Trip away from SS15 – Benfleet and Hadleigh Downs (Hadleigh Country Park), Essex

This morning, I had a visit to Benfleet and Hadleigh Downs. 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. I have been successful at this site before but not on my last visit on 22nd March 2022.

 

Benfleet and Hadleigh Downs covers a large area so I deliberately focused on a location where I had seen Adders before. During my first slow walk at the location, I failed to see any Adders so I carried on to other parts of Benfleet and Hadleigh Downs to see what birds I could record.

When I returned to the Adder site, I immediately saw a female and I was able to watch and photograph her for around 30 minutes as she moved back and forth through a linear strip of twigs, leaves, etc. in front of a scrubby hedge.

Then I noticed a rapid movement which proved to be another female Adder which had evidently encountered the first female that I had been watching. I was able to get many photos of both these 2 female Adders ….

This was an exceptionally rewarding encounter with this much-maligned species of snake but my visit also proved rewarding with other highlights as follows: Common Whitethroat (5 singing males seen and at least 3 other singing males heard), Blackcap (2 singing males seen and at least 3 other singing males heard), Chiffchaff (7 singing males heard), Cetti’s Warbler (2 singing males heard), Little Egret (1 seen very distantly), Grey Squirrel (1), Orange Tip (6 males), Peacock (1), Small White (1)

#DefendNature .... Please help save and enhance our laws that protect our environment and wildlife 

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