Wildlife and Conservation Review of 2001
from dog damage. And plans were submitted for the much talked about expansion of Stansted
Airport to accommodate up to 25 million passengers per annum. The proposals do not include a
new runway, one of the major concerns of local residents, but the additional flights could have an
environmental impact, for example upon the air quality (and hence upon the lichen and lower
plant interest) of Hatfield Forest. This is yet another proposal which will need a considerable
amount of further consultation and investigation.
Autumn
Everyone will remember one date in September, the 11th, the date of the terrorist attacks on the
World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. Quite what these will mean for Essex is unclear, but if the
fears of global recession corne to fruition, it may well have impacts upon the development pressure
on our part of the world. Furthermore, there may be impacts upon some of the currently proposed
major infrastructural developments, such as the container ports at Bathside Bay and Shellhaven,
and the expansion of Stansted. But quite what those impacts will be is unclear - a general downturn
in trade volumes could reduce the need for these developments; alternatively, a downturn in the
airfreight business could see a diversion of trade into the ocean shipping sector.
After a disappointing August, September was cool but generally dry, apart from a spell in mid-
month with strong winds and heavy rain. The 28th was the warmest day, with temperatures exceeding
20°C, but overall it was the coolest September since 1994, hastening the end of an already below-
par breeding season for birds. It also drew the insect season to a premature close, although there
was some evidence of moth immigration in the form of a Convolvulus Hawk-moth at the Kelvedon
offices of the Environment Agency. This was identified swiftly from an e-mailed digital photo, a
precursor of things to come following the formation of the Essex Moth Group e-mail usergroup in
2002.
The birds, however, were outstanding. Throughout the country there was an amazing run of"rarities,
from seabirds to Siberian vagrants, and Essex had its share of the fun. From the north and east came
a Great Snipe at Harlow; 2 Wrynecks and an Ortolan Bunting to The Naze; a Red-backed
Shrike to Manningtree; a Barred Warbler to Holland Haven; both Wryneck and Richard's Pipit
to Newport; and a Yellow-browed Warbler to Gunners Park. Not to be outdone, from the west, the
Thames hosted two returning Ring-billed Gulls, and a Pectoral Sandpiper was at Rainham. The
oceans too delivered the goods, with a fair scattering of Long-tailed Skuas, including 16 past
Canvey on 8lh, which also recorded above average numbers of the three commoner skuas, Sabine's
Gulls on 4 dates, Manx Shearwater and Leach's Petrel, while Leach's were also seen off Southend
Pier and The Naze. Sooty Shearwaters were also seen on three dates off The Naze. Best of all, but
only marginally an Essex record, was a Black-browed Albatross which was seen from the Harwich-
Esbjerg ferry, some three hours out of port. The unusually high number of seabirds in the North
Sea was attributed to a period of northerly winds at the start of the month, resulting from the twin
influences of a depression over the North Sea, and an anticyclone centred on Ireland. Similar
conditions also set in towards the end of the month, although the depression was further east, and
the winds came from a more north-easterly vector, bringing with them Continental passerine
visitors.
Raptors too were widespread, with Montagu's Harrier, 4 Red Kites (including two together at
Norton Heath), 3 Ospreys, and plenty of Marsh Harriers and Peregrines, especially along the
coast. A Spoonbill was found dead under power lines at Fisher's Green, and 2 Little Egrets were
elsewhere in the Lee Valley. Notwithstanding their coastal increase- including up to 93 roosting at
Essex Naturalist (New Series) 19 (2002)
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