Colne Point to Jaywick beach field meeting on 21 August 2005
Ken Adams 63 Wroths Path, Baldwins Hill. Loughton. Essex. IG10 1SH
Yours truly, not being of nautical stock, chose the day with the highest tide of the month,
and had it not been for kindly local advice our cars in the car park would have been
under 2 foot of water 3 hours later! Nevertheless, having parked them on dry land we set
off along the inside of the main inner sea wall, examining the track alongside, and the
newly widened borrow dyke. The borrow dyke was mostly either choked with
Bolboschoenus (Scirpus) maritimus or pretty putrid, but at the far end by a shanty
town enthusiastically named Bel Air, we came across clean open water and colonies of
Zannichellia palustris, and a large clump of Schoenoplectus (Scirpus) tabaemontanii.
The track proved more fruitful. A patch of Carex muricata ssp. lamprocarpa was spotted
at the start, and for over half its length the 'centre reservation' supported a linear colony
of Carex divisa, and we spotted just one flowering plant of Bupleurum tenuissimum,
both the latter in the BSBI Scarce category. Fringing Bel Air a large colony of Dittander
Lepidium latifolium in flower attracted attention, and KA captured a yellow and black
hoverfly which turned out to be Xanthogramma pedissequum. Periodically along the
way we sallied forth over the top and looked at the extensive salt marsh, one of the best
now left in Essex, with remarkably little Spartina anglica. Limonium vulgare and L.
humilis were both spotted, if anything the latter being more abundant and concentrated
on the upper part of the marsh, and Golden Samphire Inula crithmoides was abundant
as was Thrift Armeria maritima. Of the other Samphires we only spotted Salicornia
europaea and Sarcocornia perennis.
By the time we arrived at Jaywick Martello Tower, we were submerged in an abundant
crowd of sun worshipers and chip devourers, most looking as if chips had been on the
menu for many a long year, - and began our original task of examining the beach flora
all the way back to Colne Point. Remarkably, despite the crowds, several plants of Yellow
Horned Poppy and one small plant of Sea Kale were found on Jaywick beach, and
roughly opposite Bel Air we spotted several plants of the very rare Polygonum
oxyspermum var. raii, rather over recorded in Floras due to its erratic appearance. It
was however nicely in fruit. We also discovered three plants of Sea Rocket Cakile
maritima, sadly the only three seen on the entire way back. A few plants of Sea Holly
began to appear as we approached the dunes, and erupted into a fine display as we got
into the dunes proper, well colonised by Marram Grass.
Carefully skirting inland of several large posing male Homo sapiens on the nudest
segment of the dunes, we entered the Colne Point Reserve, and looked for plants along
the upper beach below the dunes. A large colony of Euphorbia paralias was a spectacular
site, interestingly nestled in a slight linear depression in the sand just ashore of the first
ridge of sand. Saltwort Salsola kali was abundant along a considerable length of the
22 Essex Field Club Newsletter No. 49, January 2006