12
small copper, common blue and Essex
skipper. The larvae of all these species
feed on plants growing in and about the
meadows. Other insects found here (selected
from a list of over 300 species recorded
here) include Roesel's bush cricket,
whose piercing stridulation can be heard on
hot afternoons in the late summer. The
adult, though, is surprisingly well camou-
flaged and difficult to locate. Perhaps
the nicest find on the survey was the white-
legged damselfly, a delicate odonatan known
from only a handful of sites in Essex. It
is a species typically found where flood
meadows join the river's edge.
The larger wild-life of the valley includes
water, bank and short-tailed voles and
shrews, weasels, rats and moles. At one
time otters were found here, but sadly this
nationally much declined mammal is no longer
present.
The valley has a reasonable bird list, but
one which will be readily added to. To date
over 90 species have been recorded here,
including summer visitors such as the yellow
wagtail, sedge warbler and sand martin. A
gravel pit excavated in the 1970's provided
a suitable habitat for a very rare British
breeding bird, the little-ringed plover; at
least two pairs nested successfully. The
gravel pit in the southern part of the Roding
valley area, now water filled, attracts a
good variety of wildfowl. Interesting
historic bird records include, rather sadly,
Whinchat, snipe and redshank, all, incidentally,
former breeding species and all typically
found in areas of flood and hay meadows.
Snipe are still, however, very regular winter