Review of the Wildlife of Epping Forest 2001 - March 2002
Birds
Chingford Plain as usual proved to be the most interesting place in the Forest for migrant birds with
a Red Kite Milvus milvus on 10th September, a male Stonechat Saxicola torquata on 14th September
followed by a Ring Ouzel Turdus torquatus and a Woodlark Lullula arborea in October. However,
of more significance for the Forest's conservation the resident ground-nesting birds, the Skylark
Alauda arvensis and Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis, both were confirmed with fledged young at
Chingford. It is to be hoped that numbers of young reared here are sufficient to maintain the
population despite the inevitable disturbance they encounter. On the other hand the Tree Pipit
Anthus trivialis only passed through Chingford Plain, a male singing for a couple of weeks but
numbers did remain stable on the Forest heaths with 4 singing males and young observed being fed
at one site.
Other areas of the Forest yielded interesting records including 2 Little Egrets Egretta garzetta on
Ornamental Waters in Wanstead Park and a Crossbill Loxia curvirostra in Hill Wood, High Beach.
The former previously continental species has now spread far and wide in southern England and is
breeding in the south-west so records of Little Egrets may become a regular occurrence on Forest
waters in the future.
Mammals
One of the most significant wildlife records for the Forest in 2001 and certainly the most important
mammal record for many years was the discovery of Nathusius' Pipistrelle Pipistrellus nathusii at
Hollow Ponds in mid-June. This is a little known species which was only discovered as a breeding
species in the UK in 1997. It has been recorded on 70 occasions now in the UK but is still only
known to breed in two counties. This first for the Forest is only the 2nd record for Essex and almost
certainly indicates a breeding colony nearby. It now means that the Forest has all 3 British Pipistrelle
(Pipistrellus spp.) species and a total of 8 regular bat species, feeding if not breeding in the Forest,
out of the 12 species recorded for Essex.
Some notable fungi records in Autumn 2001
TONY BONIFACE
40 Pentland Avenue, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 4AZ
This autumn produced an exceptional series of records of wax-caps and their allies in the unimproved
grasslands of churchyards around Chelmsford. It was particularly good for Hygrocybe
calyptraeformis, which was located in Fryerning and Little Leighs churchyards and in Chelmsford
Cemetery in large numbers. The year also produced the first records in my current survey of
Hygrocybe reidii, a wax-cap whose stipe smells of honey when crushed; it also was located in each
of the above three sites.
Earth-tongues are often found in similar sites to the wax-caps. This autumn also proved very good
for a number of the black species: Geoglossum cookeanum in Fryerning churchyard, G. umbratile
in Sandon churchyard, Trichoglossum hirsutum in Fyfield churchyard and the City of London
Cemetery, and G. fallax also in the City of London Cemetery. Specimens of this group would be
gratefully received by me in order to gain more information about the distribution of these fascinating
and ecologically-significant fungi.
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Essex Naturalist (New Series) 19 (2002)