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Wildlife and Conservation Review of 1999
Several years ago, a RIGS (Regionally Important Geological and geomorphological Sites) group
was formed in Essex to take forward the cause of geological conservation. Unfortunately it foundered,
but January saw its reformation. Bolstered by the completion of an excellent new guide to the geology
of Essex (Essex Rock: a look beneath the Essex landscape) by Gerald Lucy, and published by the
Essex Rock & Mineral Society, the signs are that this time the RIGS group will survive and succeed.
Nationally, the Department of the Environment Transport and the Regions (DETR) launched its
project to conduct a feasibility study into controlling Ruddy Ducks, as part of an international
effort to safeguard the globally-threatened White-headed Duck. No action is currently proposed in
Essex, but that time will surely come. In a similar vein, there was local public outcry at plans to
control another non-native problem species, Muntjac, at Waltham Abbey. The browsing pressure
of their tiny mouths is considerable, damaging and decidedly undesirable.
Agriculture was once again the headlines. The debate over Genetically Modified Organisms
(GMOs) rumbled on, with increasing evidence about the potential risks to the environment associated
with GM crops: resultant changes in agricultural practice and herbicide regimes, the 'escape' of
modified genes into wild populations etc. English Nature was critical of a House of Lords Select
Committee report which gave the impression of unqualified support for the benefits of GM crops,
and maintained its view that much further research into biodiversity implications was necessary
before commercial release should even be considered. This came at a time when agricultural policy
was in the spotlight of an impending review of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Wildlife
impacts of CAP and the intensive practices engendered by its production-based subsidies are as
apparent in Essex as anywhere - witness the near extinction of 'common' farmland birds such as
Tree Sparrow and Corn Bunting, and massive declines in Skylark and even House Sparrow
numbers. In the event, the hoped-for radical reform of CAP never fully materialised, although the
changes have gone some way towards shifting payments away from price support towards farming
in an environmentally-friendly manner-farmers as custodians of the countryside.
Spring
The mild weather continued into March, some days being more like June as temperatures approached
20 C; this brought out good numbers of butterflies, including Commas, a substantial arrival of
Chiffchaffs in mid-month, and a fly-over Serin at The Naze. Up to 9 Little Egrets were roosting in
a heronry in the north-east of the county, although showing few signs of breeding activity, and
already Ringed Plovers and Oystercatcher were establishing territories on the new beach at Stone
Point. Less welcome was the beaching of a young Minke Whale at Holland Haven.
On the London fringes, a female Ring-necked Duck at Valentine's Park, Ilford, settled in until May,
and a pair of presumed feral Wood Ducks prospected a potential breeding site at Waltham Abbey.
Rainham continued to hold good numbers of Short-eared Owl, twenty or more Water Pipits and
an array of larger gulls, including Caspian, Glaucous and American Herring. Meanwhile, Abberton
Reservoir was unexceptional, apart from high counts of Goosander and Goldeneye, the result of
very high water levels.
A glorious start to April led to influxes of Willow Warblers and Blackcaps, and Blossom
Underwings appeared in a number of coastal moth traps. This species is not normally considered a
migrant, being found mainly in oak woods, but the pattern of occurrences is strongly suggestive of a
wave of immigration. Sadly, though not atypically, the second week of April saw the return of
winter, with cold winds, frost, sleet and even snow, which led to extensive damage to newly-emerged
Essex Naturalist (New Series) 17 (2000)