Date: 31st March 2022
Time: from
7:30 a.m.
Weather: dry,
sunny, moderate wind, 1°C to 2°C
On 22nd March 2022, I visited Benfleet and Hadleigh Downs. It
was sunny with temperatures of around 16°C and I only needed a T-shirt .... plus a pair of trousers obviously 😀.
This morning, just over a week later, winter has returned with
temperatures barely above freezing and feeling significantly below that with a
wind chill caused by the moderate wind. I still felt cold with winter-lined trousers,
a base layer, a jumper and 2 fleeces!
The return to colder temperatures had a not unexpected impact on bird
song which was much reduced despite it being sunny. However, the Chiffchaffs
and Blackcaps which have now returned for the summer clearly didn’t get
the memo since I saw and heard singing males of both species around the site 😀.
I saw 2 singing male Chiffchaffs and heard at least 3
others plus I saw 2 singing male Blackcaps and heard 2 others. I managed
to photograph both species but the former was much easier than the latter.
With
regard to other birds, this visit was particularly notable for Greenfinches.
This is a species that historically I have only recorded on a few occasions
each year but this year has already produced several records. This morning I
saw 3 Greenfinches and heard 3 others: a male seen well in bushes in the south west corner of the
site, a calling male seen flying over the same location, a calling male seen flying over the field in the
north of the site, a calling bird heard flying over the church car park and 2 males heard calling and singing either side
of the access track from Larkins Tyres in the woodland and scrub.
Other
notable records included 2 Green Woodpeckers, 1 distantly calling
bird from the south west corner of the site and a much louder calling bird from
the woodland around the access track from Larkins Tyres, and a single male Mallard
flying over the north of the site.
With regard to mammals, I saw a Red Fox briefly emerge from the hedge bordering the eastern section of the cemetery. As it spotted me, it turned round and disappeared back in to the hedge.
In
addition, I saw a Reeves’ Muntjac at the edge of the field in
the north of the site which I managed to photograph.
Species
recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):
Site totals to date (2022 totals in brackets):
💚🦆 🦉🦋🐝🦊🦡🌼 🌳💚
Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature
