enabled me to get some photos. The Wall is aptly named after its characteristic behaviour of resting with its wings open on any bare surface, including bare ground, rocks, stony places and, of course, walls! This basking behaviour allows the Wall to benefit from the full warmth of the sun whose rays shine directly on to it but also get reflected back from whichever surface it is resting on. This habit allows it to raise its body temperature sufficiently high for it to fly. I do not recall ever seeing a Wall before and it is definitely a new record for the site for me bringing my site total for butterfly species to 21.

The second new site record was Migrant Hawker and I saw at least 2 but probably more of these large dragonflies flying over the field and scrubby area to the north of the track that provides access to the site from Larkins Tyres. Unfortunately I had rather distant views of them in flight through my binoculars and they did not come close enough to settle and to enable photos. However, I have included a photo below of a Migrant Hawker which I took at Wat Tyler Country Park in Pitsea. This new site record brings my site total for dragonflies and damselflies to 7.

Photo: Migrant Hawker at Wat Tyler Country Park, Pitsea, Essex

With regard to birds, there were several highlights.

In the south west of the site adjacent to Pound Lane and where I was able to watch Red Foxes on a regular basis in spring and early summer, I initially heard a singing Goldcrest but I was then able to watch 2 very active birds for around 10 minutes as they flew around me and foraged in the hedges. The Goldcrest is not an uncommon bird but it can be difficult to see and indeed hear for some people who can not pick up the high frequency calls and song. These were some of the best views that I have ever had of Goldcrest plus I also managed to get my first ever photos of this species.

I have seen 6 Common Buzzards from my flat window since early July 2020. Therefore a sighting from the area around St. Nicholas Church was somewhat overdue and I finally managed to record one flying over the field and scrubby area to the north of the track that provides access to the site from Larkins Tyres. It flew over in a south easterly direction and undoubtedly would have been seen from my flat if I had been at home.

Although primarily summer migrants, both Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs remain around the site.

I heard a Blackcap continuously giving its harsh alarm call from the bushes at the western limit of the cemetery but I was unable to see it. However, shortly before the Common Buzzard appeared, I saw both a black-capped male Blackcap and a red-capped female Blackcap (try and keep up 😀) in the same general area. Both birds were busy feeding and both were silent.

I heard what I think was a single Chiffchaff although it was very mobile around the cemetery and also very vocal not just in giving its soft whistled contact call but also singing quite robustly on several occasions and for sustained periods.

Jays were very obvious around the site but then they always are at this time of year when they are particularly busy collecting and caching acorns for their winter larders.

Robins also continue to be very conspicuous around the site with plenty of singing and calling.

I also heard a single calling Green Woodpecker and 2 calling Great Spotted Woodpeckers.

In addition to Wall, the warm and sunny weather encouraged a few butterflies to appear (presumably second or third generations of the year) and I recorded a further 5 species: Small Copper (2), Common Blue (1), Red Admiral (1), Speckled Wood (3) and Large White (2).

With regard to mammals, I saw 2 Red Foxes both of which I photographed, the first in the cemetery close to the church car park and the second in the field and scrubby area to the north of the track that provides access to the site from Larkins Tyres. In addition, I saw 5 Grey Squirrels at various locations around the site, the highest number that I have recorded during a single visit.

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

Blackcap
Chiffchaff
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Goldcrest
Robin
Wren
Blackbird
House Sparrow
Starling
Common Buzzard
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Jay
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Lesser Black-backed Gull

Red Fox
Grey Squirrel

Wall
Small Copper
Common Blue
Red Admiral
Speckled Wood
Large White

Migrant Hawker

Here are some photos from my visit: