Trip away from SS15 - Chelmsford, Essex

Today, I had a trip to Chelmsford, not a birding trip but a visit to the Chelmsford City Museum for the exhibition on the life of J.A. Baker, Essex naturalist, birdwatcher and campaigner.

J.A. Baker (6th August 1926 to 26th December 1987) was an English author, best known for his book "The Peregrine".

The exhibition .... Restless Brilliance: The Story of J.A. Baker and The Peregrine

Restless Brilliance: The Story of J.A. Baker and The Peregrine is now open!
Discover the legacy of one of the UK's greatest nature writers in our newest exhibition, curated in collaboration with the University of Essex. pic.twitter.com/L7Q1zw10oL

— Chelmsford Museum (@ChelmsMuseum) March 23, 2024

This is an extremely interesting and informative exhibition and is highly recommended! .... although note that it closes on 23rd February 2025.

More information on J.A. Baker and the exhibition >>>

Exhibition on nature writer J.A. Baker opens at Chelmsford Museum

J A Baker and the Peregrine – J A Baker and the Peregrine

The Guardian - Violent spring: The nature book that predicted the future

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Support the Climate and Nature Bill!

Zero Hour is the campaign for the Climate and Nature Bill (CAN Bill), formerly the CE Bill and the CEE Bill, a plan for a new UK law that addresses the full extent of the climate and nature crisis in line with the most up-to-date science. The Bill is the only proposed legislation before the UK Parliament that ensures a comprehensive and joined-up approach to the emergency.

The CAN Bill makes sure the UK does its bit to keep global heating down to 1.5°C which gives us a chance to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. This means cutting down greenhouse gas emissions really fast. While the existing Environment Act 2021 only offers to halt the decline of nature by 2030, the CAN Bill commits to reversing the destruction of nature by 2030. Weaning ourselves off fossil fuels means big changes. So it is important that everyone is on board with them. That is why the Bill also calls for a climate and nature assembly to help Government and Parliament develop an emergency strategy on the way forward. The Bill, which was written by scientists, experts and campaigners, was first introduced in Parliament by Caroline Lucas MP in September 2020 and now has the backing of over 150 parliamentarians representing all major political parties. For more on the Climate and Nature Bill, visit Zero Hour.

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Visit to St. Nicholas Church and surrounding areas – 26th September 2024

Date: 26th September 2024

Time: from 8:30 a.m.

Weather: dry, sunny, light/moderate wind, 13°C to 16°C

The main purpose of my visit this morning was Red Fox photography in the northern section of the site.

I accessed the site via the track from Larkins Tyres and a quick scan of the adjacent horse paddock provided sightings of 2 Red Foxes and a Reeves’ Muntjac. The Red Foxes were moving slowly in the direction of where I hoped to be able to photograph them.

After arriving at my chosen location in the northern section of the site, I scattered the remains of a chicken carcass plus some other food and settled down to wait.

It only took around 5 minutes for the first Red Fox to appear on the far side of the field before it worked its way slowly around the boundary hedgerow. Given that it frequently stopped and sniffed the air, I think it had almost certainly caught the scent of the food that I had laid out.

Whilst it slowly moved closer, enabling me to get some photos, this Red Fox did not actually reach the baited food before it turned round, walked back for a short distance in the direction it had come from and then disappeared from view in to the hedge. The baited food was eagerly accepted by Magpies and Grey Squirrels.

I did have a brief sighting of another Red Fox which emerged from the hedge bordering the far side of the field and I think that both animals were those that I had initially seen in the horse paddock by Larkins Tyres.

I did not walk the whole site so sightings of birds were limited but I did have an excellent view of a Common Buzzard soaring over the northern section of the site (for the second successive visit) plus I saw a male Blackcap and heard 2 other alarm calling birds, heard a single calling Chiffchaff and heard a single calling Green Woodpecker.

Around the pond in the northern section of the site, I saw a single Migrant Hawker and an unidentified single butterfly.

Grey Squirrels and Jays were very conspicuous during this visit, as they always are at this time of the year as they forage for acorns.

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

Blackcap

Chiffchaff

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Robin

Wren

Blackbird

Common Buzzard

Green Woodpecker

Jay

Magpie

Carrion Crow

Woodpigeon

Herring Gull

Red Fox

Reeves’ Muntjac

Grey Squirrel

Migrant Hawker

Here are some photos from my visit ….

Photo: Red Fox

Photo: Red Fox

Photo: Red Fox

Photo: Red Fox

Photo: Red Fox

Photo: Red Fox

Photo: Common Buzzard

Photo: Common Buzzard

Photo: Common Buzzard

Photo: Common Buzzard

Photo: Grey Squirrel

Photo: Grey Squirrel

Photo: Grey Squirrel

Photo: Grey Squirrel

Photo: Grey Squirrel

Photo: Grey Squirrel

Site totals for 2024 to date (2023 totals in brackets):

Birds = 40 (47)

Mammals = 3 (3)

Butterflies = 17 (23)

Dragonflies and damselflies = 11 (12)

Reptiles = 0 (0)

Amphibians = 0 (0)

Total species list for the site

Birds = 65

Mammals = 7

Butterflies = 25

Dragonflies and damselflies = 14

Reptiles = 1

Amphibians = 0

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Trip away from SS15 - Wivenhoe, Essex

Today, I had a trip to Wivenhoe, not a birding trip but a visit to the "Old Grocery", a small gallery, to view "Wings and Water", a temporary exhibition from Richard Allen.

Richard is an artist and illustrator based in Wivenhoe where the Colne estuary near his home provides plenty of inspiration, especially in winter when large flocks of waders and wildfowl flock to the Essex coast.

Richard has been a freelance illustrator for over 30 years and he has worked in publishing, newspapers, stamp design and on interpretation illustrations for many conservation bodies, including the RSPB and National Trust. 

I had a thoroughly enjoyable time speaking to Richard and viewing his work.

Wings & Water exhibition at the Old Grocery gallery, Wivenhoe continues until 25th Sept @swlanaturaleye @EssexBirdNews @artpublishing pic.twitter.com/zCfFEi6cD7

— Richard Allen (@richardallenart) September 22, 2024

Award-winning Essex based wildlife artist & EBwS member/contributor @richardallenart is hosting an exhibition of his work later this month in Wivenhoe. It's open to all, and Richard will be there every day doing live demonstrations: https://t.co/fHRc6p0wCd pic.twitter.com/Ju1kKgFCBH

— Essex Birdwatching Society (@EBwSTweets) September 5, 2024

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Trip away from SS15 - Canvey Point, Canvey Island, Essex

Canvey Point is located at the easternmost end of Canvey Island and faces out in to the River Thames.

It is a well-known location for recording seabirds (including Gannets, skuas, shearwaters, petrels, auks, rarer gulls, etc.) blown in to the outer estuary from the North Sea in strong north or north east winds during the period August to October.

Surprisingly, this was my first visit to Canvey Point but not as successful as I had hoped or expected. Firstly, the wind was not as strong as forecast and the light was difficult being both bright/sunny but also slightly murky.

However, in a 2 hour visit, I did record my first Arctic Skuas of the year, taking my UK year list for 2024 to 188 species, my first Dark-bellied Brent Geese of the second autumn/winter period and 2 Wall butterflies.

The highlights from my visit were as follows: Arctic Skua (4), Dark-bellied Brent Goose (4), Sandwich Tern (c.30), Oystercatcher (at least 500 at roost), Dunlin (c.20), Curlew (8), Turnstone (3), Common Redshank (1), Little Egret (6), Cormorant (c.15), Great Crested Grebe (1), Swallow (6), Sand Martin (2), Wall (2), Large White and/or Small White (c.30)

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Tony Soper - 10 January 1929 to 18 September 2024

There was sad news today with the announcement that Tony Soper had died.

Tony Soper was a naturalist, author and broadcaster and he was very much part of my younger life as I grew up with an interest in wildlife.

The Guardian - Tony Soper obituary

BBC News - BBC Natural History Unit co-founder Tony Soper dies aged 95

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UK butterfly emergency declared

The results from the Big Butterfly Count for 2024 have been published .... 

Butterfly Conservation - UK Butterfly emergency declared

Butterfly Conservation has declared a national “butterfly emergency” after its annual Big Butterfly Count recorded its lowest ever numbers.

The 2024 Big Butterfly Count took place from 12th July to 4th August across the UK when thousands of people recorded over a period of 15 minutes how many butterflies they saw even if it was none.

Overall, participants spotted 7 butterflies on average per count, the lowest in the count’s 14 year history. The 2023 average was 12.

In total, just over 935,000 butterflies and day-flying moths were recorded, down almost 600,000 (equivalent to more than a third of 2023's total) and 9,000 counts were logged as seeing zero butterflies (the highest in the history of the Big Butterfly Count).

Butterfly Conservation said it was the worst year recorded for the Common Blue, Holly Blue, Green-veined White, Small White, Small Tortoiseshell, Painted Lady and Scotch Argus.

This year’s fall in butterfly numbers is thought to have been made worse by the wet spring coupled with the late arrival of summer heat but the long-term trend is hugely concerning and Butterfly Conservation is calling on the Government to ban pesticides (neonicotinoids) that can harm butterflies and bees “before it is too late”.

Wider data from the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme, one of the longest running insect monitoring schemes in the world, shows yearly fluctuations in butterfly numbers in response to weather conditions amid a long-term picture of decline driven by climate change, habitat loss, pollution and pesticides.

Butterflies are at “their lowest ebb” on the back of 50 years of decline said the Head of Science at Butterfly Conservation, Doctor Richard Fox.

“Butterflies are a key indicator species; when they are in trouble we know that the wider environment is in trouble too. Nature is sounding the alarm call. We must act now if we are to turn the tide on these rapid declines and protect species for future generations."

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“One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds"

“One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds. Much of the damage inflicted on land is quite invisible to laymen. An ecologist must either harden his shell and make believe that the consequences of science are none of his business, or he must be the doctor who sees the marks of death in a community that believes itself well and does not want to be told otherwise.” - Aldo Leopold

Aldo Leopold - Wikipedia

Several decades later, ecologists and many more of us no longer witness such wounds in solitude.

Instead, millions of people share evidence every day of how the behaviour of the richest countries, the richest corporations and a wealthy minority of the population has created unsustainable rates of climate change and biodiversity loss and climate transformation. 

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Sunset over SS15

Sunset over SS15 tonight ....

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Arctic Foxes

I am a huge "fox" fan and thoroughly enjoy watching and photographing Red Foxes on my St. Nicholas Church local patch site.

Flickr - Red Fox photography album

Robert E Fuller recently posted a beautiful video of Red Foxes .... see SS15 wildlife watching: Red Fox family take a nap He has also just posted a video of Arctic Foxes in Svalbard.

Most people, whether or not they are interested in wildlife, can identify a Red Fox (a "fox") and many actually see them, particularly those living in urban areas.

What is not widely known is that there are 2 species of fox in Europe: the Red Fox and the Arctic Fox.

The Arctic Fox has a circumpolar distribution and occurs in Arctic tundra habitats in northern Europe, northern Asia and north America. In Europe it is restricted to just Iceland (where it is the only native terrestrial mammal) and a very few locations in the northern parts of Scandinavia so it is therefore a rare mammal.

During my trip to Iceland in June 2015, I was fortunate enough to see 3 Arctic Foxes in their summer pelage in the Westfjords region and take some photos of this individual ....

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