presumably) Greylag Geese. Earlier the pit attracted a single Little Egret (Dec.03- Jan.04)
which 1 had the privilege of seeing perched in a tall Ash tree and at the same time a
Stonechat was seen flitting from the top of one tree guard to another in the adjacent new
Cricket Bat Willow plantation. I am rather hoping the Greylags will breed in preference
to yet more Canada Geese. One minus point is the electricity pylon line running over the
pit, I am fairly sure this has already claimed the lives of two of the Swans. Other birds
seen here and the surrounding fields over the last few days include Linnet (flock of c.
20), Reed Bunting (4-5), Yellowhammer, Wren, Grey Wagtail - a pair by the lock so
hopefully thinking of breeding, Lapwings giving their lovely peewit call and tumbling
display, Crow, Rook, Magpie, Skylark, Goldfinch, Hedge Sparrow, Pheasant, Red-legged
Partridge, from a long way off a probable Green Sandpiper (conspicuous white rump).
A flock of c. 100 or so Golden Plover were also noted in this area in February. Dabchicks
were present on the Chelmer and Blackwater also this winter.
Unusually I have had a pair of Red-legged Partridge in the garden this year along with a
rather handsome cock pheasant - survivors from the local shoot. The partridge both
perch and walk along the church wall and perch on a nearby garage I suspect they are
not able to find enough forage in the nearby fields - I often see them feeding in the
garden....hopefully they might even stop to nest. The first Swallows of the year were
seen on the 4th April.
A Magpie's nest
David Bloomfield Hortons, Mascalls Lane, Brentwood, Essex CM14 5LJ
On December 6* I took an exhibit to the Annual Exhibition and Social at Chelmsford. It
was a large mud lined nest, oval and high sided, and built on a mass of twigs. Internally
it was 15cm deep and 14cm x 21cm across (Plate 4). Several people suggested it was a
Magpie's nest, but I was expecting it to be a larger bird and did not agree. It was also
pointed out that all the raptors had beaks that would be unlikely to be used for mud
lining a nest.
On reflection, I seemed to remember seeing a Magpie's nest just like this one. I inspected
several undoubted Magpie nests and this was immediately confirmed. Further reflection
soon explained the size, which seemed too large for such a modest bird. The nest is
roofed with twigs with a small side entrance. A bird with such a long tail would need
quite a lot of room to turn round inside such a construction, to emerge beak first. The
roof of the nest, unless left inside the undisturbed thicket in which it was built, could not
be expected to survive a fall from the tree under which I found it, so initially its absence
had not led me to expect a roof of twigs.
Essex Field Club Newsletter No. 44, May 2004 9