President's Page
M.W. Hanson 3 Church Cottages, Church Road, Boreham, Essex CM3 3EG
Well, I don't know about you but I'm not too impressed with the latest run of poor
weather we have been having.....it seems to have been extra cold , extra cloudy and
rather wetter than the average July. For those of us doing invertebrate fieldwork it can
make survey work very difficult, needing to organise our days out around the seemingly
few hot sunny days available. Having said that, when the weather has been good I have
had some excellent results...... I am hoping to do a brief report of the more interesting
finds a bit later on this year.
I don't usually do bird records but I have to admit to have been absolutely thrilled to
have seen my first Essex Avocets at Tollesbury this July, they really are a stunning
wader. I gather they are now not uncommon as a breeding species in Essex about 150
pairs being recorded in the Essex Bird Report for 2002. It's also a bit of a (pleasant)
shock to read that 1200 were recorded at East Tilbury in January 2002! This is an in-
credible achievement for the British and Essex conservation movement.
I have been doing some invertebrate survey work on a small so-called brownfield site in
East London. This is the first time I have looked at such a site and it seems to confirm
everything that Peter Harvey has said about such sites over recent years, it really is
exceptionally rich in invertebrate species. It also seems to me that the ability to create
such sites (just copy what the builders do!) would be a very useful addition to the con-
servation manuals, if indeed its not already in!
I also have to report that in June Peter Harvey underwent a very serious operation at
Basildon Hospital but fortunately has come through the initial recovery stages very well
and hopefully will be fully recovered in two or three months time. On behalf of the Field
Club I would like to wish him best wishes for the future.
Editor's note
I am pleased to write that I now feel in good health again, and am almost fully recovered.
Many, many thanks to everyone that came to see me in hospital and sent me good wishes,
or have given me much needed support!
Essex Field Club Newsletter No. 45, September 2004
1