25th March 1973 TOLLESBURY
66 Members and friends attended this meeting at
Tollesbury. The party was divided into three main
groups and were rewarded with good sightings of many
birds. A small group also recorded some of the
flowering plants.
A considerable number of Brent geese were seen,
estimated at about 400. Amongst other interesting
birds seen were: red-breasted mergansers; a red-
throated diver; redshanks; shelduck and some field-
fares.
The day was bri.;ht and sunny with a cool wind,
at times very strong; this did not, however, deter
skylarks from singing and they seemed to be present
in considerable numbers. The display flights and
songs of redshank were also seen and heard.
Very few plants were seen in flower. Two, how-
ever, were noticed on the sides of the sea wall —
Sagina subulatum and Taraxacum officinale.
At the end of the day a count was made of the
numbers of species of birds seen or heard; this was
40, a good total for a very well-attended meeting.
Mike Parker
29th April 1973 COLNE POINT NATURE RESERVE
In spite of the cold and wet start to the day,
15 members and friends came to the meeting, held on
the Reserve by kind permission of the Essex Natur-
alists Trust.
Miss M. Hollings, representing the Trust, wel-
comed the party and gave some interesting intro-
ductory remark as we walked from the car park to
the warden's hut. In this area the erosion of the
shingle bank has been very severe in the last year,
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