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PROGRAMME DISAPPOINTMENT
Having spent three months persuading fellow members of the club to lead meetings, the
attendance during the first three months is very disappointing. Gone are the days when
over fifty people would come including several family groups, but four of the first nine
meetings attracted only ONE person and one attracted NONE at all.
Our meetings provide a number of worthwhile opportunities, not least the following:
1. To learn more about wild life.
2. To share one's knowledge with others.
3. To see a wide range of places in the county.
4. To record our observations and add to the scientific knowledge of the county.
5. To enjoy the company of like-minded people.
6. To meet old friends and make new ones.
I personally attend as many meetings as I can and I gain a great deal of pleasure from this.
Admittedly recording can be done with even one person, but I feel that the social and
teaching objectives are just as important. So why has attendance this year reached an all-
time low?
So if you have not come out for a long time or if you have never joined us in the field
please do try to attend. If you find travelling difficult then ring the leader or me to
arrange lifts or pick-ups from the nearest station. If the meetings are not providing you
with what you want from the Field Club then let me, as Programme Secretary, know
where you want to go.
If you feel that our meetings are too specialised, and that recording is not for you, then I
can say from personal experience that the best way to learn more at whatever level you
may have achieved is to go out with other natural historians in the field. So look to your
programme card (I have spares if you have lost yours), choose a meeting or two and come
out to enjoy and learn more about our wildlife.
Tony Boniface (01245 266316) Programme Secretary.
WOODPECKER SEARCH IN WEALD PARK, BRENTWOOD
An Essex Field Club Bird Group meeting was held in Weald Park, Brentwood on 23rd
March 1997. Weald Park is a popular local country park consisting of an old deer park, a
number of woods, deciduous and conifer plantations, grassland and ornamental lakes.
Eight members turned up for the morning walk with three members continuing after
lunch. The weather was mainly overcast with a cool breeze and some drizzle in the
afternoon.
Green woodpeckers could be heard almost continuously throughout the day but were
difficult to see. After proving elusive in the woods, three Great spotted woodpeckers
were seen moving from tree to tree in the parkland directly above our heads. All three
species of woodpecker were seen during the day, although Lesser spotted woodpecker
was only seen by those who stayed for the afternoon session. In all 33 species of bird
were identified including Little owl, Chiffchaff, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Siskin and
Redpoll. A Great crested grebe was seen on the nest and the high spot for some of the
group was the excellent, close views of the Redpolls.
Essex Field Club Newsletter No. 22, August 1997