The pace of change in our wildlife continues unabated. It feels that many species’ populations have been reducing in recent years but perhaps poor weather has been making the situation appear worse than it really is. Fortunately numbers have been holding up for birds on the estuary, including the important spring build up of Black-tailed Godwit and Redshank, and once again our interest has been enlivened by several new and varied wildlife arrivals on the patch.
The most impressive sight for those lucky enough to observe it was the appearance of the Aurora Borealis over Maldon!
As ever, the passage of the seasons is marked by the choreography of natural events. Sights I enjoy include the nestbuilding by the Rooks by Morrisons Supermarket, the regular appearance of St George’s Mushroom on my lawn and the flowering of Scurvy Grass on the saltmarsh.
At this time of year I often recall the Ladybird book “What to Look for in Spring” that I read in my childhood. While some of the scenes depicted now seem dated, most are still relevant, such as the appearance of violets and Coltsfoot.
This spring saw some great displays of English Bluebells. In many woods the blue was interspersed with the bright white stars of Greater Stitchwort, a familiar plant known locally as “Shirt Buttons”.
Spring 2024 was another disappointing one so far as bird sightings were concerned.
As is usual in March and April, a few winter finches passed through on their way to their more northerly breeding haunts, including some Siskin seen in a garden in central Maldon. Sadly Chaffinch are no longer a common garden bird locally. Indeed since the 2015 RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, they have slipped out of the Essex Top Ten, having been replaced in the 2024 results by Goldfinch. They can still be encountered in our area along woodland edges and around farms so their song has not entirely disappeared from the patch. Lingering wintering birds included a Goosander at Lofts Farm till 9th April and a Short-eared Owl along Southey Creek till 20th May.
The first true summer migrant did not appear till 25th March (a Swallow) and then there were periods of rain and blocking weather systems that appeared to hold everything up. The one exception to the rule was Nightingale. Our first was on 2nd April and there were others arriving early elsewhere in the county too.
Local first records were:
Swallow 25th March Lofts Farm
Nightingale 2nd April Lofts Farm
House Martin 3rd April Lofts Farm
Common Whitethroat 6th April Lofts Farm
Common Tern 7th April Heybridge Pits
Sedge Warbler 7th April Heybridge Pits
Reed Warbler 8th April Dump Pool
Sand Martin 9th April Lofts Farm
Cuckoo 13th April Beeleigh
Lesser Whitethroat 17th April Dump Pool
Yellow Wagtail 18th April Lofts Farm
Common Swift 24th April Heybridge Pits
A handful of singing Willow Warbler were noted, with the first at Chigborough Lakes on 6th April. As has been the case in the last few years, they again all passed through quickly without any staying to set up territories.
Wheatear were notable by their absence, apart from a mini-fall of three on 28th April, including one at the end of the Prom and no Whinchat were seen.
Passage waders included the odd Whimbrel and Common Sandpiper but little else.
The standout spring migrant was a reeling Grasshopper Warbler that Nic Lindsell found at Heybridge Pits and which stayed till the following morning.
Sadly, a combination of last year’s bird flu and high water levels meant that the Black-headed Gull colony at Heybridge Gravel Pits was a fraction of its normal size. Birds arrived late and by 25th May there were just 50-60 pairs vs the usual 300+ pairs. There were good numbers of Common Tern counted (21 nests) so perhaps they are taking advantage of there being fewer gulls about.
As usual, a pair of Mediterranean Gull were about the pits during early spring. Frustratingly they have still to nest there, despite the site appearing ideal for them. Mediterranean Gull are increasingly encountered in large groups away from obvious breeding sites. Adrian Dally counted an amazing 91 birds along Lawling Creek in April- easily the biggest ever local count.
The final bird report in this summary is a much-anticipated good news story. For the first time since 1854, a pair of Red Kite are nesting within our Maldon patch! They are in a secluded site to the south of the town and will hopefully be successful in raising their family. Red Kite were driven to extinction in Essex by the actions of gamekeepers in the nineteenth century. The last Maldon nest was, at the time, the last confirmed breeding record in the whole of Essex and yet it was still robbed of its eggs. With increasing numbers throughout the county, lets hope they are now back to stay.
Invertebrate sightings have been in fits and starts. After low numbers of some species it was good to see large swarms of Green Longhorn moths lekking over the tops of Oak Trees. The moth list at Hazeleigh continues to grow- both Blossom Underwing and Puss Moth were new to site, in April and May respectively.
Away from Hazeleigh, in April, Carla Davis and Simon Wood found another new species for the patch, when they spotted a group of Firebugs Pyrrhocoris apterus behind the Bates Road industrial area in Heybridge. Firebugs were first recorded in Essex in 2019, with initial populations at Harwich and Shoeburyness and it has been gradually spreading since. Presumably it has come across the channel from the European mainland, but the exact method is a mystery, particularly as the species is wingless!
On a roll, Simon found a further red-coloured rarity- a Welsh Oak Longhorn Beetle Pyrrhidium sanguineum on his living room carpet! This is only the second or third ever recorded in Essex.
Another exciting new species for the patch was found in the wildflower meadow at Maldon Cemetery- a Green-winged Orchid, spotted by Sue, one of MDC’s Cemetery Team. There are colonies elsewhere in Essex, most notably at Oxley Meadows EWT at Tolleshunt Knights, so it is one to look out for when walking through meadows. We used to see the closely-related Early Purple Orchid in the woodland at Mundon Furze but I have not seen it there for many years, perhaps because the undergrowth has become too overgrown or it has suffered the fate of many of the bluebells there in being eaten by Muntjac. Early Purple Orchid has however been photographed this spring in South Wood by Great Totham, on the northern edge of our patch.
The rarest orchid we have, in national terms, is the Lizard Orchid, so it was good to hear that they were still present this spring on the sea wall at Heybridge Gravel Pits. Two other species of orchid- Common Spotted Orchid and Bee Orchid– have also now been seen in bloom locally and no doubt the other one of our regular three-some (Pyramidal Orchid) will be spotted soon.
Although fungi and similar organisms are generally associated with autumn, there are still plenty to find in spring. Here are a couple of examples, both with arresting common names: Chicken of the Woods and Dog’s Vomit Slime Mould.
I was amazed to see in the press that we have record-breaking fishing in our patch! Darren Reitz caught a 143lb Wels Catfish at Chigborough Fisheries- believed to be a UK record weight for a rod caught freshwater fish. The news made the press far and wide, including the pages of USA Today, and just shows what may be lurking beneath the surface of our local waters. It is not a native species but one that has been introduced for the benefit of anglers. Paul Tallowin, co-owner of Chigborough Fisheries, commented that he thinks there may be even larger catfish still to be caught in their lakes!
One group that has done well this year is algae. Most springs there is a bloom in the estuary of Phaeocystis, a non-toxic marine microalgae. As the algae dies, it gives a brown scummy look to the water and produces bubbles of sulphurous gas, giving rise to the bloom’s common name of “May Rot”. Unfortunately for those who swim in the estuary, this May there was a particularly extensive bloom, possible as a result of high levels of nitrates and phosphates being washed from fields into the river during the high levels of rainfall earlier in the year.
I will end this summary not with a sunset but with an even more impressive sun-triggered event. On the night of May 10th, an extreme level of sun-spot activity sent solar winds of charged particles heading to the earth. When these particles hit the earth’s protective magnetosphere in sufficient numbers, electrons are steered down magnetic field lines to collide with Oxygen and Nitrogen molecules in our upper atmosphere to produce visible (and UV) light. On May 10th, exceptionally, the level of electron bombardment was so great that the Aurora Borealis (northern lights) were viewable in the skies above Maldon! We were very lucky in that local effects meant that only certain parts of the country, such as the north-east of England and East Anglia, received the full display. The full colours were best seen via mobile phones set to ‘night time’ mode. (I am grateful to David Wallis for letting me share the photos he took from the Prom.)
