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consortium of conservation bodies, local
authorities and other partners was just
beginning to pull together the Essex BAP, our
contribution to the UK BAP - with added local
flavour.
A review was also undertaken of the
effectiveness of the Hedgerow Regulations,
hopefully to improve their effectiveness in
protecting the fabric of the wider countryside.
And more fundamentally, a consultation was
also issued in relation to the protection of Sites
of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs).
Although SSSIs have been a successful
mechanism, all conservationists are aware of
shortcomings in their legislative protection: it
is hoped the review will lead to improved
legislation in the near future.
More contentious was the resurrection of plans
for controlling and eventually eliminating (if
at all feasible) ruddy ducks from Britain to
protect the globally-threatened white-headed
duck. I for one believe it to be necessary - to
undermine Spanish conservation efforts with
our secondary 'exports' would be to threaten
the immense biodiversity of the Iberian
Peninsula. But opinions are polarised, and it is
not hard to see why when one is watching
their antics on Abberton or Hanningfield
Reservoirs.
The British Trust for Ornithology published
the latest results of its garden bird feeding
survey, which served to confirm continued
declines in many of our familiar species.
Moreover, it identified blackbird, house
sparrow, dunnock and starling as four of the
ten commonest garden species between 1995
and 1997. All four are the subject of BTO
alerts as a result of significant recent declines,
which just goes to show how anyone, in Essex
or elsewhere, can contribute to key
conservation issues on their own doorstep.
In preparation for the forthcoming autumn
season, English Nature published a new-
booklet on The Conservation of Wild
Mushrooms, aimed at raising awareness of the
importance of fungi and especially fungal
conservation. Concurrently, a Wild
Mushroom Pickers' Code of Conduct was also
issued, in recognition that unsustainable levels
of picking certain species may threaten their
survival or the survival of insects which are
dependent upon fungi. The Code received a
mixed reception, although much of the
disapproval resulted from failure to read what
it actually said.
Finally, closer to home, the Essex Wildlife
Trust formally celebrated the successful
outcome of their recent appeal to fund the
purchase and management of Blue House
Farm, a huge tract of coastal grazing marsh
on the north shore of the River Crouch. And a
bulldozer was brought into Tiptree Heath in
the name of conservation. In spite of the
valiant efforts of a voluntary management
workforce, the scrub and woodland
encroachment onto what was the premier
heath in Essex was steadily getting worse. A
failed attempt to bulldoze a football pitch into
the site in the 1960s which is now almost pure
heather served as the mode, and this radical
management scheme was trialled, to
surprisingly little public outcry. Time will tell
about the success or otherwise of our attempts
to recapture history.
Autumn
September belatedly brought a taste of
summer, with temperatures up to 250C during
the first two weeks. Thereafter, a series of
fronts brought cloud and more rain, another
above-average month for rainfall. October
continued in a similar vein, albeit cooler, and
the first significant frost occurred on the night
of the 17th. By the month's end, gales and
heavy rain were once again a feature. So the
autumn insects, especially butterflies and
moths, which started well were brought to a
sudden and near-complete halt, rather
prematurely in comparison with recent years.
Essex Naturalist (New Series) 16 (1999)