Wildlife and Conservation Review of 2000
Winter
November alternated between very and exceptionally wet, leading inevitably to further bouts of
flooding. A series of active depressions also brought strong winds and thunderstorms, although
there was a short break in mid-month for a brief frosty spell. In contrast December was relatively
mild and dry in East Anglia, with day temperatures rising to 16°C and on several nights not falling
below 12°C. Sadly our moth traps barely responded following the earlier inclemencies. Just after
Christmas, 'real' easterly winter weather set in, bringing hard frosts, to -5°C or lower (and a noticeable
influx of Redwings and Fieldfares), and the year ended under a widespread blanket of snow,
albeit melting rapidly on New Year's Eve. All in all, wet was the watchword - 2000 was the wettest
year since 1872 in East Anglia.
Autumn is traditionally the time for fungi, but this year seems to have produced most of its more
interesting discoveries rather late in the season, in November. Organised forays included a further
scour of mid-Essex churchyards, especially for waxcaps; several sites proved interesting, but Little
Leighs was reaffirmed as the very best. A number of club-fungi and earth-tongues - always nice to
see - were also recorded; it appears to have been a productive autumn generally for these groups
throughout Britain. A further good waxcap meadow was located at West Tilbury, and Tony Boniface
discovered a new fungus for the county on woodchips in a flower bed at Broomfield Hospital: a
keen mycologist never stops! The crimson/orange Stropharia aurantiaca is probably native to the
southern hemisphere, but it seems to be spreading rapidly in this sort of habitat in southern England.
Biological recording is always interesting, and often useful - but only if the resulting data are kept
somewhere safe and accessible to those who might need the information. That is the purpose of
Biological Records Centres. Many counties do have a one-stop-shop BRC, but not Essex: for historical
reasons records from different parts of the county and different taxonomic groups are scattered
amongst the computers, files and notebooks of a plethora of local centres, organisations and
individuals. To try and address this deficiency, a meeting took place between all the interested
parties, including the Field Club, to explore the opportunities to develop a unified Records Centre
for the Essex. This may be a physical BRC, or perhaps more likely a virtual BRC, making use of
modern communications technology: whatever, one thing is certain, we need it, and badly.
In November, two organisations involved in the conservation of Essex wildlife were celebrating.
Thirty-five guests braved the elements at East Mersea to mark the first 25 years of Cudmore
Grove Country Park. It was opened to the public, having been rescued from possible development,
by the Essex County Council in 1975. In doing so, ECC have safeguarded a key part of the Colne
Estuary, with mudflats and salt marsh, low sand dunes, grazing marshes, and adramatic cliff exposure
of glacial gravels. There are erosion control structures to add interest, a developing broad-leaved
tree plantation to replace the now-eroded Cudmore Grove, and even a Stag Beetle pyramid. Little
wonder it attracts more than 100,000 visitors every year, a strategic purchase that has paid off
handsomely.
Then the Essex Wildlife Trust opened its new Hanningfield Reservoir Visitor Centre, built with
the support of Essex & Suffolk Water; this too looks set to become a major visitor attraction. The
centre and hides overlook the reservoir and its birdlife, while trails run through the mixed plantations.
The centre alone is worth a closer look. Built on sustainable principles, within economic and other
constraints, its features include comprehensive insulation; a log burner, using local produce; and
composting toilets with associated reedbed effluent treatment facility.
Essex Naturalist (New Series) 18 (2001)
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