Blog Archives: WildEssex

‘Birdwatching for Beginners’ at Burnham on Crouch

Britain's Wildlife, WildEssex

A stiff, cool breeze made conditions less-than-optimal for birdwatching by the River Crouch, and certainly there were no large numbers of shorebirds, those presumably keeping their heads down out of the wind, perhaps across the river in the lagoons of Wallasea Island. But for this sort of walk, numbers are not necessary – if starting from a point of little knowledge, what’s really needed is enough different types of bird and good enough views to be able to see (and hear) the salient features.

Along the waterfront as we started, the tide was up and the gulls were largely roosting on the various jetties and structures, a great opportunity to compare and contrast the Black-headed Gulls (in a variety of head-moult stages) with Herring Gulls, and just a couple of Common Gulls.

Then as the tide ebbed, out came the waders, including Oystercatchers, Redshanks, a Curlew and (more distantly) Black-tailed Godwits and fly-over Golden Plovers, with additional variety coming from Teals splodging in the mud, Little Egrets and a diving Dabchick hugging the shoreline.

Riverbank gardens also had a range of interesting and important plants, from the decorative, salt-tolerant Silk Tassel-bush to our native Ivy, in fruit, demonstrating its supreme ecological importance at a time when most other shrubs have been stripped by the birds.

Into Riverside Park, there were plenty of perching birds, though only the Woodpigeons and Magpies were showing well; smaller species were keeping warm deep in the scrub or (Greenfinches and Pied Wagtails especially) being swept past aloft at a rate of knots. Robins and Great Tits were in full song, Blue Tits and Long-tailed Tits more restrained…

… the first spring flowers were out, including Red Dead-nettle, Shepherd’s-purse and Common Chickweed, and the wholly incongruous sight of Stinking Hellebores apparently fully naturalised among the rip-rap stone facing of the Yacht Harbour.

And the various bushes were also showing signs of springing into life, with Cherry-plum starting to flower and Blackthorn almost there. Hazel catkins wafting the the breeze drew the eye into the glorious little scarlet female flowers, while the various planted trees from its time as a caravan camp provided enough clues to be able to recognise them, such as buds and leaf-scars on Horse-chestnut, catkins and last-year’s cones on Alder and the diamond-marked bark of White Poplar. And no mistaking the Dog Roses with its fearsome array of thorns!

Devoid of leaves, the shrubs also showed the fascinating array of other wildlife, including  Sunburst Lichen, always one to brighten a dull day, and Sea-buckthorn Bracket-fungus. An old friend, we found this infected tree last year, but so far as we are aware this is the only example of the species anywhere in Essex.

So, ‘Birdwatching for Beginners’ and a whole lot more – we don’t have any truck with the nonsense of taking a blinkered approach to the diverse wonders of Nature! And as if to underline that, just as this blog was being posted, there arrived from the organiser of the walk the attached list of pretty much everything we saw Wildlife recorded, birds and all: a good all-round day of wildlife and weather, and a splendid lunch in the Anchor!

 

 

The Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens: rest and recovery…

Beth Chatto Gardens, Britain's Wildlife, WildEssex, WildWivenhoe

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that green space and nature are good for health, heart, soul and mind. Never more needed than after our first bout of Covid: as soon as we felt able, it was out to feel the recuperative effects of Spring, even if lingering post-viral fatigue made it feel like wading through treacle…

Bulbs of course are at their best in the gardens now and for the next month:

But other perennials are starting to add their form and colours to Nature’s palette:

So too the early-flowering shrubs, each wafting its own unique scent into into the air.  ‘Well-scented’ is the order of the season: given the expected temperatures, they do have to throw whatever they can into their attraction to pollinators.

And of course, in doing so giving us the chance to explore the effects of Covid. The good news is that any olfactory damping seems to be over, with only the spicy aroma of Witch-hazel proving difficult. But I find that a bit evanescent and elusive at the best of times…

Despite still-freezing overnight temperatures a few insects were out, from ladybirds nestling in the Euphorbia heads to Honeybees raiding the open nectar-vats of Winter Aconites. And, true to its name, a male Spring Usher moth…

Otherwise, it was time to appreciate the less flouncy and blowsy garden features. Lichens are never better to see than when there are no leaves on the trees…

… and the various natural adornments we love to see, from fascinating leaf-distortions on Bergenia, to the signs of vital natural senescence on Red Oak …

—and returning to the Bergenia, the slug munch-holes that we (as a garden that sells itself as ‘ecological and sustainable’) should wear as a badge of pride!

#WildEssex Walks: Trees in winter – buds, bark and more…

Britain's Wildlife, Bug & Botany Walks, WildEssex, WildWivenhoe

A beautiful January day saw an interested group of tree fans on King George V field in Wivenhoe, looking at How to ID Trees in Winter from Bark and Buds. This area is now a well-used and loved playing field/recreation area and wild flower meadow, but was originally the grounds of the former Wivenhoe Hall. This explains the rather formal planting and ‘exotic’ trees in amongst the natives. The clear blue sky was a perfect back drop to clearly see the silhouettes of trees, the shapes of branches and outlines of buds. Together with these pointers, bark patterns and fallen leaves and fruits are useful diagnostic tools when deciding identification of trees at a time of year when leaves and fruits are not visible on the tree itself.

This blog uses photos from last year’s walk, together with some taken today.

ASH – in addition to its unmistakeable black buds, mostly in opposite pairs, with flattened twig tips, Ash also has smooth, pale bark, often covered in lichens, and usually (though not in the specimen we examined) some of the bunches of keys from last summer perched in its boughs.

OAK – the plump, chestnut-coloured buds are clustered at the tips of the twigs that arise from the branches that come from the trunk, which is covered in deeply ridged bark, the fissures more or less continuous, running down the trunk. Sometimes, in older specimens, the trunk is divided, by coppicing or pollarding, especially on old ownership boundaries where distinctive trees were used to define those boundaries legally, by way of a ‘perambulation’; some older specimens are characterized by ‘epicormic growth’ sprouting out of the bark (below, right).

BEECH (below, left) and HORNBEAM (below, middle and right) – the elongate, pointed shape of the buds of these two species is similar, but those of Beech are set at an angle to the twig, while those of Hornbeam are curved into (appressed to) the twig.  Beech often has dead leaves still attached in midwinter (Marcescence – Wikipedia), and smooth, silvery bark, with raised lines, rounded in profile, running down it. Hornbeam bark is similarly smooth, but the trunk is usually fluted, like a rippling muscle (indeed it is known as Musclewood in the USA).

And then to three fast-growing, often small species, good at colonising suitable habitats:

WILD CHERRY has clusters of buds borne on short, woody pedestals, and peeling, copper-coloured bark formed into distinct hoops around the trunk…

… while SILVER BIRCH has lovely white bark, delicately drooping branch tips, and often has remnants of last year’s seeding catkins at the same time as the coming summer’s catkins are starting to emerge…

 

… and ELDER has deeply ridged grey bark, often covered with mosses. It is also the first of our trees to burst into leaf, a true harbinger of Spring.

ELM is often distinguished as much by its dead stems, the victims of Dutch Elm Disease, as by its living features. But on a living trunk, the herringbone branching pattern of the twigs is usually apparent, as often are the main branches clothed in corky wings of bark.

Another tree bedevilled by disease is HORSE CHESTNUT, especially worrying in view of its rarity in its native Caucasus. The big, swollen buds with sticky scales are well known, but the horseshoe-shaped leaf-scars and smooth bark breaking into a patchwork of plates are equally distinctive.

Similar in name, but very different (and completely unrelated), the SWEET CHESTNUT is often noticeable by its halo of dead leaves lying on the ground, as they take several months to decay away. Its plump buds sit on ‘shelves’ on the ridged twigs, and the bark of a small tree is smooth and silvery, in marked contrast to an older tree  where the bark is strongly fissured, twisting around the trunk.

One of most distinctive winter trees is SYCAMORE with its smooth, grey bark, large, turgid buds, almost fit to burst, and beautiful bud-scales,  edged in maroon and fringed in white

Finally, mention must be made of the evergreens, historic adornments to the grounds of the former Wivenhoe Hall. The red-boughed SCOTS’ PINE (below, left) is one of only three native conifers in Britain, CEDAR-OF-LEBANON (below, right) is another species threatened in its native Middle Eastern home, and HOLM OAK (bottom), native to the Mediterranean basin. The latter is especially noticeable this winter from the crunching underfoot of its acorns, the result of one of its periodic ‘mast years’, perhaps likely to become more frequent in the era of climate collapse.

 

But the presence of leaves or needles doesn’t necessarily make identification easier: it is always worth getting to know their distinctive fruits, tree shapes and bark. No rest for the botanist, even in midwinter, but help will soon be at hand with the forthcoming ‘British & Irish Wild Flowers and Plants Pocket Guide’, hopefully to be published late Spring/Summer.

And what of wildlife other than the trees? Insects were not the focus today (precious few about in the cold wind!), but were couldn’t help notice rather impressive clutches of shiny black eggs on a twig…we think these are probably eggs of the Black Bean Aphid.

Otherwise, the Mistletoe on a Buckeye tree looked magnificent against its blue backdrop, and the now-ripened berries of Ivy were a reassuring sight for our birds, should this winter still have a sting in its tail…!

The Wild Side of Essex: a frosty day by the Colne Estuary

Britain's Wildlife, WildEssex, WildWivenhoe

The day dawned crisp and bright, and so it remained all day – at least the frozen ground meant it was not too muddy! Well wrapped up, our intrepid group headed first across the King George V field, where frost-crisped grass gave way to the crunch underfoot of the Holm Oaks, after last summer’s mast, a sign of the climate times.

Into Wivenhoe Wood, where we were soon immersed in the roving mixed tit bands, along with raucous Jays and frisky Great Spotted Woodpeckers, and enjoying the hidden floral delights of Butcher’s-broom.

Round Ferry Marsh the reedbeds were quiet save for a distant Cetti’s Warbler, but the silky seedy reedscape, glistening in the low sun, made up for the lack of birds, as did the confiding Teals on the tidal river.

It was high tide as we walked along Wivenhoe Waterfront, with just the local gulls to be seen, together with our only other noteworthy flowering plant of the day, our local speciality White Ramping Fumitory.

Out into the open estuary, and following the tide down, at first the limited mid fringes meant few birds, but those we did see were extremely close, habituated to pedestrians on the sea walls and unwilling to fly and waste precious energy. And what a selection: Black-tailed Godwits, Avocets, Grey Plovers, Curlews, Redshanks, Lapwings and even a single Greenshank, most unexpected at this time of year on this estuary.

Looking inland across the grazing marsh strewn with frost-highlighted ant-hills, we could see a Little Egret, a few Meadow Pipits, flighting flocks of Lapwings and a territorial pair of Buzzards soaring over the Essex Alps…

Continuing down, wader numbers grew as more mud was exposed, Dunlins entered the picture, as so did wildfowl, especially Wigeons.

Whitehouse Beach, flanked by the skeletons of dead Elms, for lunch as the waterfowl flocks grew, although a rising brisk breeze that lowered the temperature a good few degrees meant we didn’t linger long. Long enough though to marvel at the Brent Geese as they moved off the fields onto the channel.

For the next hour the Brents were everywhere, on the water, in the fields, and always overhead in burbling constellations, the epitome of the Essex Coast in winter. And in the region of 1% of the total world population!

Ascending the Essex Alps up Ford Lane, we picked up a male Marsh Harrier quartering the gravel workings, and a few minutes later a female Peregrine swept over and down to the estuary. One or other may way well have disturbed the geese, their glorious cacophony impressive even at a distance.  Along the edge of Grange Wood, attention turned to the trees, a wonderful array of maiden, pollard and coppiced Oak veterans, with green-sprouting Bluebells spearing through the leaf mulch – yes, light and life are returning to the world!

With the sun starting to set and temperature plummeting, it was time for home, through the birchlight into the twilight at the end of a great day out.

The Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens: the first hints of Spring…

Beth Chatto Gardens, Britain's Wildlife, WildEssex, WildWivenhoe

A month has passed since my last visit to the gardens, and on the face of it nothing has changed – today the scene was again sprinkled with the fairy-dust of frost…

It is not that many years ago that we could have reasonably expected to experience a whole month of freezing temperatures, but this winter the intervening weeks have been unseasonably warm, although it is interesting to note this hasn’t been enough to offset the mid-December deep freeze. Here is a Witch Hazel today, with (on the right) the very same individual three years and five days ago…

Of course this is NOT evidence, as some would like to claim, that ‘global warming’ is a lie, just that weather and climate are two very different things.

Midwinter is monochrome, or at least it presents a subdued colour palette. But with searching, beacons of winter colour can be found to lift the spirits…

… and the first few flowers are starting to appear, even if looking a little floppy from the heavy frost of the past two nights.

It was still cold, so no insect activity to report, but birds were active: a Kingfisher on the Reservoir pond, Redwings, Fieldfares and Siskins in the treetops, and Robins and tits all in song. A Great Tit repeatedly investigating a dead Globe-artichoke head, that which all too many gardeners get rid of because convention sees it as untidiness. Whether for seeds or spiders hiding therein, it illustrated one of our hopes for this year, that we as a species can start to overcome our obsession with tidiness … it most certainly is not a virtue, especially during the planet’s sixth Great Extinction.

Now is the time to let light into your life and embrace the coming Spring. And Beth Chatto’s  is as good a place as any to do that. Fortunately it reopens from its winter recess tomorrow!

Cockaynes Reserve: Spring awakenings

Britain's Wildlife, Cockaynes Reserve, WildEssex, WildWivenhoe

Winter – a time of rest, recycling and renewal in Nature. And so it was on this lovely sunny January day in Cockaynes Reserve.

From Turkey-tails to King Alfred’s Cakes and  all manner of microfungi, before the canopy closes and plants take over, fungi are out there doing their work, breaking down wood and leaves into nutrients that are recycled into new growth. And it is working! Always first from the starting blocks, Honeysuckle and Elder shoots are bursting…

… the new leaves of Wild Arum and Bluebell are spearing up from the leaf-mould….

… Hazel and Alder catkins are elongating, and the male flowers of Hazel at least are fully open.

Out on the heath, Reindeer Lichens and Juniper Haircap mosses are now showing at their best, their domain free from the distractions of flowers at least for the next month:

And as ever, Gorse is blooming. The dense, spiky foliage is always a good place to search for insects, and in the sunshine, they were beginning to show – here 7-spot Ladybirds and a Cinnamon Bug.

Yes, Spring really is just around the corner…!

#WildEssex New Year Plant Hunt 2023

Britain's Wildlife, Bug & Botany Walks, WildEssex, WildWivenhoe

Each year, the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland organises a New Year plant hunt, encouraging botanists and other interested folk out of their midwinter slumber to see what plants are flowering. As has become tradition, we contributed to the national database by arranging a walk around Wivenhoe Waterfront on that day. And we would like to thank the keen, sharp-eyed group who helped us spot things! All data collected in this citizen science project have been fed into the national record of what is flowering on 1st January: for more information see New Year Plant Hunt 2023 – Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland (bsbi.org). It is good to be part of a bigger project to aid learning about how British and Irish wildflowers are responding to climate change. 

On our recce a few days ago it soon became apparent that numbers would not match the 35 species recorded last year. The main reason for this, we assume, is the severe frost we experienced for a number of nights in mid-December – this will no doubt have killed off many flowering specimens. However, in the hour on the day with 20 pairs of eyes searching the same route as last year we managed to find 23 species in flower – see here for the full list: NYPH2023

Most of the ‘missing’ species were stragglers from the sea walls and salt-marshes of summer (such as Sea Aster, Cord-grass, Bristly Ox-tongue and Ox-eye Daisy), a few flowers of which had persisted through the frost-free early winter of last year. But interestingly, to counter some of these omissions, a few different flowering plants were noted this year: these included the highlight of the day, White Ramping Fumitory (above), a local speciality and a so-called ‘weed’ spreading its charms in several pots and planters.

Another species not found last year, indeed one we have rarely seen in Wivenhoe before, is Water Bent: this grass is an increasing colonist of the UK, and joins a number of other new arrivals to the Wivenhoe waterfront. That lover of block-paving, Jersey Cudweed, was found in profusion, and indeed in parts of our area where it has not been seen before, though only one had a surviving flower, the rest shrivelled from frost-bite. And Early Meadow-grass was just starting to produce its diminutive flowers: all the above were unknown here up to a few years ago.

Other new flowers for this survey probably relate to their near-invisibility unless you search hard under the leaves. The tiny greenish flowers of both Pellitory-of-the-wall (above)and Annual Nettle fall into this category.

Aside from these, the ‘usual suspects’ included Gorse, Hazel, Red Dead-nettle, Groundsel, Annual Mercury, Shepherd’s-purse and Common Chickweed, but for all, the flowers were much less profuse than last year. This was especially the case with the Mexican Fleabane (below) that has colonized the riverside brickwork: last year like pink and white confetti, this year just a few daisy-like stars to brighten a dull day.

What can we read into the results of our survey? Well probably not much – the real value will come when all the results from all the walks around our islands are completed, collated and analysed. But last winter was exceptionally mild (indeed 1st Jan 2022 was the warmest New Year’s Day on record), whilst this year the pre-Christmas deep freeze cut short many plants’ productivity. It highlights the oft-forgotten (by the all-too-numerous denialists) difference between weather and climate. ‘Average weather’ is indeed warming/weirding but actual weather this winter for us bucked that trend. All interesting stuff though!

Naturally, although a botanical trip, we didn’t overlook other wildlife. Birdsong from the estuary (Curlews), and treetops (Robins) was a feast for the ears, and we were pleased to find a 7-spot Ladybird plus a number of Rosemary Beetles, those mobile jewels, on a Rosemary bush, mostly paired and in the process of making more beetles. All a very hopeful sign for a wildlife-filled 2023!

 

#WildEssex: review of 2022

Britain's Wildlife, Bug & Botany Walks, WildEssex

At the start of 2022, ‘with a little help from our friends’ (you know who you are!), we rebranded our nature and wildlife activities as #WildEssex, with the banners above and below, and even tee-shirts!

So from these aspects alone, it has been an interesting year, a time of change and innovation. As always, wildlife walks have been our mainstay, with one or two in most months, apart from the late summer period when first it was simply too hot to meet safely out in the open, and then when my mobility was severely impaired by a femoral nerve problem. Blogs of all our regular walks are available – just filter these blogs for ‘WildEssex’ and all will appear, or pick and choose them from the drop-down List of Blogs.

Those walks we did do were of course a mixed bunch. As always, several were around Wivenhoe, though we have started branching out further afield around Brightlingsea, Mistley, Wrabness and Harwich, trying so far as possible to make them convenient for those who wish to travel by public transport.

In response to increasing numbers booking, we ran several of the walks twice in quick succession, itself a challenge when one was warm and sunny, the other being cold, damp and windy (April in Cockaynes Reserve comes to mind). Indeed weather is always a concern, and never more so than at Wrabness in May, the first time we have tried a four-hour walk. And for all but 15 minutes of those four hours it rained, sometimes heavily (see below)! And then of course there was the October fungus foray in Wivenhoe Park when preceding drought meant there were almost none to be found. Such is life and the lot of wildlife guides!

Another innovation was planning the walks around food and drink. Mistley (February and June) benefitted from the zero-waste (but serious quality!) coffee kiosk outside Mistley Station, our June charity walk around Alresford made a welcome stop for a drink at The Pointer, and around Brightlingsea East End in July, we went the whole hog and ended up with a delicious lunch at The Rosebud. We intend this model to feature in future years!

And on the a similar theme, we also ran our first multi-day, overnight-stay event, at Burnham-on-Crouch. During two half-day and one full-day walks, we explored thoroughly around Burnham, and across on the ferry to Wallasea Island, all interspersed with two excellent evening meals, one in our hotel, the other in The Ship Inn, and (for some of the group at least) two comfortable nights in the historic waterside Ye Olde White Harte Hotel. Again, we hope to arrange similar elsewhere in Essex this coming year.

So much for the food and drink, but what of the wildlife? Well, as always it was rich, varied and often surprising, such as an unexpected flock of Pyramidal Orchids at Brightlingsea.

And it is far from only the commonplace things we find. Also at Brightlingsea, the very large, gold-ringed black weevil Liparus coronatus showed itself to us in July – the only other times we have seen this scarce insect anywhere have been two previous occasions within a radius of less than a kilometre.

Our Burnham awaydays produced a bracket fungus on Sea-buckthorn, Fomitoporia hippophaeicola, for which the National Biodiversity Network maps show no previous records in Essex.

And September at Harwich we came upon a new locality for the nationally scarce Dune Villa fly, while Wivenhoe Park in October gave us a new gall, a very recent arrival in these parts, the cowrie gall of Neuroterus saliens on Turkey Oaks.

What else? WildEssex entered the modern era with a Facebook presence (Wild Essex – Bringing Nature To You) and a WhatsApp group to keep in regular touch, in addition to our website and Twitter. We started running free monthly Zunday Zoom talks in the winter months, all of which have been recorded and are available on request to anyone who wants to watch them (thus far, Summer by the Stour Estuary, Coastal Plants, the Magic of Mushrooms and Review of 2022).

Jude has relaunched her free monthly newsletter to very positive comments, and there have also been several bespoke walks on request (Wivenhoe Wood in April, a symphony in blue, was particularly memorable) together with talks now taking off after the enforced break of Covid19. Although sadly fewer this year as people are once again looking abroad for wildlife travel, we have provided walks for Naturetrek, both locally and further afield, including Hockley Woods and even Somerset.

We have continued to work closely with Beth Chatto Gardens, advising staff (and, by extension, visitors) on wildlife and sustainability, with a monthly staff newsletter, moth trapping and survey work on the show-gardens designed to demonstrate the mantra of ‘right plant, right place’ at nearby Chattowood. And begun to work with Great Bentley Parish Council in trying to improve the second largest village green in the country for wildlife, among other engagement with local authorities, particularly Wivenhoe Town Council.

All that, and then the writing, with three big book projects which should come to fruition in 2023 and several other pieces, including book reviews (see specific blogs on these – Reviews and Books – now posted…).

A busy year, not without its frustrations, but plenty of fun and excitement. And as we generally do, we have been pleased to make charitable donations. Buglife, our regular charity of choice, saving the little things that run the planet has been sent £400; Essex Wildlife Trust, owners of some of the sites we visit, £50; and the Ukrainian appeal, trying to mitigate the effects of the war crimes being committed over there, £120. All very deserving causes, and we wish it could be more.

So here’s to 2023, with a full programme being planned, starting with our traditional New Year’s Day Wild Flower Hunt. Thanks everyone for your support!

The Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens: A Wintry Wonderland

Beth Chatto Gardens, WildEssex

Frost sprinkling crystal magic on every surface. Light and shade from the low, low sun. Vistas speared with surprising shards of colour. And signs of hope: green shoots and a few flowers promising that pendulum of the year has only a week to go before it swings inexorably back, offering light and life…

No more words, just pictures , save to say that if you want to see this (and better, after the forecast low of -5 degrees C tonight), get there tomorrow. Saturday is the last day before the gardens hibernate until mid-January, and on Monday the temperatures are soaring to spring-like highs…

 

Great Bentley Village Green: a once and future Essex heathland?

Britain's Wildlife, WildEssex

Back in August, we were asked by the Chair of Great Bentley Parish Council (and a member of their newly-formed Environment Working Group) if we would mind advising them on the ecological value of the Village Green and the potential to improve its biodiversity by reducing mowing frequency.

What an opportunity! Reputedly the second largest Village Green in the country, extending to around 17 hectares, from my previous knowledge of the site it was clear it has an interesting remnant flora despite the incessant mowing of the past. Or at least ‘had’ an interesting flora – my last wander on the Green was 20 years ago… but I well recall the excitement of finding two special grasses, Heath-grass and Mat-grass there:

While both these species are widespread in the UK, that is far from the case in Essex, and especially in Tendring – indeed for these two species, Great Bentley Village Green is probably the only site in Tendring District. Almost the same could be said for the plant growing alongside them, Common Heather: despite the frequent appearance of the name ‘Heath’ in local settlements (and its superabundance down most of the Suffolk coastal Sandlings), the Tending Heather population away from Great Bentley was restricted to a few sprigs in a few woodland rides. One of these, Cockaynes Wood in Alresford, has been nurtured and managed while all around it the trees came tumbling down through gravel extraction; the population there is now amongst the finest Essex has to offer.

Back at Great Bentley though, no such recovery (yet), even though the heathery area has long been recognised, valued and not over-managed. All those years ago I was drawn to the rare grasses by the obvious presence of those few Heather bushes, and when I returned this year, the same few bushes were still standing, sentinels of a heathland history. Clearly here was somewhere we might be able to make a real difference on the ground, so we readily agreed to the Council’s request.

Unfortunately, as the pictures show, the height of last summer’s drought was not the best time to assess the botanical riches of the site, but there were still some signs of green (and even flower) from Yarrow, Autumn Hawkbit, Common Knapweed and Mouse-eared Hawkweed for example, all signs of the relatively natural state of at least parts of the Green.

A very simple walk-over allowed time to evaluate it and make recommendations as to the best areas for managing more of the site as an autumn-cut hay meadow rather than as the overmown, lifeless green carpet typical of most municipal recreation areas. The map below shows a rough apportioning of the blocks of the Green into areas of greatest priority for conservation, based upon their naturalness, apparent history of recreational use, topography and richness of the flora.

We look forward to at least some of our recommendations being implemented, to the benefit not only of the flowers, but the insects that are dependent upon them, and carbon sequestration as well – a good grassland stores as much carbon from the atmosphere as woodland. All that … and it would save the Council money as well!

May 2023 update

What a transformation! The whole Green was actually green, and a whole lot more plants of interest were recognisable in May.

Interestingly, and reassuringly, none of what I found this Spring led me to reassess significantly the priority rating of the various sectors. Clearly the most important sections for biodiversity are A and B, as evaluated previously, the only difference to my previous assessment being that the north-western section of area B is clearly of equivalent value to A, lacking only the Heather component.

After a damp spring, this subsection of B is already becoming highly droughted, bare patches are forming, and grass growth is insignificant, no doubt because they are on pure sand/gravel deposits. The most important species found, in abundance, were Early Hair-grass and Bird’s-foot, neither of which is at all common in north Essex, together with lovely reddened patches of Sheep’s Sorrel and occasional rosettes of Buck’s-horn Plantain.

Such naturally droughted habitat, grass-heath at its most extreme, is of such value lately that I would class this site (particularly areas A and B) as of county-wide significance.

#WildEssexWalks: The Naze and Walton Backwaters

Britain's Wildlife, Bug & Botany Walks, WildEssex

Our annual exploration of the shore at Walton-on-the-Naze was as enjoyable as ever and we thank the group for getting as excited about the geology and shells as us! Some interesting finds included a piece of fossilised whale bone, a 50 million year old shark’s tooth, and several left-hand coiling whelks Neptunia contraria, fascinating as most gastropods coil in a dextral way.

Modern shells were to be found too, including the attractive Piddocks, or Angel’s wings, which bore vertically in the soft London Clay, making perfectly round holes as they do so.

We were lucky with the weather: although dull it was dry, a welcome contrast to the very heavy rains of the previous few days.  This year we also offered an afternoon walk, atop the cliffs, to check out the wildlife away from the shore as well as the expansive sea views.

The whole area, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, is one of the finest geological sites in Britain, comprising layers of London Clay topped by Red Crag. The stunning redness of the Crag due to oxidisation of the sand and shell layer laid down over 3 million years ago when Walton was, as now, at the edge of the sea, just prior to it being engulfed in the turmoil of the last Ice Age.

Recent landslips were apparent. A combination of rainwater downwards, lubrication of the clay surface, and storm wave pressures make the whole area vulnerable – although exciting for geologists and fossil-hunters, nevertheless is extremely worrying for the buildings atop the cliffs, for example the famous Naze Tower, a 300 year old landmark built by Trinity House for navigational purposes, which year by year inches its way to the cliff edge (although now slowed by the creation of the Crag Walk).

Immersed in beach-combing as we were, we occasionally raised our eyes seawards to admire the bird-life. Many Dark-bellied Brent Geese were seen and heard, maybe 400 in total, all recently arrived from Siberia, with in amongst them a couple of Pale-bellied individuals. The Essex Coast is a vitally important place for Brent Geese and a fifth of the world’s population use our shores for winter feeding.

Other shorebirds included Grey Plovers, Turnstones and Redshanks, while in the cliff scrub Robins ‘ticked’ (probably  Scandinavian migrants), families of Long -tailed Tits and a Cetti’s Warbler or two, in atypically subdued song.

After a restorative lunch we spent the afternoon ambling around the grassy areas atop the cliffs, and walking the seawall. We were struck by the amount of vegetation in flower – Narrow-leaved Ragwort (new arrival in these parts from South Africa), Sea Mayweed and Yarrow were easy to spot.

Less surprising, but very welcome to insects, was lots of Gorse in full flower (it is said to flower when ‘kissing is in season’ ie all the year round!). Its beautiful coconut scent and bright yellow flowers a real tonic on a dull winter’s afternoon.

The Sea Hog’s Fennel was a point of conversation – lots of these have been deliberately planted at the Naze, and for a specific purpose: it is an Ark population outside the reach of rising sea levels, for the moment at least. A very rare plant itself, it is the only food plant of an even rarer moth, the Fisher’s Estuarine Moth (shown below although not seen on the day!), which was first discovered in the area by Ben Fisher, a friend of ours and by chance also of one of our group.

As always, there is so much to discover in nature once you get your eye in.  An as-yet-unidentified (but interesting-looking) small bug on the fencing by the seawall, Spangle Galls on oak leaves, Witches’ Brooms (also a gall, but caused by a fungus) on  Silver Birch, plus some rather attractive grassland fungi and hedges laden with the fruits of the season. Autumn is really penetrating into the depths of winter this year!

Hopefully everyone enjoyed their time on the Naze, a place definitely worth returning to throughout the year as the seasons change.

So that’s about it for walks with WILD ESSEX for ’22. Still on our agenda is a free Zunday Zoom session on Sunday 11th December (see our next newsletter for the link) and then we hope to kick off next year with our annual Wild Flower Hunt on 1st Jan.  Thanks to everyone who has joined us this year for events.

 

#WildEssexWalks: autumn in Wivenhoe Park

Britain's Wildlife, Bug & Botany Walks, WildEssex, WildWivenhoe

When the day dawned for our annual Fungi walk at the Uni, we were slightly less than optimistic….the rain was beating down on our velux windows, and we knew from a recce a couple of days previously that the fungi were not going to be at their best this year, no doubt due to the long, hot, dry summer and subsequent lack of rain.

However, we need not have worried!  Our fantastic group of friends old and new cared not about the weather (no such thing as wrong weather, only wrong clothes) and still enjoyed a couple of hours in Wivenhoe Park, happy to learn about the trees/galls/leaves and history of the park as well as searching for fungi.

The trees never fail to delight at this wonderful place – specimen trees from all continents of the world, selected for the parkland when Wivenhoe House was first built in the 1750s and added to ever since then – plus many natives including Pedunculate Oaks, Beech and Silver Birch, including a few specimen oaks which probably predate the Park and Hall by half a millennium.

The vast quantity of acorns on the ground was noticeable, this year having been a ‘mast’ year, when the trees put lots of energy into producing fruit, a mechanism to ensure survival of the species by periodically swamping all the seed eaters such as Jays. (Rather overkill as it only takes one acorn to replace a tree!). However, it is an interesting phenomenon, and one that is happening more frequently (three times in the past four years when just a short few years ago, once a decade was more expected), due to the climate chaos encircling us all: the venerable trees are crying out for help, sensing perhaps a premature end as droughts and other stresses make them vulnerable to disease.

A Tree Trail has been put together to take in some of the best examples in the Park, well worth a look…University of Essex Tree Trail – Walking Route in Colchester, Colchester – Visit Colchester. Here are just a couple of the trees – Cork Oaks brought back from the Peninsular Wars by the Park’s owner Major General Rebow, and a couple of Swamp Cypresses growing in the lake, and using snorkel roots to breathe.

But once again, weather conspired against us: the lack of any frost in October means that the sometimes vibrant autumn colours have simply not developed. Compare these two pictures of the leaves of North American Red Oaks in Wivenhoe Park – first in 2019, and then this year, on almost the same date: from autumnal fire to subdued embers…

As expected the fungi were not great (no Fly Agarics this year for example), but other favourites were discovered including Parasols, Beefsteak, Chicken of the Woods and Birch Bracket, as well as lots of ‘LBJs’  (Little Brown Jobs!). Here are a few photos of what we did find:

Galls are a particular interest of ours, and we were pleased to have discovered a couple of days ago Neuroterus saliens,  a rarely seen gall on Turkey Oak. Discovered in UK only in 2006 it has spread in the south east, although we think our record is the first for this part of Essex (probably just that nobody has looked for it, as all Turkey Oaks we saw were covered in it).

Oak trees are particularly blessed/cursed with galls, over 50 different types can be found on these species, though galls, caused by a variety of minute wasps/mites/flies etc do not generally damage their hosts. But again it was noticeable just how few spangle-galls there were: these are normally very obvious at this time of year – once again the suspicion has to be that the freakish weather of 2022 is to blame. Weather that may be responsible for other anomalous sites on a dreary day at the very end of October, Chicory in flower and a welcome beacon of colour.

For those interested in finding out more about which fungi are edible (some are, and delicious, whilst others are deadly poisonous), we would recommend a book coming out early in the New Year Edible Fungi of Britain and Northern Europe | Princeton University Press.  We have had a minor role copy-editing it, and so we know just how beautiful – and useful – it is. We are also hosting a free zoom session ‘The Magic of Mushrooms’ on Sunday 6th November at 7pm.  If you would like the link contact jmgibson1959@btinternet.com.

Thanks to all who braved the weather today, and hope you all enjoyed as much as we did.