Wildlife and conservation review 2002
remarkable is that the track, severity and timing of the event had been correctly forecast some five
days in advance - a far cry from the run up to the 1987 'Hurricane'.
A few frosts in mid-month, the first of the year, provided excellent foliage colour, but combined
with the past drought resulted in the poorest fungal autumn for several years: the now-traditional
EFC wax-cap hunt yielded just one species. In contrast though, Geoff Kibby visited Stour Wood,
and despite the general paucity of specimens, he managed to find several rare taxa - Inocybe
adequata, Clitocybe vitriolens, Russula vesca var. lactea, and Russula subterfurcata, a species
with only 5 or 6 documented British records.
On 9th October, the alignment and position of the sun and moon resulted in the highest predicted
astronomical tide for a century. However, that it passed without incident was down to the settled
weather conditions on the day. The lack of clear wind vectors was also responsible for the relatively
small number of migrant moths, which included a second Golden Twin-spot for the year, at Wix,
and a Ni Moth at Langley Upper Green.
Most significant and surprising among the bird migrants was a remarkable influx of Firecrests to
The Naze, peaking at 32 on the 12th. A Hoopoe was at Walthamstow, and there was a notable
passage of Ring Ouzels, especially at The Naze and in the London fringes. Two Bitterns were back
in the Lee Valley from the 8Ih, a Dartford Warbler turned up at Harold Wood, Grey and Red-necked
Phalaropes were at Abberton and Hanningfield respectively, while offshore, there was a Sabine's
Gull off Canvey and a Great Shearwater off Southend Pier.
Winter
And still the mild weather continued, throughout November, with no sign of frost - it was one of the
mildest on record, with temperatures reaching 17°C. But with a series of Atlantic fronts crossing
us, it was wet and windy, with some 70% more rain than the long term average - not as wet as 2000,
but the sixth wettest since 1900. The mild weather brought on a late fungal flush, with a reasonably
good showing of wax-caps, more usually associated with September and October. No doubt it was
also responsible for a Common Whitethroat in the Lee Valley as late as the 26th; Spotted Flycatcher,
Whimbrel and Sandwich Tern at Old Hall; and a Black Tern at Abberton.
A Yellow-browed Warbler was found at The Naze on the 25lh, while a Red-spotted Bluethroat
was at Cudmore Grove for two days from the 15th, and a Dartford Warbler appeared at Colne
Point, confirming this site as a key Essex locality for this species. Single Dotterels were at Old Hall
and Potton Creek, and a Purple Sandpiper was a surprise inland find at Abberton. Up to 11 Short-
eared Owls hunted around Tollesbury Wick, and three at Holland Haven (a welcome return to
form), while raptors at Colne Point included Peregrine, Merlin and three Hen Harriers. All three
forms of Brent Goose were back at Old Hall, and King George V Reservoir hosted a flock of 17
Red-breasted Mergansers, more often associated with estuarine waters. 140 Mandarins in Epping
Forest may not be surprising, most usually on Connaught Water, but this number on the tiny Blackweir
Pond, less than 0.2 hectares in size, deep in the Forest, must have been quite a sight.
The Essex Wildlife Trust brought the Abbotts Hall scheme to fruition by breaching the walls and
creating the largest example of managed realignment to date. This sustainable coastline management
technique really seems to be taking off, Abbotts Hall coming hard on the heels of the (now) second
largest realignment at Freiston Shore, by the Wash, during October. It maybe increasingly accepted.
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Essex Naturalist (New Series) 20 (2003)