Trip away from SS15 - Coombe Wood, Langdon Hills, Basildon, Essex

This morning, I made the short trip to Coombe Wood which is part of the Langdon Hills Country Park.

Langdon Hills Country Park sits on a hilly ridge that extends from Dunton to Vange in Basildon. Its 400 acres have panoramic views over the Thames Estuary and across to London and the area includes ancient woodlands dating back to prehistoric times, flower-rich grassland meadows and areas of dense scrubland. 

Coombe Wood is located south of Dry Street, east of Hall Wood and west of Westley Heights. Further to the north west is EWT Langdon which I have also visited, most recently on 17th January 2023.

Langdon Hills Country Park map

In order to catch my bus to Langdon Hills, I walked through my St. Nicholas Church local patch site. As on my visit yesterday, I spotted a Red Fox from the fence adjacent to Larkins Tyres overlooking the field, scrub and hedges in the north of the site. The diversity of bird song was again very noticeable.

Form the bus, I also saw c.20 Redwings busily feeding on the roundabout near Basildon Hospital.

I arrived at Coombe Wood at around 9:45 a.m. and spent just over 2 hours walking through this beautiful ancient woodland on a sunny morning.

My main target species for my visit was the elusive and increasingly scarce (in an Essex and UK context) Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. However, it is still recorded in a few Essex woodlands, especially in February and March when "drumming" and calling can be heard which sometimes enables good views high in the tree canopy before spring leaves emerge. Coombe Wood, the adjacent Hall Wood and other locations in Langdon Hills Country Park are all known sites for this tiny woodpecker species.

I did not have a 100% definitive record of a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker during my visit to Coombe Wood although I did hear a typical and persistent light tapping at one location plus what I believe was a brief call.

The general highlight of my visit was the abundance and diversity of birds plus the amount of bird song on an almost spring-like morning.

Specific highlights included the following: Common Buzzard (a pair flew right over me calling), Sparrowhawk (1), Ring-necked Parakeet (seemingly everywhere and very noisy with a maximum flock of 7), Nuthatch (2 seen and 2 others heard calling), Green Woodpecker (1 seen and another heard calling), Great Spotted Woodpecker (2 seen, 3 other males heard "drumming" and several others heard calling), Stock Dove (c.10), Goldcrest (6), Siskin (2), Coal Tit (1), Redwing (c.20 foraging at the edge of the wood)

Other species seen included the following: Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Robin, Wren, Dunnock, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Starling, Jay, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Magpie

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