In a repeat of last year’s news, the main headline is again that “Globally, this summer was the hottest since records began in 1880”. High sea temperatures fuelled a number of extreme weather events including hurricanes and atypical deluges of heavy rain. Nationally, though, the UK’s weather this summer was in fact the coolest since 2015, with around average sunshine and rainfall.
There seemed to be extra pessimism this year amongst many of the nation’s naturalists, with a feeling that the combined effects over recent years of weather instability, changes in the timing of key natural events (that should be in sync) and continuing habitat degradation have resulted in a tipping point being reached for many wildlife populations. The worry is the extent to which species resilience can continue to handle the multiple challenges being faced. My own impression was that there seemed to be generally fewer small birds breeding and a lack of invertebrates, particularly in early summer, including butterflies such as Small Tortoiseshell and Common Blue – I don’t recall seeing either of these usually dependable species locally this year.
Nevertheless there were still some good things to see, helping to keep us motivated!
To begin this seasonal summary on a positive, there was a good show of orchids at Heybridge Gravel Pits. Nic Lindsell took some smashing photos of the different species on view.
As anticipated in the Spring 2024 post, no passing Willow Warbler stayed on to breed and sadly the nesting attempt by Red Kite failed this year. Hobby also tried to nest in the same wood but appear to have been chased off by the local Carrion Crow. Worryingly, there was only one record of Turtle Dove locally, of one flying along south of Limebrook Way on 20th July. As this area is regularly watched, it was unlikely to have been a breeding bird. Garden Warbler seem to be hanging on along the canal at Langford, with one also heard singing by the Golf Course. Cuckoo were noticeably scarce but there were reports of breeding Yellowhammer and Corn Bunting, particularly in the farmland to the south of the patch. Yellow Wagtail appear to have been breeding on Northey Island. Little Owl seemed to have gone from their previously regular Lofts Farm/ Chigborough site but were recorded by Bury Farm and by Beeleigh Turning. Barn Owl appear to have been OK with reports from a variety of sites around the patch.
At Chigborough Lakes EWT the heronry continues to prosper. For the sixth year running, one pair of Cattle Egret bred but as ever they were very elusive.
Nuthatch were present in both Hazeleigh Hall and Kent Woods. Several years ago, Coal Tit seemed to be spreading out across the patch, from their strongholds at Heybridge Wood and around Langford, but numbers now seem diminishing, with little mention of them by local birders.
A pair of Marsh Harrier again had a half-hearted attempt at breeding to the south of the estuary. They were seen carrying sticks as if nest building but the male, at least, still looks to be sub-adult so maybe we need to wait another year before they succeed. Bearded Tit bred again at Heybridge Gravel Pits.
The recent fall in numbers of breeding House Martin led to me making a concerted effort this year to locate any remaining pairs. A Facebook appeal produced many rueful comments about their disappearance and it would appear that there are no longer any pairs nesting within Maldon itself. There remain at least two sites in the north of Heybridge where residents have been keeping an eye on them but otherwise there are just a handful of records from the surrounding countryside, including a small colony beneath a farmhouse roof near Purleigh. Fortunately Swift numbers seem to be holding up, with screaming parties still being seen around Maldon High Street. In July Nic Lindsell watched a flock of around forty birds around the Town Centre and seventy were watched feeding over Ironworks Meadow – these no doubt also included passage birds.
Tony Kennelly’s regular walks around the fields to the south of the town paid dividends with him finding another Quail, on 27th July. Tony previously found one in the same fields in 2022 and in fact two of the previous local records, in 2012 and 2014 were also in this same general area – perhaps there is something particularly attractive about these fields (overall it is a scarce species in Essex). A common theme has been the presence of Barley.
Over to mammals now and encouraging news about two of our key water loving species. Water Vole were confirmed as being present on the Ironworks Meadow reserve, giving an added boost to plans to improve the habitat there. Meanwhile Otter sightings continue to increase. They appear to be becoming less wary and are now more likely to be seen in daylight. Locations have included Heybridge Gravel Pits and Northey Island. One was videoed running across the golf course, while a lady living at Langford was upset to see trail camera evidence of an Otter eating her Koi Carp!
Muntjac are also becoming more adventurous – one was seen swimming across the River Chelmer to the Ironworks Meadow Reserve by Tesco and they are being seen in the Prom Park.
It was interesting to see the results of a fish survey at Northey Island. The species caught most were Sand Smelt and Thin-lipped Grey Mullet, there were a few each of Sea Bass and Common Goby and there was one each of Three-spined Stickleback and Golden Grey Mullet.
In other fish-related news, during the community nature day at Ironworks Meadow we found a young Flounder in the Kings Mere. Of all the flatfish, this is the species most often found in brackish and fresh water so perhaps we should not have been that surprised. Meanwhile, in June a Sea Trout was caught whilst trying to negotiate the weir at Beeleigh. Like Salmon, Sea Trout look to travel to inland waters to breed.
Once again there were a lot of Moon Jellyfish in the Blackwater. This summer, the open water swimmers reported seeing a lot of Sea Gooseberries as well. They are not true jellyfish but belong to the related family of comb jellies. They have voracious appetites, having twin tentacles that are armed with cells with sticky heads to ensnare their prey.
Every year, different plant species proliferate and are noticeable everywhere. Last year it was Hemlock, this year it was Common Mallow and Ragwort. The presence of so much Common Mallow may help account for the rapid spread of Fire Bugs around the county this summer. After the first local record from the Heybridge industrial areas in April, more were seen during the summer, including some along Broad Street Green Road.
Another species that seems to have had a big population expansion this summer has been the Wall Brown butterfly. Most local sightings have been around the sea wall, on both sides of estuary, but they have also been seen inland, even around the centre of Maldon and at Hazeleigh Hall Wood. Other butterflies have been in short supply but encouragingly there were odd sightings of both White Admiral and Silver-washed Fritillary in Hazeleigh Hall Wood, proving their continuing presence there.
The Essex Field Club paid three visits to Northey Island over the summer, resulting in a number of interesting records. Out on the saltmarsh, typical species, such as the micromoth Saltmarsh Plume and the Saltmarsh Horsefly, were found, as well as a couple of Star-wort moth caterpillars. David Cousins found three different Coleophora micromoths, Sea Lavender Case-bearer C. limoniella, Saltern Case-bearer Coleophora atriplicis and Blite Case-bearer C. devliella. Amongst other records, Yvonne Crouch found the lacewing, Pentastiridius leporinus and an Oak Ladybird, Scymnus auritus, at only 2mm long, one of the ‘inconspicuous ladybirds’.
Simon Wood was able to confirm the presence of Scarce Emerald Damselfly on one of the pools and there were several Wall Brown butterflies seen.
Over the course of the summer, yet more species have been added to our Maldon list. They fall into two categories – species that have probably always been here, that we have finally caught up with, and new arrivals.
In the former category, Simon Wood was pleased to finally find a Great Oak Beauty, in Hazeleigh Hall Wood, a species that he has always expected to have been present amongst the oaks there. Another example is the Sea Aster Mining Bee, spotted feeding amongst a small area of Sea Aster by the sea wall at the west end of the Prom Park.
This summer’s new arrivals to our area include Channel Island Pug (a small moth) and Garden Cockroach (Ectobius vittiventris), both found during Simon Wood and Maureen Bissell’s Intensive moth trapping sessions at Hazeleigh Hall Wood. They are likely colonisers. The first Essex record of the pug was in 2022 and the first Essex record of the cockroach was in 2023. Another migrant recorded for the first time at Hazeleigh was Porter’s Rustic. Rather a drab moth. the first Essex record was in 2006 but there have been an increasing number of records since. There is no definite evidence of them yet breeding in the UK.
Use of pheromone lures continues to attract species that may have been previously overlooked. A lure at Hazeleigh Hall Wood brought in a Sallow Clearwing, another first record for our patch.
For birdwatchers, the end of summer coincides with the arrival of the first autumn migrants. On the estuary, the first Golden Plover were seen on 1st September, the first Wigeon on 14th and the first Brent Geese on 21st. A Short-eared Owl on 22nd September was a good early record,
Passing terns sometimes stop for a while, but rarely in any numbers, so a group of 14 Sandwich Tern roosting by Mill Beach on 22nd September was noteworthy. Another good gathering, was ten Common Sandpiper by Mundon Sluice on 21st July. Generally, though, there were disappointing numbers of passage birds reported, with just a couple of Whinchat seen, one Wheatear, a few Stonechat., a Whimbrel and one Little Stint (at Heybridge Gravel Pits on 9th October). In part, these poor numbers were a result of low observer coverage. We need to get out more!!
