Wildlife and conservation review 2002
on William Girling Reservoir, a surprising 16 Common Scoters inland on King George V Reservoir,
and an obliging White-rumped Sandpiper at Old Hall on the 21st.
The RHS at Hyde Hall officially opened its new drought garden, sponsored by Essex & Suffolk
Water. First planted a year before, and never watered, it was already looking wonderful and proving
excellent for all sorts of pollen- and nectar-seeking wildlife. As well as giving an important message
to gardeners, it is a good demonstration of the way in which the RHS is beginning to move with the
times and waking up to its wider environmental responsibilities.
At the end of July, the Government published its consultation report on the future development of
airport capacity. Suggestions up for consultation included a major expansion of Stansted Airport
(with up to three new runways) and as already leaked, a new airport proposal at Cliffe. The arguments
will run and run, not least raising questions about whether, if air travel was subject to normal
economic constraints such as fuel tax, the additional capacity is actually needed.
Probably the biggest disappointment of the year was the failure of the 2002 Earth Summit in
Johannesburg to live up to its illustrious predecessors. Some small new commitments were made,
and other previous commitments altered, but all in the context of the non-attendance of the USA,
still not a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
A thundery start to August brought heavy rain and local flooding (though nothing on the scale of
the disastrous floods in central and eastern Europe), but the rest of the month was dry and hot,
albeit closing with rather too much mist and murk trapped under high pressure for comfort. Early
on, Crossbills started to appear, mostly as fly-overs along the coast. Whilst never growing into a
major influx, there were groups of up to 50 in several places. A dead Polecat road casualty between
Thaxted and Saffron Walden was further confirmation of is colonisation of the county from the
west, and a number of rare Lepidoptera put in an appearance: two Bedstraw Hawk-moths, a Dusky
Hook-tip and a reported Camberwell Beauty. Records of the White-spotted Pinion moth from
Langenhoe and Chalkney Wood were especially welcome as it is a BAP species which is believed
to be declining, perhaps as a result of the dieback and disease of its foodplant, Elm.
A Terek Sandpiper at Promenade Park, Maldon, from 25th to 29th triggered the biggest Essex
twitch of the year; even rarer, an Eastern (race or species) Olivaceous Warbler which was ringed
at Burnham-on-Crouch on the 24th did not hang around for the masses. Otherwise, most interesting
birds were returning waders, including Marsh Sandpiper, Dotterel and White-rumped Sandpiper at
Old Hall, three Dotterel at Newport, and a Red-necked Phalarope for three days at Colchester
Hythe Lagoons. Apair of Black-necked Grebes in Metropolitan Essex was reported as raising two
young.
Late in August, a leak of tributyl tin (TBT) into the River Blackwater killed a considerable number
of fish, and raised fears of impacts downstream in the estuary, although thankfully these seem not
to have been realised. During the month, the regulations aimed at preventing the pollution of wetlands
with lead shot were strengthened: it is now illegal to use lead shot for shooting anywhere on the
foreshore; to shoot any duck, goose, swan, Coot or Moorhen; and to shoot anything on specified
SSSIs of waterfowl importance. The need for this change was highlighted by an RSPB/WWT
report which identified a widespread lack of observance of the previous regulations.
And returning to the House Sparrow question once more, a Defra-funded, BTO-led project reported
that over the past 30 years, numbers fell from 12 to 7 million pairs. The decline was worst in south-
east England, and contrasts with an increase in Scotland and Wales. The losses appear to be the
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Essex Naturalist (New Series) 20 (2003)