Saturday 9 January 2021

Visit to St. Nicholas Church and surrounding areas – 9th January 2021

Date: 9th January 2021

Time: from 10:30 a.m.

Weather: dry, sunny, light wind, -1°C to 2°C

All my pre-planning went to waste this morning.

The Met Office weather forecast last night promised a cold, frosty and sunny morning. Therefore I planned and set my alarm for an early morning visit to Gloucester Park for the sunrise and reflections over the lakes, macro photography of the frost plus wildlife photography.

Plan cancelled! …. the morning dawned misty and the mist continued until about 10:00 a.m.

Plan B therefore involved a visit up to St. Nicholas Church and the surrounding areas once the sun eventually appeared.

As on my last visit, I saw c.5 Redwings in the bushes and trees that border the road by the Czarina Rise/Basildon Road junction.

accessed the site as usual via the still very wet and muddy track from Larkins Tyres. Along the track, I very quickly heard a House Sparrow calling and then saw a single male in the bushes. Shortly afterwards, I heard the distinctive “pink, pink” call of a Chaffinch and then saw a female. I see both these species only occasionally and this morning’s sightings were very early first site records for the year.

During my visit, I also recorded my first site record of Great Spotted Woodpecker for the year, a bird calling continuously and very visible in the tall trees at the end of the track from Larkins Tyres.

I also saw my first Green Woodpecker of the year for the site although this species definitely provided a frustrating experience. During my visit, I heard a very loud and continuously calling bird in the field/scrubland area to the north of the site and another equally as loud in the woodland in the eastern area of the cemetery. However, both proved to be very elusive and refused to show themselves. Eventually, whilst watching and photographing the Redwings (see below), a Green Woodpecker flew (silently!) through the western section of the cemetery.

In addition to the woodpeckers, I saw my first Sparrowhawk of the year for the site with a female flying over and through the central section of the cemetery where it was intercepted and harassed by a Carrion Crow before it disappeared from view.

In the western section of the cemetery, Redwings were again very active flying to and fro between the trees and berry bushes (especially a Holly bush) and there were at least c.30 birds in this area. Although conspicuous, the Redwings were very flighty and when they visited the Holly bush they rarely perched out in the open. It was therefore a frustrating photography opportunity although patience did reward me with some acceptable photos.

The other highlight in terms of birds was an extremely noisy flock of c.40 Carrion Crows perched in the top of the trees immediately behind the church.

With regard to mammals, I have still yet to see a Red Fox in 2021 but Grey Squirrels were very evident this morning with 8 animals seen: 1 along the track from Larkins Tyres, 3 in the trees bordering the field/scrubland area to the north of the site and 4 in the woodland in the extreme eastern section of the cemetery. There seems to be an increase in pre-breeding activity and 2 Grey Squirrels in eastern section of the cemetery engaged in a stand-off in the trees for over 10 minutes. I am not sure if it was love or intimidation 😀.

Finally, there is an area in the central section of the cemetery which is designated for the graves of young children. Today, there was a particularly poignant sight of a “Santa …. Stop here” sign by the grave of Kevin Rayer aged just 5 and a half years old when he died a week before Christmas in 1959. I hope that Santa did indeed stop by for Kevin who is evidently still loved and remembered after 61 years.














"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn." - Laurence Binyon

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

Blue Tit
Great Tit
Robin 
Redwing
Blackbird
House Sparrow
Wren
Chaffinch
Goldfinch
Sparrowhawk
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker

Jay
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Woodpigeon
Herring Gull

Grey Squirrel

Here are some photos from my visit:














Photo: Redwing














Photo: Redwing













Photo: Redwing














Photo: Redwing














Photo: Redwing













Photo: Redwing














Photo: Redwing













Photo: Redwing













Photo: Redwing














Photo: Redwing













Photo: Redwing














Photo: Redwing














Photo: Redwings














Photo: Blue Tit













Photo: Carrion Crows














Photo: Carrion Crow














Photo: Carrion Crows














Photo: Carrion Crows













Photo: Carrion Crows














Photo: Grey Squirrel stand-off













Photo: Grey Squirrel 













Photo: Grey Squirrel 














Photo: Grey Squirrel 

























Photo: Grey Squirrel 














Photo: Holly bush proving to be so attractive to Redwings
























Photo: Holly bush proving to be so attractive to Redwings



















Site totals to date (2021 totals in brackets):

Birds = 51  (18)
Mammals = 6  (1)
Butterflies = 21  (0)
Dragonflies and damselflies = 7  (0)
Reptiles = 1  (0)
Amphibians = 0  (0)

💚🦆 🦉🦋🐝🦊🦡🌼 🌳💚
Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature


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