Wild Magazine Summer 2021

Discover Wildlife Explore Nature in Essex

Bugs Page 36

matter

We need your help to record insect populations this summer, using a new citizen science app.

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The magazine for Essex Wildlife Trust members Issue 115 | SUMMER 2021

What’s on this

summer

Page 16

Protecting beach-nesting birds and safeguarding the future of vital marine habitats

Fixing fish migration routes in Essex Page 34

Brilliantly balanced education

Ranked 12th highest performing prep school in England Sunday Times Parent Power listing 2020

Visit www.stmaryscolchester.org.uk to find out more about St Mary’s Kindergarten, Lower School and Senior School

Welcome

Issue 115 | Summer 2021

‘As an organisation we are not anti-car or anti-house, but we will always speak up for wildlife’

Welcome

T

he Trust’s overarching vision is for a county rich in wildlife, with people connected to nature.

However, we are acutely aware that Essex is a developing county, under intense pressure from housing, road infrastructure and utilities.

As an organisation we are not anti-car or anti-house, but we will always speak up for wildlife, to ensure that any development is considering the long-term benefits of protecting wild habitats and green space, for both wildlife and for the residents of Essex.

Our work in this area is based on a simple principle of getting the best deal for wildlife. We call this the ‘Best Deal Principle’. The reality is that we may campaign against a major infrastructure development, because we believe it’s not in the best interests of wildlife. But, if that project is then approved, our attention must switch to getting the best deal for wildlife through mitigation.

However, this must not be misinterpreted as the Trust facilitating development – it is merely ensuring that any wildlife mitigation work, which a developer is legally required to deliver under the planning process, is done with the upmost rigour.

The Trust’s role is therefore multi-dimensional – we can object, lobby, advise, monitor and report, all in the name of wildlife protection.

As we work to connect and protect 30% of land and sea by 2030, we need your continued support to get wildlife the best deal.

Chief Executive Officer

The Trust is a corporate member of The Wildlife Trusts

No. 115 Summer 2021 ISSN 0961 6004

We are the county’s leading conservation charity, committed to protecting wildlife and inspiring a lifelong love of nature.

Front cover photo: Oystercatcher - Amy Lewis

Reg Charity No. 210065 VAT Reg No. 945745977 Company Reg No. 638666 England

@essexwildlifetrust @EssexWildlife EssexWildlife @essexwildlifetrust Essex Wildlife Trust www.essexwt.org.uk

We need

your

help!

Keep up to date

Become a Wild Warrior

WILD is the magazine of Essex Wildlife Trust and is published four times a year: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.

T 01621 862960 E membership@essexwt.org.uk www.essexwt.org.uk

Essex Wildlife Trust

We’d love to hear from you throughout the year and let you know the news when it happens and about upcoming events near you. Contact our Membership team on 01621 862974 or members@essexwt.org.uk to add your email address to our mailing list.

Dr. Andrew Impey

All enquiries to: Essex Wildlife Trust, Abbotts Hall Farm, Great Wigborough, Colchester, Essex, CO5 7RZ

Discover us and join the conversation:

The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Trustees of Essex Wildlife Trust.

We manage nature reserves and discovery parks across the county, providing outstanding outdoor learning and preserving places of wonder.

Founded in 1959 by volunteers, we protect over 8,400 acres of land across 87 sites and are supported by 39,000 members.

Our climate is in crisis and nature needs our help. Together we can protect the future. Join us.

We are one of the largest trusts that work together throughout the British Isles as The Wildlife Trusts.

MEET THE WILD TEAM Editor-in-Chief Emily McParland Executive Editor Rich Yates Editorial Assistant Lily Chambers Art Director Nathan Bishop Designer Lottie Hall Advertising & Printing The DS Group Debbie Taylor - Sales Executive debbie@thedsgroup.co.uk Chantell Keston - Sales Executive chantell@thedsgroup.co.uk To advertise in WILD magazine contact Debbie or Chantell on 01255 221322.

WILD magazine includes adverts from third-parties. However, services offered by advertisers are not specifically endorsed by Essex Wildlife Trust.

The income from advertisements goes towards the cost of printing and postage. This means that more of your membership donation goes directly towards conservation. Adverts must conform to the British Code of Advertising Practice.

Copyright © Essex Wildlife Trust 2021

We’ve created a pack full of ideas and tools to help you start a wild fundraiser for Essex Wildlife Trust. Whether you choose to walk, run, cycle, bake, quiz or craft to fundraise, you will help us create a Wilder Essex. Download your free pack at www.essexwt.org.uk/fundraise.

Action for Insects

Download our free guide on how to help insects and learn more about the smallest of species that are vital for our environment at www.essexwt.org.uk/action-for-insects.

Leave a gift in your Will

Help to safeguard our county’s wildlife and allow future generations to experience the joys of nature. Contact Rosalyn Leclercq on 01621 862987 or email legacies@essexwt.org.uk.

We really hope you enjoy receiving your magazine.

If, however, you would prefer to convert to our digital-only Green Membership, please contact the Membership Office on 01621 862974 or by email at members@essexwt.org.uk. We will be delighted to help you manage how we communicate with you.

WILD Summer 2021

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Section title here

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WILD Summer 2021

Bugs ma tter

As part of our Action for Insects project in Essex, we have joined several other Wildlife Trusts to run the Bugs Matter survey this summer. Gathering evidence to show the need for urgent action is the first step in making a difference.

Download the free Bugs Matter app and help us collect vital data on insect abundance throughout the county.

6 YOUR WILD ESSEX

Seagrass photo: Mark Davison

WHAT’S INSIDE

Section title here

Photos sent in and shared by supporters of the Trust, showcasing the wildlife in our county.

16 Protecting our

8 TRUST NEWS

precious coast

Updates from throughout the Trust on our work to protect wildlife and inspire a lifelong love of nature.

The Trust is working to better understand the threats and pressures that our coastal species face – above and below the water – through two important projects, to establish approaches that will lead to their protection.

32 HOW YOU CAN HELP WILDLIFE

48 WHAT’S ON THIS Summer

Turtle dove photo: Amy Lewis

Keeping bird feeders crystal clean helps protect our feathered friends.

The longest days of the year are meant for exploring. Let’s discover the best of Essex’s summer spectacles.

50 WHAT’S ON

THIS June

24 Under the spotlight:

Mimicking orchids mistake our eyes, while our smallest bat and largest beetle zoom past in the skies.

Wrabness nature reserve

Nestled alongside the stunning Stour Estuary, you can listen for elusive turtle doves, gaze over the changing tides and witness conservation action in progress as we take over the management of more vital habitat on this north Essex nature reserve.

52 WHAT’S ON THIS July

54 WHAT’S ON

Photo: Charlie Oliver

While our wildflower meadows are full of life, migratory birds and butterflies call Essex home this month.

THIS August

Heather is in full bloom, house martins leave their nests and our largest dragonfly patrols ours ponds and waterways.

56 TIME TUNNEL

We take a look back at the year 1988 to see what was happening at the Trust.

58 WILDLIFE QUIZ TIME Test your knowledge on the wonderful wildlife and wild places in Essex.

Common mayfly photo: Jon Hawkins - Surrey Hills Photography

34 Unblocking our waterways

Essex’s waterways are not as free flowing as once thought. The Essex Fish Migration Roadmap has identified 400 blockages in our rivers, stopping many species from reaching their historic spawning grounds.

Your Wild Essex The distinctive tail of this swallow has been captured perfectly in this action shot by Mark Didcock, @mjd_wild.

As we transitioned into spring, wildlife was out in force in Essex and so were our members and supporters. Feast your eyes on some of the wonderful wildlife spotted in Essex over the last few months.

A beautiful male blackcap sings at our Two Tree Island nature reserve by Alice Marlow.

The match of the season captured by Jeff Biddle.

A vibrant thick-legged flower beetle captured

by Kerri Webb, @essexnaturephotography.

If you would like to feature in our next edition of WILD magazine, please email your favourite images of Essex wildlife and wild places to magazine@essexwt.org.uk or tag Essex Wildlife Trust on social media.

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WILD summer 2021

Your Wild Essex A bright dandelion and one very happy Andrena mining bee by Waldo Ferris.

A green woodpecker ‘yaffling’ away by Alan Aldridge.

A large clump of jelly-like frogspawn in an Essex garden pond by Lorraine Graham.

The iconic badger pokes up from the shrubbery by Karl Price.

Is it a bee? Is it a fly? It’s a stunning macro image of a bee-fly by Craig McInnes.

#essexwildlifetrust WILD summer 2021

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Trust news

Nature friendly scho

ols photo: Helena Dolb

y

Stories and news from throughout the Trust on our work to protect wildlife and inspire a lifelong love of nature across Essex. Written by our staff, volunteers and members of our Local Groups.

Monty’s Lookout at Two Tree Island Macbradan Bones Landscape Conservation Area Officer (South-East) Our new wildlife-friendly lookout was installed this March, overlooking the serene western lagoon at Two Tree Island nature reserve in Leigh-on-Sea. Monty’s Lookout, designed by Green Roof Shelters, and its associated interpretation was funded by a generous legacy and donations from a JustGiving appeal, after the previous hide was sadly lost to arson in 2019. We wanted Monty’s Lookout to be more than just a space for birdwatching; somewhere where

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WILD Summer 2021

families, people with disabilities and those who aren’t necessarily experts in wildlife can feel welcome and safe whilst engaging with the plethora of wildlife that you can witness on this nature reserve. The new fully accessible lookout is made from re-purposed shipping containers, complete with a wildflower and shingle habitat roof and a wall made from log and stone filled gabions to allow light into the lookout, whilst providing vital habitat for invertebrates. Well worth a visit.

Trust news

Nature Friendly Schools

Anna Gordon Community Engagement and Education Advisor

Essex Wildlife Trust are so proud to be part of the Nature Friendly Schools project, giving children from some of the most under-served communities in the county opportunities to learn outside the classroom, while supporting their wellbeing, mental health, and engagement with school. The project, funded by Defra and the Department for Education, supported by Natural England and delivered by The Wildlife Trusts over four years will allow thousands of pupils to benefit from learning in nature. In the last year we have already worked with 10 schools in Essex and are just beginning to start with a further 10 schools. The Trust works with the school to help them take as much of their learning outside as possible, by increasing teacher confidence and improving the outdoor environment available to the staff and pupils. At this time where so much learning has had to move on to screens, it is great to see children getting outdoors and engaging with exciting hands-on learning experiences.

White stork photo: Terry Whittaker/2020

VISION

White storks stop by Abberton Reservoir Katie Goldsbrough

Ranger at Abberton Reservoir Nature Discovery Park Six white storks that are part of a re-introduction programme in Sussex were spotted spending Easter Sunday at Abberton Reservoir.

White storks were previously part of the British landscape, with evidence of the birds in fossil records stretching back 360,000 years until the Middle Ages, when it’s thought that habitat loss and over-hunting led to their extinction. Abberton Reservoir Nature Discovery Park is the perfect mixture of wetland and grassland habitats to accommodate white storks within the Essex area.

We also have lots of potential nesting trees, so we’re hoping they return to Abberton and that this once lost species in our landscape will make its mark on our beloved county of Essex again.

Leaving

Sphagnum moss photo: Mark Hamblin/2020VISION

peat sales in the past

Emily McParland

Communications Manager Essex Wildlife Trust is working alongside The Wildlife Trusts movement to encourage the end of all sales of peat in the UK. Peatland habitats are crucial in the fight against the climate crisis.

The UK’s peatlands store roughly 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon and alongside the oceans, are the second largest store of carbon on the planet. However, more than 94% of the UK’s lowland peat bogs have already been destroyed or damaged, taking with them the diverse wildlife that thrives there.

Peat extraction is by no means the only cause of damage to our peatlands, but it is one of the easiest to prevent. The Wildlife Trusts are working to restore peatlands throughout the UK, but with over 2 million cubic metres of peat used in horticulture in 2019 alone, an urgent shift is needed. The Wildlife Trusts are calling on the Government to support an immediate ban on peat-based products.

You can help too by taking our peat free pledge and signing our petition to Ministers on our website.

WILD Summer 2021

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Trust news

Our position on the badger cull Dave Smart

Head of Landscape Conservation Thank you to all of our supporters who responded to the Government’s consultation on the badger cull earlier this year. Recent Government proposals suggested an end to granting cull licences in 2022, however this delay could still result in another 130,000 badgers culled during the following four years until 2026. Essex Wildlife Trust believes that action to combat bovine TB should be based on clear scientific evidence that can be effectively applied in practice, including tackling bovine tuberculosis (bTB) through a sustained programme of vaccination with a BCG (Bacillus Calmette Guerin) vaccine, alongside improved biosecurity measures with improved testing and controls on cattle movement.

Although the badger cull has not occurred in Essex, the Trust does not support a cull of badgers and will continue to campaign to protect badgers from persecution throughout the UK. The Trust’s full position statement on the badger cull is available on our website.

Our Nature Nursery site continues to grow Melanie Mewton Outdoor Nursery Manager

Our Nature Nursery has seen many developments over the last couple of months, we have carefully planned enabling environments to spark children’s imagination and curiosity of the natural world.

We have welcomed families back on sites for visits to help plant pear, cherry, plum and apple trees in the orchard. The children have sown vegetable seeds, planted gooseberry, loganberry and blackcurrant bushes ready to harvest in the autumn.

We have created a walk in teepee, there are runner beans, cucumbers and sweet pea domes and a large scale vegetable patch, along with a herb and sensory area to attract butterflies and bees. Locally sourced felled trees are being used to design large xylophones, guiros, and wooden percussion instruments for an outdoor music area. The children have a design hide, allowing children to plan, design and construct using real objects to support early mathematics and expressive arts and design.

The children and families are eager to return for another visit to the Nature Nursery.

We are creating childhood memories that will last a lifetime!

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WILD Summer 2021

Badger photo: Emily McParland

Sowing the seeds of Action for Insects in Essex Zoe Ringwood

Landscape Conservation Area Manager (South-West) Wildflowers photo: James Adler

One of the most worrying statistics for anyone who cares about wildlife is the 41% decline in insects in the UK over the past decade. Everything in nature is connected and the reality is that a decline in insects is having knock-on impacts to all other wildlife.

The Trust is taking action to help insects by sowing and promoting a native wildflower seed mix that will be irresistible to insects, whilst bringing a burst of colour too!

We are aiming to make Essex a more insect-friendly county by encouraging people to sow native wildflowers wherever they can and at whatever scale: whether that be in a garden border, transforming your lawn into a wildflower meadow or simply in a plant pot.

Look out for ways you can become involved in taking Action for Insects in our autumn magazine and at your local Nature Discovery Centre.

Trust news Photo: Eleanor Church / Lark

Rise Pictures

Thank you to our

Wild Warriors!

Update on Langdon Nature Discovery Park

Alice Hardaker

Fundraising Manager

The new Nature Discovery Centre at Langdon is starting to take shape and is looking resplendent with its Essex Wildlife Trust logo.

It’s not just about the building though; we have been working with the Grass Roof Company on an innovative project to attract wildlife to the car park. The car park infrastructure is being constructed from gabions filled with recycled material from the A13 road widening scheme. The gaps between the stones create an ideal habitat for a range of invertebrates. Eight parking bays have been converted into ‘garden bays’, filled with a range of substrates, bee posts, sand piles and insect attracting flowers to increase the biodiversity further. Solitary bees are already starting to make their homes here – making it an instant success!

Unfortunately, as with any large project we have had challenges to deal with, and we have not been immune to the effects of the pandemic. Unavoidably this has caused various delays with contractors, equipment, and stock, so we have taken the difficult decision to push back the opening to this summer (exact date to be announced on our website soon). We are really looking forward to welcoming everyone to the new centre when we can.

Nightingale photo: Chris Gomersall/2020VISION

Of course, challenge events aren’t the only way to raise vital funds to support your wildlife. We’ve created a beautiful new Community Fundraising Pack that is brimming with ideas, tips and hints as well as a special toolkit to help you on your way, complete with exclusive branded items like a sweepstake, poster, bunting, a wildlife quiz and much more.

Sign up online to become an #EssexWild Warrior and get your pack today: www.essexwt.org.uk/fundraise

News from the Uttlesford Local Group Tony Morton Chair of Uttlesford Local Group

Nightingales across the radio Emily McParland

Communications Manager We’ve been ensuring the wonderful song of the nightingale rings out across radio platforms this spring, with several features on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Essex celebrating the nightingales at Fingringhoe Wick Nature Discovery Park. Here we manage the habitat perfectly for their arrival, and undertake surveys to determine how many singing males we have each year.

Oxlip photo: Chris Gomersall/2020VISION

Elizabeth Oddy Visitor Engagement Area Manager

To coincide with the launch of our brand new Community Fundraising programme, this spring Essex Wildlife Trust signed up to two big national fundraising events that took place in April and May: 5K May and Captain Tom’s 100. A very big thank you to everyone that got involved and fundraised to support your wildlife. Keep an eye out in an upcoming Wild News for the total amount raised.

Our local nature reserves have come through the wet and cold winter days, with urgent maintenance work carried out by Trust staff during lockdown, in the absence of the usual care from volunteers. Many reserves saw high visitor numbers, and the wet conditions led to trampling of paths, which will hopefully recover over the drier months. Sadly many ash trees had to be felled this winter as ash dieback disease weakened them.

Bird sightings at Shadwell Wood during winter included raven, recently arrived in this area. Red kites have frequently been visible in the skies around Saffron Walden and Littlebury. As spring came in we heard nuthatch singing, and on 30 March, the first chiffchaff.

Easter saw the oxlips in flower at Shadwell Wood and West Wood nature reserves.

As we head into the summer months, hedgehogs need to move between gardens to access food, water and shelter. So, if you have not made a hedgehog highway hole in your fence already, make one 13cm at ground level in your garden fences, and try to persuade your neighbours to do the same thing.

WILD Summer 2021

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Trust news

Update from Warley Place nature reserve

News from the Brentwood and Billericay Local Group

Mick Hedges Volunteer Warden

Bob Dawson Chair of Brentwood and Billericay Local Group

Through March there was an increasing number of visitors flocking to Warley Place to view the splendid show of daffodils throughout the reserve. It was an exceptional show this year. Because the annual weekend Spring Bulb Spectacular event was unfortunately cancelled due to lockdown restrictions, there has been a large reduction in the funds raised for the Trust.

A new Management Plan is soon to be issued that will shape the reserve in the years to come. The recommendations include actions for the brickwork; additional pathways and tree management that provides more light into barren areas to enable increased biodiversity. The planned changes will be rolled out in phases spread over the coming years, starting with the tasks that can be managed by the volunteers.

News from the Maldon & South Woodham Ferrers Local Group Anita Sandison Secretary of Maldon

& South Woodham Ferrers Local Group There are brimstone butterflies in the garden as I am writing this for the June magazine. Our Local Group was involved in planting buckthorn, brimstone’s food source, in 2014/15 in Maldon, so I hope you may have seen some too.

We’ve recently had a first for Essex, from Ralph Cordey. The brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) is native to China, Japan, and Korea. It has started to appear in the UK where it is a potential threat to a range of agricultural and horticultural plants, including orchard fruit and tomatoes.

Ralph recognised two adult specimens in his house in Danbury.

They were promptly reported to the horticultural and agricultural research institute at East Malling (NIAB EMR). The two insects include what is believed to be the first adult female found inland in the UK – the other was male. Further surveys and pheromone trapping are planned to understand whether a population is becoming established in the area.

Be part of a tree tribute to honour dedicated Dendrologist Christopher Howard Harry Hargrave member of the Colchester Local Group Committee Tree expert Christopher Howard, who sadly died last September after a battle with cancer, was working on a “Trees of Note” project, mapping Colchester’s most impressive trees and shrubs along a new 24 mile walking trail. Christopher was a much respected and well known face in Colchester and the “Trees of Note” project ties in with the popular Colchester Orbital walk and cycling route around the town. Local organisations are moving this project forward and encouraging Colchester residents to explore the route and choose their favourite trees and nominate them for inclusion on the final tree trail. Find out more about the project at www.walkcolchester.org.uk/trees-of-note.

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WILD Summer 2021

Please note that the AGM for 2019 and 2020 will be held on Thursday 17 June, via Zoom. Papers will be circulated in advance, so please contact me on bob.dawson@hotmail.co.uk if you wish to take part. There will also be guided walks on Friday 25 June to Chafford Gorges Nature Discovery Park and on Wednesday 21 July to RSPB’s Bowers Marsh nature reserve. Full details will be on the Trust’s website and sent to local group members via email, if you have not provided your email address please contact members@essexwt.org.uk.

News from the Chelmsford Local Group Sue McClellan Secretary of Chelmsford Local Group Chelmsford Local Group is running several events this summer: Spring Walk at Hanningfield Reservoir on Tuesday 18 May, a Late Spring Walk at Sandylay & Moat Woods nature reserve on Wednesday 23 June, a Summer Walk at Pheasant House Farm on Thursday 22 July and a Summer Walk at Backwarden Nature Reserve on Thursday 19 August. We will also be holding our annual Plant Sale at Hanningfield Reservoir on Saturday 25 September.

Full details will be on our website www.essexwt.org.uk/events and sent via email.

Keeping you safe We were able to re-open our Nature Discovery Centres to the public in March and have been able to open more aspects of the sites in line with the Government’s Roadmap. We are very proud of how our centres have adapted to Covid-19 secure measures.

There are strict safety measures in place, face coverings must be worn inside centres, hand sanitiser is available upon arrival, there is a one-way system in place and anyone using our seating must check in via Test and Trace QR code or by filling out their contact details at reception. Please keep up to date on our latest Covid-19 statement online at www.essexwt.org.uk/news/covid-19.

We offer burial & ash interments, funerals, services and wakes.

Memorial Services and Celebrations of Life.

Adaptable to any ceremony and a completely personalised service from plaque to music including webcast facility.

The option to reserve a plot in advance is also possible.

Assurance of a caring and compassionate experience.

Coppice Lane (behind the Butchers Arms Pub), North End, Between Chelmsford & Great Dunmow, Essex CM6 3PL Tel: 01245 806332

info@oldparkmeadow.co.uk

www.oldparkmeadow.co.uk

My WILD life – Coming home to roost

My WILD life

Coming home to

roost

“Flushed a family of corncrakes making hay today” is the entry in my bird-mad, farmer-father’s record of birds seen at Great Prestons where he lived and worked. It was written in the summer of 1955, shortly before part of the farm was compulsorily purchased and flooded to create Hanningfield Reservoir.

The corncrakes, of course, are long gone, as are the wrynecks, red backed shrikes, tree sparrows and much else that he talked of seeing when he moved to Great Prestons after the war. He was prescient too. “It’s us farmers, we are the problem” he told his equally wildlife crazy son on our endless walks in the 60s looking for animals around the newly created reservoir.

We had a mixed farm then, as did most Essex farmers. But it wasn’t long before the arable juggernaut took over, all-conquering with its powerful machinery, heavy ploughing and chemical inputs. Yields sky-rocketed, but biodiversity (a word not yet invented) plummeted.

We could see it happening before our eyes, and I grew up determined to do what I could to try and help wildlife and encourage a better balance between food production and nature.

Like most youngsters I left my roots to go and plough my own furrow, working for many years for WWF and then The Wildlife Trusts.

Much of my time was spent overseas including in Brazil where I met my wife, a family appeared, and “normal” life took over. But with our own children grown up and fledged, a miraculous thing happened.

My wife and I had the chance to move back to Great Prestons, the house where I was born, and to enjoy once again the wonders of Essex and the particular wonders of living 400 metres from the water at Hanningfield Reservoir.

Essex and Suffolk Water, along with Essex Wildlife Trust, has done a brilliant job managing the reservoir. There may be no corncrakes, but marsh harriers, hobbies, bearded tits, great white egrets, Cetti’s warblers and ravens are all thriving – birds not even mentioned in my father’s book. And with a new support system coming in for farmers that is focused on nature recovery and sustainable farming, I am optimistic about the future for Essex’s wildlife.

Dr Simon Lyster has held many national

leadership roles in the conservation sector.

He was Director General of The Wildlife Trusts, has served on the board of Natural England, and has been a Director of Essex & Suffolk Water for 14 years. He is a Climate Commissioner for Essex County Council, runs a small farm business at his home near Hanningfield Reservoir, and is a Deputy Lieutenant of Essex.

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WILD SUMMER 2021

Equally encouraging is the work of the Climate Action Commission set up by Essex County Council to advise how best Essex can reach net zero by 2050. I am privileged to be one of the Commissioners, and we have recommended a wide-ranging suite of actions to deliver net zero, including doubling the amount of natural and semi-natural habitat in Essex and creating a nature recovery network to get better connectivity between sites. Who knows, maybe we’ll get corncrakes back after all…

Corncrake photo: Fergus Gill/2020VISION

Section title here

Scan me to sign up!

is back!

Photo: Eleanor Church / Lark Rise Pictures

Be a part of something big this August

Last year, 173 of you took part in our first ever virtual fundraising challenge event, celebrating our stunning 350-mile coastline and all of the wildlife that call it home.

You ran, cycled, paddled and walked – some of you wore impressive fancy dress – and together you raised an incredible £14,435 for wildlife.

The Essex Coastal Challenge is back for 2021 and this year when you sign up, you will receive your very own Challenge Pack, an exclusive medal with this year’s ribbon, access to a friendly community Facebook group and so much more – with support from us throughout.

This year it’s only £14.50 to enter, with a 30% early bird discount to members who sign up before World Oceans Day on Tuesday 8 June.

What’s more:

If you raise over £350 you can opt in to have your name featured on our online ‘hall of fame’, new this year – and of course the knowledge that you’ve raised £1 for every mile of our precious coastline, to protect our wildlife.

If you raise £100 or over in your challenge you can opt in for your name to be featured in our WILD magazine, reaching almost 40,000 supporters.

So dig out all the blue items in your wardrobe, dust off your running shoes, rust off your squeaky bikes and join the team for the 2021 Essex Coastal Challenge this August.

Sign up by visiting:

www.essexwt.org.uk/essex-coastal-challenge

Love Essex • Love Wildlife Registered Charity No. 210065

WILD Spring 2021

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Protecting our precious coast

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WILD SUMMER 2021

Protecting our precious coast

T

his year the Trust is increasing its work on our Share Our Shores project – which aims to protect beach-nesting birds, and we are also launching a new initiative – the Essex Seagrass Project. Both projects are working to better understand the threats and pressures that our coastal wildlife faces, and to establish approaches that will help lead to their protection.

Oystercatcher photo: Chris Gomersall/2020VISION

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Protecting our precious coast

‘Our county’s coastline stretches for over 350 miles, from the mighty Thames Estuary, expansive mudflats, winding saltmarshes and cliffs as high as 70ft. It’s a haven for all types of wildlife.’

Photo: Eleanor Church / Lark Rise Pictures

U

nderwater flowering meadows, where seahorses sneak around, seals tumble their way through and plaice gaze up while hoping their flat, camouflaged bodies let them go by unnoticed. Above the water, tiny chattering seabirds that have travelled thousands of miles gather and forage, collecting food for their young that are carefully dotted along the coastline.

As you walk, cycle, paddle or sail your way along the Essex coast on a warm summer day, you might not realise that all of this is happening above and below the water. Our county’s coastline stretches for over 350 miles, from the mighty Thames Estuary, expansive mudflats, winding saltmarshes and cliffs as high as 70ft. It’s a haven for all types of wildlife.

Short-snouted seahorse photo: Paul Naylor

www.marinephoto.co.uk

The Essex coastline is also becoming an ever more popular destination to visit. When lockdown eased last summer an influx of people visited the coast, which led to many nesting birds fleeing their nests and other wildlife becoming startled and stressed after several months without many visitors.

Humans and wildlife can live in harmony, but we must ensure we’re sharing the shores with our threatened wildlife – respecting zoned off areas, carefully landing boats and not getting too close to wildlife when they need the most protection.

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WILD SUMMER 2021

Protecting our precious coast

The Essex Seagrass Project The only flowering plants able to live in seawater and pollinate while submerged, seagrasses often grow in large groups, giving the appearance of terrestrial grassland.

Seagrass meadows are vital habitats – these underwater meadows support a diverse ecosystem, from spawning and nursery sites for fish, to providing food and shelter for tiny invertebrates, marine mammals and waterfowl. Their roots stabilise the sediment and as they absorb nutrients they clean the surrounding seawater.

Seagrass is also vital in our combat against climate change: a hectare of seagrass may store two tonnes of CO2 a year and hold it for centuries. They are listed as a UK habitat of principal importance, but are also now a critically endangered EU red-listed habitat.

Globally, 30,000km2 of seagrass has been lost in the last several decades, which is equal to 18% of the global area. In the UK, we have lost half of our seagrass meadows since 1985. Locally, recent studies have shown that meadow extent in the Stour and Orwell estuaries is at just 2% of its 1973 extent.

There are many factors that have led to their decline: physical pressures from anchoring, mooring, bait digging and trampling to eutrophication (excessive nutrients in the water system leading to algal blooms) and pollution. They were also severely affected by a disease in the 1930s.

Despite this, we still have vital patches of seagrass meadows along our coastline, including off of Two Tree Island nature reserve, Shoeburyness on the Thames, St. Lawrence on the Blackwater and off our Wrabness nature reserve on the Stour. Essex is predominately home to one species of seagrass, dwarf eelgrass (Zoestera noltei), which is found in the intertidal zone. We also have several smaller areas of an intertidal growth form of common eelgrass (Zostera marine), a species usually found in the subtidal.

Seagrass photo: Paul Naylor www.marineph

oto.co.uk

WILD SUMMER 2021

| 19

Protecting our precious coast

Seagrass photo: Tim Gardiner

To protect seagrass meadows in Essex, the Trust is launching its new Essex Seagrass Project this summer. This project will deliver the ReMEDIES (Reducing and Mitigating Erosion and Disturbance Impacts affecting the Seabed) initiative in Essex.

ReMEDIES is a national project led by Natural England to protect, restore and re-establish seagrass meadows off the UK coast.

The Essex Estuaries Special Area of Conservation is the location of one of five projects nationally that aim to reduce the negative impact of recreational boating activities, such as mooring and anchoring on current seagrass meadows. Essex Wildlife Trust is the delivery partner in Essex and we are looking forward to working with Natural England and other ReMEDIES partners to develop and deliver it.

As part of the Essex Seagrass Project, we are expanding our research through the entire Essex coastline to include both current and historic areas of seagrass. We are training citizen scientists to record recreational activities around the coastline to monitor and gain a better understanding of the pressures facing our coastal wildlife. We will also be raising awareness of the importance of seagrass habitats and will work with key coastal communities, stakeholders and water users.

By the end of the project in October 2023, we not only aim to have measured pressures and established approaches that will help reduce them, but we will have informed locations and considerations for future seagrass restoration projects and management of seagrass meadows in Essex.

LIFE Recreation ReMEDIES (LIFE18 NAT/UK/000039) is financially supported by LIFE, a financial instrument of the European Commission. In the Thames and Stour estuaries, the Essex Seagrass Project is kindly supported by The AIM Foundation.

Keel damage photo: Mark Davison

Seagrass photo: Mark Davison

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WILD SUMMER 2021

Protecting our precious coast

Share Our Shores Little tern photo: Emily McParland

Above the shoreline, our coastal birdlife has also faced increasing pressures. Essex Wildlife Trust has been working in collaboration with the RSPB and key stakeholders, to protect and monitor the breeding populations of three key beach-nesting birds: the UK’s smallest seabird, the little tern, the brightly beaked oystercatcher and the delicate ringed plover.

Oystercatcher photo: Tom Marshall

Together, our aim is to create the ideal habitat for beach-nesting birds, to monitor the populations and to raise public awareness of how we can all allow Essex’s coastal bird populations to thrive.

Our county’s beach-nesting birds are extremely sensitive to disturbance, with natural causes including increasing storm surges, disrupted weather patterns and rising sea levels already putting their nesting habitat at risk.

Along the Blackwater and Colne estuaries, several Essex Wildlife Trust and RSPB nature reserves provide the perfect home for these threatened beach-nesting birds, but sadly still the pressures of disturbance from humans on land and on the water has impacted the breeding success of these birds.

Essex Wildlife Trust’s Colne Point nature reserve, the shingle beach at Tollesbury nature reserve and RSPB Old Hall Marshes are protected nesting sites for beach-nesting birds. The bird’s nests are so well camouflaged that you may not realise they are there, and the adults may be out foraging – so even if it looks quiet, please keep away from these nesting sites in the summer months. Prime habitat is roped off and signage indicates it’s a “no go” zone from April-August.

Ringed plover photo: Fergus Gill/2020VISION

When you’re visiting the coastline, stick to waymarked paths and only land boats, kayaks and paddleboards on designated landing sites, to not run the risk of disturbing any protected areas. All wild birds’ nests and eggs are protected by law and it is illegal to intentionally take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while it is in use or being built.

It’s not just boat landings that can disrupt the breeding success, water sports near the shoreline can wash away nests and loud noises including music and shouting can cause adults to flee their nests in fear of their safety. If disturbed, the birds will let you know with a short, sharp alarm call – with the adult either fleeing or flying overhead. If you see any of this type of behaviour, you should back up or reverse the way you came, while carefully watching where you tread and keeping dogs on leads, to avoid any risk of disturbing or injuring young.

If you do see evidence of wildlife crime, please report this straight away to your local Wildlife Crime Officer, using the police 101 number.

By sharing this information with friends and family, and spreading our key messages on social media using #ShareOurShores, you can help us protect these birds and teach more people about the importance of the Essex coastline for wildlife.

5 key ways you can help: 1. Learn where the key nesting sites are 2. Respect zoned off areas – these are

“no go” zones from April-August

3. Avoid disturbance by boat by keeping

your distance, any noise to a minimum and only landing at designated sites

4. Back away carefully if you disturb

a breeding bird

5. Raise awareness and report

bad behaviour

WILD SUMMER 2021

| 21

Protecting our precious coast

Species to spot Help us record the distribution of these key species in Essex. Learn how to ID them and then, after a visit to the Essex coast, complete our online record form at www.essexwt.org.uk/coastal-wildlife-survey.

Ringed plover photo: Tom Marshall

Little tern photo: Amy Lewis

Oystercatcher photo: Amy Lewis

Little tern

Little tern are one of our rarest breeding seabirds, returning each year from west Africa in May to breed on our shingle beaches and feed on fish close to shore. Listen for their chattering call. They can be told apart from the larger common tern by their yellow beak with a black tip and they are considerably smaller in size.

Common seal

Ringed plover

Ringed plover lay their eggs on the beach from late March. These small camouflaged birds feed on insects along the beach and crustaceans along mudflats. In the presence of predators, these birds can pretend to be injured to deter threats away from their nest.

The ringed plover is not to be confused with the little ringed plover – which has a yellow ring around its eyes.

Common seal photo: Tom Marshall

The smaller of our two UK seal species and also known as ‘harbour seals’, you can distinguish them from grey seals by their shorter head with a more concave forehead, and V-shaped nostrils. Common seals breed in the summer, hauled out on mudflats, sandbanks and beaches, but their pups can swim after only a few hours. Common seals feed on fish, squid, whelks, crabs and mussels.

Oystercatcher

Oystercatcher have a distinctive orange beak, a red ring around their eyes and smart black and white plumage. They are fiercely territorial and can be heard hassling other birds on the beach.

Their diet includes cockles, mussels and worms.

Harbour porpoise photo: Niki Clear

Harbour porpoise

These shy marine mammals can be spotted close to shore in shallow waters, either alone or in small groups. They can grow up to 2 metres in length but you tend to only see a small, triangular dorsal fin briefly breaking the surface.

They are dark grey in colour and have rounded heads, with no beak.

www.essexwt.org.uk/coastal-wildlife-survey

22 |

WILD SUMMER 2021

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Section title hereReserve Wrabness Nature

The gentle ‘turring’ of a turtle dove coincides with the cacophony of feeding waders and the crescendo of nightingales at this stunning nature reserve, nestled on the banks of the Stour Estuary.

Wrabness nature reserve

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WILD SUMMER Summer 2021

Section here Wrabness Naturetitle Reserve

What to look out for this

summer atWrabness

Meadow brown photo: John Bridges

Turtle doves

Wrabness is a refuge for these shy migratory visitors. Enjoy their gentle ‘turring’ on a warm summers day.

Turtle dove photo: Russell Savory

Barn owls

Keep your eyes peeled across the rough grassland at dusk to look for a silently hunting barn owl.

Butterflies Look for meadow brown, gatekeeper and ringlet butterflies floating above the thickets that line the paths.

Barn owl photo: Andy Rouse/2020VISION

Billie’s facts Wrabness Nature Reserve

Waders

Curlew, lapwing and oystercatcher to name a few, the Stour Estuary provides ideal feeding grounds for these wading birds throughout the year.

Curlew photo: David Tipling/2020VISION

Size: 32 hectares.

Address: Wheatsheaf Close, Manningtree, Wrabness, CO11 2TD .

Access: There is a hard surfaced path around the reserve and mu ltiple unsurfaced paths that take you around the reserve, including alon g the edge of the estuary. Parking is available for up to 10 cars.

Dogs: Permitted under effective con trol.

Designations: Wrabness has bee n designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), RAMSAR and a Special Protected Area (SPA ).

WILD Summer SUMMER 2021

| 25

‘This site, now home to such diversity of wildlife previously served as a mine depot for the Ministry of Defence and following cessation as such, was saved from development to be turned into a Category A prison when it was purchased by a group of passionate individuals.’

W

rabness nature reserve sits on the Stour Estuary and its location, coupled with careful management, ensures that it hosts an abundance of wildlife throughout the year. Towards the end of April, the first turtle dove arrives and may be heard ‘turring’ from the scrub.

By May the beautiful call of the nightingale echoes across the site, whilst barn owls and kestrels patrol the skies searching for small mammals in the grasslands below. Winter brings the arrival of hundreds of wildfowl and waders who take advantage of the warm, thick mud to feed on invertebrates whilst the grassland supports good populations of dark-bellied brent geese.

Beyond birds, the species-rich grassland allows an array of butterflies, moths and other invertebrate species to thrive, in turn feeding the small mammals who ‘catch the eye’ of the watchful birds of prey that glide and hover above.

This site, now home to such diversity of wildlife previously served as a mine depot for the Ministry of Defence and following cessation as such, was saved from development to be turned into a Category A prison when it was purchased by a group of passionate individuals who established themselves as the Wrabness Nature Reserve Charitable Trust. In 2006, the site, which at the time encompassed 24 hectares, was acquired by Essex Wildlife Trust.

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WILD SUMMER 2021

Wrabness nature reserve, although relatively small in area, thrived under the careful management of knowledgeable staff and dedicated volunteers until in 2018, when thanks to the generosity of 683 supporters, we were able to raise £57,000 to expand the site and create an important wildlife corridor.

In addition, in early 2020, another parcel of land was kindly donated to the Trust, increasing the site’s total area to 32 hectares. Excitingly, these new acquisitions mainly comprised of degraded wet grassland, a habitat of significant importance for supporting breeding waders and wildfowl species, and one found on a very limited scale within the existing landholding.

In October 2020, thanks to funding received via gifts in Wills, our Landscape Conservation Area Officer, Alan Brown, designed and initiated the delivery of a project to address the degradation by creating scrapes and low ways, forming part of a network of features designed to hold more water on site. The gifts in Wills left by the late Reg Arthur and Diane Weston have already benefitted wildlife around the county through many conservation projects, with more possibilities still to come thanks to these kind individuals and others like them.

Wrabness nature reserve photo: Emily McParland

Wrabness Nature Reserve

Wrabness Nature Reserve Last winter, further habitat enhancement work was delivered on the western side of the site, where a corridor of hog’s fennel was planted as a food plant for the rare Fisher’s estuarine moth. This exciting project work caught the attention of BBC Countryfile, with Margherita Taylor helping us to plant the hog’s fennel and the feature airing in December 2020.

Guy Checketts introducing Griff Rhys Jones, Patron of the Stour and Orwell Trust to Wrabness nature reserve.

In the longer term, the Trust is due to take on the management of Oakfield Wood, immediately opposite the nature reserve. Oakfield Wood is a green burial ground and following its completion, will form an integral piece of the wider mosaic, as semi-mature native woodland.

Meanwhile, this year, thanks to funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Wrabness nature reserve will be one of the key sites featured in our ‘Tendring Loves Conservation’ project to engage residents in the local community with activities, events and guidance to help them connect with their local green spaces. The project will include the delivery of a community trail, improved interpretation and a circular route accessible to all visitors so that everyone may enjoy the stunning spectacles this site has to offer!

When you visit Wrabness, you may enjoy the wonderful views and take a moment to rest on the new bench, installed in memory of the late Guy Tresham Checketts CBE. Guy saw many amazing views during his travels on business, but the one that inspired him most was over the River Stour. He was fond of commenting that ‘this was the best view in the world’ when overlooking the estuary. When he retired from his executive job in London, he moved to a bungalow with a glorious aspect over his favourite part of the world.

Guy cared about the environment and was responsible for forming the fundraising group that successfully bought and protected Wrabness nature reserve and safeguarded vital turtle dove habitat and protected other key species from development plans. He would have been delighted to learn that a bench was placed by his family and a meadow was being named after him, leaving a lasting legacy alongside the Stour Estuary.

If you would like to leave a lasting legacy with a gift in your Will and would like to know more, please email legacies@essexwt.org.uk or visit www.essexwt.org.uk/ gifts-in-wills for detailed information. Alternatively, contact Rosalyn Leclercq, Senior Legacy Officer on 01621 862987.

‘Wrabness nature reserve will be one of the key sites featured in our ‘Tendring Loves Conservation’ project to engage residents in the local community with activities, events and guidance to help them connect with their local green spaces.’

WILD SUMMER 2021

| 27

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Win big in our wild Barn owl photos: Russell Savory. Dormouse photo: Danny Green/2020VISION. Badger photo: Bertie Gregory/2020VISION

er

ffleLook what

Take part in our first digital raffle this summer, to support wildlife and be in with the chance to win one of our beautiful prizes, exclusive to Essex Wildlife Trust!

you can win...

1st prize

Receive a gold leaf on the Tree of Life at Fingringhoe Wick Nature Discovery Park, worth £375 that will be held pride of place for seven years.

2nd prize

3rd prize

4th prize

Win a tour of Blue House Farm nature reserve with our warden Harry and look for the stars of our barn owl webcam, as they scan the fields looking for voles.

Experience our wonderful Danbury Ridge nature reserves and the wildlife within on a guided tour with our Landscape Conservation Area Manager, Neil.

The chance to get face-to-face with a badger at our Fingringhoe Wick Nature Discovery Park, with a 2 hour guided experience in our specially set up wildlife hide.

We’ve gone digital for the first time to help continue to reduce our environmental impact and allow more people to get involved.

To win one of these wild experiences, all you have to do is sign up at:

www.raffleplayer.com/essexwildlifetrust The raffle will close on Thursday 8 July, with the draw taking place on Monday 12 July.

Players must be 16 or over to enter.

Love Essex • Love Wildlife Registered Charity No. 210065

Section title here

S

ummer is a wonderful time to get outside and sit in your garden, patio, balcony, or on your doorstep and appreciate the wildlife that has made its home in our urban landscape. Here are some ideas of how you can make your patch a little wilder and more accommodating to nature this summer.

Create a bee house

Got some free time and spare wood?

Why not create a simple bee B&B.

Go vertical

If you haven’t got much space, consider vertical gardening using climbing plants on a trellis or converting a pallet to make a stepped planter.

Offer a drink

If you don’t have a wildlife pond or bird bath, fill a plant tray with stones and top it up with water for thirsty insects, birds and small mammals.

Back to front

Don’t forget your front gardens, alleyway and parking courts, all of which can be made wilder and more wildlife friendly.

Build a bee bank

Plant on balconies and ledges

If you have some spare sand and a sunny spot consider creating a bee bank or mound.

If you have a balcony or window ledge, plant a pot for pollinators or grow some climbers or herbs.

Say no to the mow

Leave areas of long grass or at the very least set your mower on a higher setting and let any daisies or dandelions flower.

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WILD SUMMER 2021

Summer Section Wildlife title Garden here

TOP TIPS

John More

Living Landscapes Coordinator

What could be better?

Take some time to stand back and think about what’s working and what could be better – make a note of improvements and when is the best time to do them.

Use peat-free compost

More than 94% of the UK’s lowland peat bogs have already been destroyed or damaged. Alongside the oceans, peatlands are the second largest store of carbon on the planet!

Find further inspiration

Check out the Actions page on our website for some more ideas and activities for your wild patch.

Leave ivy lively

Ivy can provide food and shelter for birds, bats and a myriad of insects, so resist the urge to give it the chop.

Plant a herb garden

Herbs will attract important pollinators, which will, in turn, attract birds and small mammals looking for a meal. Herbs can be grown in troughs, hanging baskets, pots or window boxes so no need for a big garden.

Connect the dots

Ensure hedgehog and toad holes are clear of obstructions and debris, or create a new 13cm x 13cm hole for them.

Pile up logs or stones

Placing piles of logs or stones in shady spots can provide a welcome respite to hot dry conditions for many species during summer.

Stop using pesticides

Look for natural alternatives to pesticide in your gardens and allotments, to avoid killing any important insects.

WILD SUMMER 2021

| 31

HOW TO HELP WILDLIFE

Your step-by-step guide to cleaning a bird feeder!

Blue tit photo: Gillian Day

Providing food for wild birds is vital for their survival, especially during the colder months.

However, to prevent the spread of disease you must make sure your feeders remain clean.

Supplying clean food and water stations in your garden or any local green space will entice a variety of exciting visitors.

What will you need: •• Rubber gloves • hot water • veterinary disinfectant (non-toxic and bird safe) • bucket • small cleaning brush Please make sure to clean your feeders outside, don’t bring them inside.

Start

Step 1

Pop your gloves on, then empty the contents of the feeder into an outside bin, do not reuse the food or compost it.

Step 2

Following the instructions on the bottle, mix the disinfectant with hot water in your bucket to make up the cleaning solution to soak your feeders in.

Step 5

Step 3

Use your small cleaning brush to scrub the feeders until they are clean.

Step 4

Thoroughly rinse your feeder with cold water outside.

Leave your feeders to dry outside and once fully dry, refill them with birdseed of your choice to keep our feathered friends happy. Ideally, repeat this process every two weeks.

After cleaning your feeders and removing your gloves, make sure to give your hands and forearms a good wash.

Send your images of birds enjoying your sparkling feeders as well as anything you’ve been doing at home to help wildlife thrive in Essex to magazine@essexwt.org.uk.

32 |

WILD Summer 2021

1 ing 02 ch 2 un e r La emb pt Se

Happy, healthy and hungry to learn.

Welcome to the Nature Nursery. We offer quality childcare for 2-5 year-olds based on learning through nature.

Set in the grounds of Abbotts Hall Nature Discovery Park near Colchester, where children can enjoy both freedom and security, our outdoor nursery is run by early learning experts at Essex Wildlife Trust, the most experienced provider of outdoor education in the county.

Launching September 2021, Register your interest now at:

www.naturenursery.org.uk

Nature Nursery is part of:

Registered Charity Number 210065

Photos: Eleanor Church / Lark Rise Pictures

A Roadmap to Free-flowing Rivers

A roadmap to Photo: Darren Tansley

R

ivers are an essential part of our environment, supporting innumerable wildlife species, providing valuable habitat, connecting local communities and linking freshwater with coastal and marine ecosystems. Curving and flowing through the land, rivers are a lifeblood of our county, but they face constant challenges.

Our rivers are home to around 3,000 species, 200 of which are listed as rare, endangered or vulnerable. Over the centuries, our connected rivers have been severely fragmented and industrialised; they have become drains for our waste and chemicals, canals for our transportation and have been artificially blocked by man-made barriers such as weirs, locks, sluices, mills and flood control structures. These structures serve a vital process but too often are impassable to fish and eels, so the once uninterrupted free flow of rivers now resembles a series of linear lakes with little or no opportunity for fish to move upstream and complete their migratory journeys.

‘Red’ river sections signify where navigation by fish and eels is closed and ‘green’ sections where it is open.

Photo: Charlie Oliver

Photo: Darren Tansley

34 |

WILD SUMMER 2021

A Roadmap to Free-flowing Rivers

‘Our rivers are home to around 3,000 species, 200 of which are listed as rare, endangered or vulnerable.’

Photo: Darren Tansley

Photo: Darren Tansley

Migratory fish species move between the freshwater and marine environment as they spend different stages of their life cycle in different habitats. Barriers can cut them off from suitable spawning sites, affecting their diversity and populations while also putting them at a greater risk to pollution events.

Recovery can be dangerously slow if fish cannot move back upstream to recolonise, which also impacts their predators, affecting species like kingfisher and otter.

Over the past three years, in conjunction with the Thames Estuary Partnership and the Environment Agency, we have been working to create The Essex Fish Migration Roadmap.

This roadmap of all the rivers across the county has subsequently led to the identification of 400 obstructions to fish passage.

‘Red’ river sections signify where navigation by fish and eels is closed and ‘green’ sections where it is open. The roadmap will allow us to focus on a ‘whole system’ approach and prioritise strategic actions. This is the largest ever connectivity project attempted by the Trust, with the aim of turning the map ‘green’ over the next decade, by removing or bypassing obstructions to fish migration and allowing wildlife the opportunity to return to their previous range.

The Trust is now investigating how to remove or bypass some of the obstructions on the River Colne and Blackwater with the help of a grant from the Environment Agency and we already have approval to create a bypass for Dedham Mill on the River Stour this year.

Brook lamprey (Lampetra planeri) This ancient and primitive fish is eel-like in shape, grey in colour and can grow to 15cm in length. Instead of a jaw they have a round sucker for a mouth. They only feed during their larval form, filtering detritus and other organic content from the water. Brook lamprey are a freshwater species, spending their entire lifecycle in rivers and streams. Lamprey remain as larvae for 3-7 years, buried in the sand until they metamorphosise into adults in the autumn. They then travel to shallow gravel areas in the spring to spawn, before dying.

Status: Threatened, there are only three confirmed breeding sites in Essex.

Photo: Jack Perks

European eel (Anguilla anguilla) With long snake-like bodies and a pair of pectoral fins, these eels can grow to 60-80cm long. They are catadromous, meaning they are born in the ocean and migrate to freshwater habitats before returning to the ocean to spawn. Larvae travel from the Sargasso Sea across the Atlantic Ocean to rivers in Europe, where they metamorphosise to ‘glass eels’, then ‘elvers’, to ‘yellow eels’ and finally ‘silver eels’, before heading back to the ocean to spawn.

Depending on their life stage, their diet can include fish, molluscs and crustaceans, insects, worms and even carrion.

Status: Critically Endangered

WILD SUMMER 2021

| 35

Bugs Matter

s

Scorpion fly photo: Amy Lewi

H

Bu

ave you noticed fewer squashed insects accumulating on your car after a summer drive? This is the ‘Windscreen Phenomenon’, a term given to the observation that people are finding fewer squashed insects on their cars after a long journey, compared to several decades ago.

36 |

WILD SUMMER 2021

Bugs

Bugs Matter

Giant Lacewing photo: Vaughn Matthews

WILD SUMMER 2021

| 37

BUGS MATTER

As part of our Action for Insects project in Essex, we have joined several other Wildlife Trusts to run the ‘Bugs Matter’ survey – a user-friendly smart phone app that will bring meaningful citizen science to the pockets of thousands of people.

T

here is growing evidence of insect decline on a global scale, caused mainly by habitat loss and fragmentation, routine and unnecessary use of pesticides and climate change – the consequences of which are potentially catastrophic for the integrity of our ecosystems and pollination of food crops.

Patterns and trends in insect numbers are nuanced and gathering evidence to show the need for urgent action is the first step in making a difference. However, evidence is still lacking or only partly understood for many insect groups and species. In the UK, only butterflies and moths have been monitored in enough detail to allow trends to be fully understood.

In 2019, dozens of citizen scientists helped Kent Wildlife Trust gather data on the numbers of insects squashed on car number plates. The results showed the number of insects counted was 50% lower than in a survey using the same method carried out by the RSPB in 2004.

38 |

WILD SUMMER 2021

This is a startling figure, but much more evidence is key to understanding patterns and thousands more people need to get involved to help survey the trends.

As part of our Action for Insects project in Essex, we have joined several other Wildlife Trusts to run the ‘Bugs Matter’ survey – a user-friendly smart phone app that will bring meaningful citizen science to the pockets of thousands of people and will help us to better understand how our insect populations are faring throughout the county over time.

The concept is simple. You download the app and sign-up to register your details. You will then be sent a ‘splatometer’ survey grid through the post for use in the survey. Before making an essential journey, you clean the number plate of the vehicle and start recording your journey on the app.

When you reach your destination, stop the journey on the app, hold up the ‘splatometer’ grid to the number plate and count the bug splats visible through the grid. Take a photo of the grid in place and submit your count via the app.

Lacewing photo: Rachel Scopes

Caddis fly photo: Margaret Holland

BUGS MATTER

We are not encouraging people to make additional journeys via car, only to take advantage of the essential journeys which would have already been made, by collecting useful data.

You also do not need to be the driver of the vehicle, just to have permission from the owner.

Bugs Matter has the advantage of being indiscriminate, sampling any and every insect floating in the aerial plankton; a diverse collection of organisms that sustain ecosystems and underpin so much of nature. This survey is a simple way to get a rough measure of insect populations. The survey requires no specialist ID skills, we’d like to encourage as many people to get involved in the survey this summer as possible.

The use of the app in Essex was funded by one of Essex Wildlife Trust’s Investors in Wildlife, Ground Control, a multi-award winning external solutions provider based in Essex, who will be getting their staff involved in the surveys too.

Gathering evidence to show the need for urgent action is the first step in making a difference.

Take part in the survey Survey your journeys from 1 June – 31 August and help us gather vital data on the population of insects in Essex. Download the free Bugs Matter app from the App store or Google Play store today. After you sign up, the ‘splatometer’ will be posted to you, ready for use on your next essential journey.

WILD SUMMER 2021

| 39

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BY APPOINTMENT TO HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II SWAROVSKI OPTIK SUPPLIER OF BINOCULARS

NL PURE 32 ONE WITH NATURE SEE THE UNSEEN

GUILLEMOTS © BARRY BLAND, NATUREPL

Seabird Cities

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WILD SUMMER 2021

Seabird Cities

T

Tom Hibbert is content officer for The Wildlife Trusts and studies seabirds across the UK.

Guillemots nest on cliffs and rocky islands, crowding together on suitable ledges

he air is heavy with the scent of seaweed and the unmistakeable musk of guano. Perched on the dry, cliff-top grass, I lean forward and cautiously peer over the edge. A heart-stopping distance below me, the North Sea washes against the algae-covered rocks. Dark shapes dot the water, with more on the white chalk cliffs.

I raise my binoculars and see crowds of guillemots crammed onto the narrow ledges, their neat, almost-black-and-white plumage giving them the air of guests at an overcrowded dinner party.

One shuffles and stretches, revealing a glorious turquoise egg tucked between its flipper-like feet. It leans down, studying its precious parcel, before hiding it once again in the soft embrace of its feathers. The guillemots aren’t alone on their rocky home.

Razorbills recline on their own little ledges, shunning the crowds for a more private perch. Kittiwakes screech from mounds of

moulded mud and seaweed, and the bright orange bill of a puffin peeks out from the shadows of a narrow crevice.

Hundreds of birds cover the cliffs before me, with many thousands more along this single stretch of coast. The colony is in constant motion; it’s noisy, smelly, busy and without a doubt one of the most spectacular things I’ve ever seen.

In a time of terrifying species declines, abundance is an increasingly difficult thing to experience. Rare are the butterfly blizzards and moth snowstorms described from just a few decades ago, but a seabird colony still offers the chance to enjoy an overwhelming abundance of wildlife, and the UK is one of the best places in the world to discover these beguiling birds.

A quarter of Europe’s breeding seabirds are found in the UK, with over eight million birds of 25 species nesting around Britain and Ireland.

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GANNETS NESTING ON A CLIFF © TOM HIBBERT

Seabird Cities

A home for the summer Seabirds are a varied group, from the flightless penguins that chase fish through the frigid waters of Antarctica, to the globe-spanning shearwaters that cross entire oceans on their long, slender wings.

They’re adventurers and explorers, taming the untameable, from wind-scoured cliffs to the endless expanse of the open ocean, thriving in the places that for so long were too hostile for us to follow. What unites these amazing animals is their unrivalled ability to be at home on land, at sea, and in most cases, in the air.

It’s on land that we know them best.

No bird has truly escaped the pull of dry ground, as even the most oceangoing seabirds are tethered to land by the need to lay eggs. Every spring, our seabird cities burst into life as the summer residents return, hurriedly pair up with a new mate or reaffirm bonds with an old flame, and get on with the important business of nesting.

For land loving birds, this is usually a solitary affair, but for seabirds the opposite is true. The majority nest in colonies, sometimes hundreds of thousands strong.

There are a few reasons for this, but what it really comes down to is that seabirds are at their most vulnerable when they visit land to nest. Many lay eggs on the ground, where they would be an easy snack for a hungry fox, stoat or rat. As a result, they tend to favour inaccessibly sheer cliffs or small islands off our coasts, free from the threat of mammalian predators. Prime seabird real estate like this is in short supply, so birds end up clustered together.

But even when there is room for them to spread their wings, most species cluster by choice. There’s safety in numbers.

Even without the dangers of roaming mammals, there are still predators to worry about; birds of prey, crows and even other seabirds like gulls and skuas are a threat to eggs, chicks and adults. Nesting in numbers is the best defence.

For some it’s about protection. Arctic terns are ferociously dedicated parents and will defend their nest from any potential predator that gets too close, plunging and pecking at people, gulls and even polar bears. One angry bird is a nuisance, dozens or even hundreds together make a very effective deterrent.

For other species it’s all about the odds — the more nests there are around you, the less likely yours is to be targeted.

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WILD SUMMER 2021

The UK is home to 55% of the world’s population of northern gannets

Some of our smaller seabirds keep their eggs and young safe by nesting underground. Puffins, arguably the UK’s most popular seabird, deposit their single egg deep within a rocky crevice, or at the end of a burrow dug into a grassy slope.

Pairs can dig their own burrows, but they’ll also steal them from rabbits and Manx shearwaters, secretive seabirds that return to their nests under cover of darkness.

Manx shearwaters complete a 7,000mile journey in less than a fortnight.

Land-locked seabirds You’d be forgiven for thinking that to see a seabird, you have to travel to the coast.

After all, sea is in their name. But some seabirds have taken to inland waterways, nesting on lakes, reservoirs and even the roofs and ledges of buildings. Kittiwakes, dainty gulls with black legs and a bright yellow beak, can be heard giving their evocative cry of ‘kitt-eeee-waark’ above the Newcastle-Gateshead Quayside each summer. At around 13 kilometres from the sea, this is the most inland kittiwake colony in the world, but some seabirds have put even more distance between themselves and the coast.

Arctic terns have the longest known migration of any animal, with some travelling over 59,000 miles a year.

Gannets plunge into the water from heights of 30m, reaching speeds of up to 60mph.

Guillemots have been recorded diving to depths of 180m in pursuit of fish.

Seabird Cities Puffins nest in burrows or rocky crevices

protecting them. Seabirds across the world are threatened by the introduction of predators to their breeding sites, by being caught up in fishing gear, and from the effects of the climate crisis. Warming seas around the UK are already thought to be responsible for declines in many of our more northerly seabird colonies, as the sand eels that so many species rely on move northwards to cooler waters.

Our seabird cities are amongst our greatest natural treasures, we must look after them by protecting their nest sites from development and their food sources from overfishing, and by doing all we can to combat the climate crisis.

SEE FOR YOURSELF

Visit a seabird city

Common terns, elegant white birds with long tail streamers, a black cap and a bright red, black-tipped bill, are summer visitors to the UK. They nest along the coast and on offshore islands but can also be found on reservoirs and gravel pits across the country, especially where artificial rafts have been created for them.

It’s a joy to watch them hovering above the water, diving and dipping their beak below the surface to snare a fish, before carrying it back to their small, sand-coloured chicks.

The same lakes often host cacophonous colonies of black-headed gulls, with their pale grey and white plumage and dark brown hood. They can gather in their thousands, creating a spectacle every bit as raucous, restless and impressive as the more celebrated coastal colonies of seabirds. Many of these birds have forsaken the sea entirely, remaining near their inland colonies year-round.

Ocean wanderers Though some seabirds don’t stray far from their summer breeding grounds, others make incredible journeys. The Arctic tern, who we

already know as an impressive parent, makes the longest recorded migration of any animal on the planet. A recent study, using tiny devices that record daylight and allow the bird’s location to be calculated, mapped one intrepid tern’s 59,650-mile return journey from the Farne Islands in Northumberland to the seas around Antarctica. The bird’s meandering route took it around Africa and into the Indian Ocean, then down to Antarctica and across to the Weddell Sea, before returning to the exact same nesting site the following spring. With the potential to live for 30 years, this bird could travel over 1.8 million miles in its lifetime.

Manx shearwaters make their own mammoth migrations each year, crossing both the Atlantic and the equator as they head for wintering grounds off the coast of Argentina and Brazil. Studies on birds from the Welsh islands of Skokholm and Skomer have revealed that they can complete this 6,000-7,000-mile journey in less than a fortnight.

Understanding the complex migrations of these globe-spanning seabirds is essential for

Flamborough Cliffs, East Yorkshire Flamborough Head has one of the most important seabird colonies in Europe. In summer, the cliffs are packed with tens of thousands of breeding birds, including guillemots, gannets, gulls and puffins.

Skomer Island, Pembrokeshire A mile off the Pembrokeshire coast, Skomer Island is home to thousands of puffins and the largest colony of Manx shearwaters in the world.

Alderney Thousands of gannets breed on a series of rocky outcrops called Les Etacs, just off the coast of the mainland.

Discover more at wildlifetrusts.org/seabird-cities

WILD SUMMER 2021

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PUFFIN © ALEXANDER MUSTARD/2020VISION; MANX SHEARWATER © CHRIS GOMERSALL/2020VISION

1/4 of Europe’s breeding seabirds are found in the UK, with over 8 million birds and 25 species nesting around Britain and Ireland.

d l i W s y a #30D th of n o m t s e d l i w The ! e r e h s i r a e y the Back for its seventh year, we’re inviting everyone in Essex to carry out Random Acts of Wildness every day during June for your health, wellbeing, for wildlife and for the planet.

Many of us sought solace in nature during the past year, so celebrate and strengthen that connection by taking part in the UK’s favourite nature challenge, 30 Days Wild.

All you have to do is enjoy something a little bit wild every day during June: that’s 30 Random Acts of Wildness you can even do from your own home. Go on a bug hunt, switch to green energy, make a bee hotel… whatever you do, just make sure it’s wild!

Last year more than half a million people got involved with 30 Days Wild across the UK, from individuals, families and couples, to teachers, care homes and workplaces, everyone is invited to take part.

Sign up today and download your FREE toolkit with ideas, activities and inspiration at www.essexwt.org.uk/30-Days-Wild.

We wan t to s Random ee your Wildnes Acts of s wild mo , share your nth with us o social m edia usin n g

#30DaysW

ild

and tagg ing Esse x Wildlife Trust

Registered Charity No. 210065

Discover our

Po

ast c d

Listen to our NEW podcast, The Wildlife Explorer, on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Each month we will be delving into the world of wildlife in Essex, the work of the Trust and the wild places our county has to offer. Every episode will have fun facts, informative features, special guests and top tips on how to help wildlife.

Send your questions to communications@essexwt.org.uk to have them answered by Trust experts.

Grab a cup of tea and enjoy listening! Help us inspire more people by subscribing, liking, sharing and leaving a five star rating.

Love Essex • Love Wildlife Registered Charity No. 210065

Nightingale photo: Chris Gomersall/2020VISION

Explore Nature

What’s on this Summer

Summer What’s on this

I

n the summer, the bright mornings and longer, lighter evenings increase the amount of time you have to explore our wonderful county. Whether it’s enjoying the soft prickle of sun on your skin while searching for wildflowers in colourful meadows, taking shade beneath the impressive trees in an ancient woodland or enjoying the cool wisps of sea breeze as you search for rare treasures along the coast, long summer days in Essex are full of life and the promise of exciting wildlife experiences.

Clear blue skies roll over the countryside, where hedgerows, meadows and woodlands are all bursting with growth.

Fresh, fertile greens turn to softer hues in the heat, warm breezes ripple across open fields and the rich smell of petrichor fills the air after the first rain following a long, dry period. Insects buzz past, young birds chirp eagerly and small mammals scuttle in the undergrowth. After the hectic rush of spring, nature is relaxing into summer.

Over the following pages we highlight some of the species and spectacles to tick off your list this season as well as some of our wonderful reserves that come into their own during summer. With so much to see and do, who needs an exotic holiday destination?! Make the most out of all the wonders Essex has to offer.

Find out more for June, JULY and AUGUST >>> 48 |

WILD Summer 2021

What’s on this Summer

Species

Cuckoo photo: Jon Hawkins - Surrey Hills

Photography

Bee orchid Cuckoo Bee Orchid photo: Tom Marshall

Spectacles VISION

Stag beetle photo: Terry Whittaker/2020

Stag beetle

Moon jellyfish

Moon jellyfish photo: Paul Naylor www.marinephoto.co.uk

Photo: Matthew Roberts

WILD Summer 2021

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What’s on this June

June

Bee Orchid photo: Neil Aldri

dge

What’s on this

Nature reserve to visit

This month visit our Sergeants Orchard nature reserve in Bures.

Enjoy displays of common spotted and pyramidal orchids, red clover and red bartsia at this picturesque slice of the countryside. Keep your eyes peeled for the rare large carder bee foraging within this mix of traditional and new orchard, this little bee is a focus of conservation efforts at this reserve.

Carder bee photo: Nick Upton/2020VISION

Common pipistrelle photo: Tom Marshall

Species Common pipistrelle

These golden-brown bats are so tiny they could fit into a matchbox and only weigh about the same as a 20 pence coin.

However, what they lack in size they certainly make up for in eating capabilities; happily munching up to 3,000 insects a night! Nursing female bats will be gathering in single-sex maternity roosts this month to give birth, usually to a single pup. The pups feed on their mother’s milk for about three to four weeks until they are able to fly and leave the roost in August.

Tune in to our live bat webcam to witness a maternity roost for yourself.

Bee orchid

Bee orchids are fascinating flowers.

They have evolved to mimic the look, feel and smell of a female bee, enticing unsuspecting males looking for love to land on them and in turn, pollinate the flower. Despite their sneaky evolutionary tricks, the specific bee species doesn’t live here in the UK, so the bee orchid has once again evolved to self-pollinate. Look out for this master of mimicry in grassy areas with chalky soil or visit our Chafford

Gorges Nature Discovery Park where they appear in good numbers during the summer months.

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WILD Summer 2021

Sectionontitle What’s this here June

This month, we challenge you to do one wild thing a day for the whole month, that’s 30 simple, fun and exciting Random Acts of Wildness. Join thousands of people across the UK and go #30DaysWild. Sign up for your free pack full of goodies and inspiration to stay wild on our website.

Stag beetles photo: Terry Whittaker/2020VISION

Spectacles Battling stags

At this time of the year, look out for adult male stag beetles on mild summer evenings. Watch out for them clumsily flying across woodlands, farmlands, towns and gardens as they go in search of mates. Once the male has found a mate, he displays his famously massive, antler-like jaws to her, and uses them to fight off rival males, in a similar fashion to deer. These impressive appendages may look fearsome, but they are completely harmless to humans.

Fantastic flowers

Honeysuckle photo: Ross Hoddinott/2020VISION

Pyramidal orchid photo: Guy Edwardes/2020VISION

June is the finest month to go in search for flowers. A variety of weird and wonderful orchids pop up across the county, tall foxgloves loom high above the woodland floor, pastel dog rose flowers and sweet-smelling honeysuckle decorate hedgerows and cheerful oxeye daisies gently sway in the soft breeze. With so many wonderful species of flowering plant, why not spend some time trying to identify what you see on a walk? Draw a quick sketch or take a picture to identify after your wild walk.

WILD Summer SUMMER 2021

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What’s on this July

What’s on this

Cuckoo photo: Jon Hawkins - Surrey Hills

Photography

Nature reserve to visit

July

This month visit our Stanford Warren nature reserve in Stanford-le-Hope.

Witness one of the largest reedbeds in Essex come alive with the sound of birds including Cetti’s, reed and sedge warblers.

As you wander alongside the reedbed, make sure to listen out for the familiar call of the cuckoo. This reserve is particularly important as female cuckoos tend to lay their eggs in the unattended nests of warblers. This nature reserve is also just a stone’s throw away from our Thameside Nature Discovery Park, so why not make this your next stop?

Species

Swift photo: David Tipling/2020VISION

Swift

Watching the dashing and darting of swifts in pursuit of prey against a pure blue sky is one of the most joyful sights during summer. These incredible birds spend the season here after an epic migration from south of the Sahara. They would have originally nested on cliffs and in holes in trees, but now take advantage of man-made buildings. Swifts spend almost their entire life on the wing; eating, drinking, bathing, sleeping and even mating in mid-air.

The feet of a young swift that has just left its nest may not come into contact with anything solid again for two or three years until it makes a nest of its own. A life lived almost entirely in the sky.

Painted lady

An apt name for this beautiful butterfly, with its rich orange and black hues and elaborate patterning. Painted lady butterflies are a migratory species which travel to the UK from Africa and the Mediterranean to spend the summer. Mass migrations to the UK happen roughly once a decade, where ‘butterfly blizzards’ can be witnessed descending on their favourite food plants; thistle, knapweed, ragwort and red valerian.

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WILD Summer 2021

What’s on this July

As temperatures in the UK reach their peak, please remember to provide plenty of water for wildlife. Water is essential for wildlife to thrive, but it isn’t just for drinking. Amphibians like newts, frogs and toads use water as shelter and as breeding grounds. Butterflies get valuable minerals and salts from slightly muddy water, and birds use water to bathe and remove parasites.

Sea lavender photo: Terry Whittaker/2020VISION

Spectacles Blooming saltmarshes

Not an obvious location to enjoy blooming flowers, but saltmarshes come alive at this time of the year.

Dense carpets of common sea-lavender are coming into flower causing expanses of this Essex habitat to glow with a soft, purple hue. Common sea-lavender is actually not related to lavender at all, so it does not have the characteristic smell. However, it is a great nectar-source and is visited by bees, wasps, butterflies and moths.

Painted lady photo: Jon Hawkins - Surrey Hills Photography

Things with wings

Sedge warbler photo: Chris Gomersall/2020VISION

A whole array of impressive, winged insects are energetically flitting across the county this month so it’s the perfect time of the year to become acquainted with the county’s minibeasts. Catch a glimpse of a ruby-tailed wasp glimmering in the sunshine, hear the low buzz of a metallic rose chafer beetle overhead or inspect the shrubbery for a distinctive magpie moth.

WILD Summer 2021

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What’s on this August

August What’s on this

Common whitethroat photo: Chris Gomersall/2020VISION

Nature reserve to visit This month visit our John Weston nature reserve in Walton-on-the-Naze. This reserve, which is just around the corner from The Naze Nature Discovery Centre, comes alive with song and movement, from flitting butterflies to calling common and lesser whitethroats. Listen carefully for the distinctive call of the water rail and look to the skies to spot migrating birds.

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WILD Summer 2021

What’s on this August

August is Essex Wildlife Trust’s Marine Month. This month, why not visit one of our coastal reserves, take part in one of our coastal-themed events, learn about a new species you can find beneath the surface or even organise a beach-clean with your friends? There’s a wealth of resources and information available on our website, so join us in celebrating our spectacular marine environment.

Spectacles Heather

This month, witness dazzling displays of bright heather growing in Essex heathlands, woodlands and along our coast. The pink and purple flowers almost glow in the warm sunlight attracting all kinds of important nectar-loving insects. Pop to our Tiptree Heath nature reserve, the last place in the county where you can find all three species of heather growing together, you won’t be disappointed.

Coastal treasures

House martin photo: Dawn Monrose

Species House martin

August is the perfect month to explore the Essex coast to investigate rockpools and scour for exciting treasures that have washed up. Shark teeth, fossils, wispy mermaid purses and cuttlebones are among the booty you can find strewn along the Essex shoreline. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for scuttling crabs, glistening sea anemones and even a bobbing moon jellyfish.

Moon jellyfish photo: Alexander Mustard/2020VISION

These beautiful, glossy birds return to the same nesting sites in the UK from their African wintering grounds each year. By re-using their old nests, it can save them about ten day’s work collecting mud so avoid the temptation to remove leftover nests, you never know who might be back to use it! Look out for large numbers of house martins performing their stunning aerial displays over meadows or congregating on house roofs as they prepare themselves for the long migration back to warmer climes over the winter.

Emperor dragonfly

Go for a wander along the riverbank early in the morning and you may see a glimpse of an emperor dragonfly, darting just above the surface of the water. These fragile, harmless creatures are a joy to watch and although they rarely settle, you may get the opportunity to see one up close when they land to rest! Dragonflies spend most of their lives underwater as a nymph, emerging looking distinctly alien-like until their wings harden and they develop their incredible turquoise blue and green torso.

Emperor dragonfly photo: Ross Hoddinott/2020VISION

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Time Tunnel

We travel back to...

1988

...to give you a glimpse of our past and see what was happening at the Trust.

What was happening globally in 1988: • The British pound note was replaced by the one pound coin.

• The first BBC Red Nose Day in the UK took place, raising £15,000,000 for charity.

• The 15th Winter Olympics opened in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

• Margaret Thatcher became the longest-serving Prime Minister of the 20th century.

• The oldest known insect fossils were found, dating back 390 million years.

• The world population reached 5.1 billion while the population of Britain was 56.9 million.

Meanwhile, at Essex Wildlife Trust, our magazine featured a butterfly special, telling our members more about the heath fritillary that had just been re-introduced back in Essex several years prior. Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Maitland Emmet MBE, one of Britain’s leading experts on butterflies and moths and a member of the Trust’s Lepidoptera panel at the time wrote the following: The heath fritillary occurs in discrete colonies which used to be widespread in southern England. It was first mentioned in 1699 by Petiver, who called it the May fritillary to distinguish it from the April fritillary, named when the Julian calendar was still in operation and dates were 11 days in advance.

Wilkes altered the name of the May fritillary to the heath fritillary in 1749, referring to one of its habitats: it is still found on heathland in the West Country.

Concern over our dwindling butterfly fauna led to the establishment of the Butterfly Monitoring Scheme in 1976, whereby a team of ecologists studied behaviour and special requirements species by species. The heath fritillary was undertaken by Dr Martin Warren, and it is now one of our best understood butterflies.

Heath fritillary photo: Jim Higham

The heath fritillary was reintroduced into Essex at Thrift Wood nature reserve, Bicknacre in 1983 after work had been done in the wood to prepare it to receive the butterflies. Dr Warren acted as advisor to the Essex Naturalists’ Trust for this enterprise.

Numbers built up rapidly and reached several thousand in 1986. There were rather fewer in 1987, adverse spring weather probably being the main reason.

However there were sufficient for some to be captured and released at a second site in Essex which had also been prepared for their reception.

Further reintroductions and site improvements have taken part since then, and now heath fritillary surveys are conducted at 12 different sites in Essex.

Emerging in May and June only, look for the delicate brown and orange butterfly flitting close to the ground near its larval food plant, common cow-wheat.

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WILD Summer 2021

Common cow-wheat photo: Philip Precey

The heath fritillary flourished until the mid-1800s, when it began to decline. Though never common in Essex, it occurred regularly in the Dedham area in the north east. It persisted there until about 1890, after which it became extinct in the county. After a lapse, it was reintroduced into two south-eastern woods, Hockley Wood in 1925 and Hadleigh Wood in 1935, and flourished until about 1960, when it vanished, becoming extinct in Essex for the second time.

Wildlife quiz time Answers from Spring 2021: Across: Down 3. Bluebell 1. White 5. Great tit 2. Metamorphosis 7. Brimstone 4. Crane 8. Hedgehog 6. Red 9. Wildcat 10. Adder 11. Five 12. Robin

How is your general knowledge on the wildlife and wild places of our country? Test yourself with our nature crossword.

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Clues down 1 How many eyes do caterpillars have? (6)

7 The UK’s smallest bird of prey. (6)

2 What type of wildflower mimics the appearance of a bumblebee? (3,6) 6 Common cow-wheat is the vital food plant for which rare woodland butterfly? (5,10) 7 The name given to a group of crows. (6)

8 The only flowering plant in the UK that can live in seawater and pollinate while submerged. (8) 9 What is the largest type of beetle in the UK? (4) 10 What is a young hare called? (7) 11 What is the UK’s largest rodent, weighing up to 30kg? (6)

The answers will be revealed in our Autumn 2021 edition of WILD 58 |

WILD Summer 2021

Common lizard photo: Jon Hawkins - Surrey Hills Photography

If threatened by a predator, the common lizard will shed its still-moving tail to distract its attacker and make a quick getaway.

This leaves a scar behind, but it can regrow its tail, although it is usually shorter than the original.

3 Ratty from The Wind in the Willows is based on which species? (5,4)

5 For this garden bird, only the males have a distinctive red chest. (9)

Female great crested newts will wrap their eggs individually within the leaves of pond plants to protect them.

Lost something?

Clues Across 4 An animal which is mostly active at night and sleeps during the day is ___. (9)

Nesting newts

Goldfinch photo: Jon Hawkins - Surrey Hills Photography

Thistle-tweaking goldfinches

Male goldfinches are the only UK bird able to extract seeds from teasel heads, clinging to the stem and tearing into the seed head with their long pointed beaks. Females have shorter beaks, so are unable to copy the males.

Visit us online at www.johnfowlers.co.uk info@johnfowlers.co.uk

Reassuring legal advice you can rely on

Colchester

01206 576151

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Brightlingsea

01206 302694

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West Mersea 01206 384441

Nature

Annual Members’ Day incorporating the AGM Saturday 23 October 2021

2020 was an unprecedented year. 2021 has been equally challenging. One of the few positives is that our relationship with nature is once again at the heart of our search for happiness, health, and wellbeing. Nature is also back on the political agenda, which is the only way we will really tackle the climate crisis and ecological crisis.

This is the theme for this year’s Annual Members’ Day: Back to Nature.

We will explore how we have reconnected with nature and one another, how nature itself has become more connected, and how the work that you so generously support has allowed us to bring people and nature together.

Write the date in your diary – Saturday 23 October, 10am to 12:30pm.

The first half of the morning will be a celebration of you and the work you have supported. The second half will follow with the formal proceedings of the AGM.

Find out more:

www.essexwt.org.uk/agm Love Essex • Love Wildlife 60 | WILD SUMMER 2021 Registered Charity No. 210065

Common seal photo: Danny Green/2020VISION

Back to