UK seasonal weather summary (from the Met Office):
Spring 2025 was mainly dry and settled with high pressure dominating for most of the season. It was provisionally the warmest and sunniest spring on record for the UK as a whole, the sunniest spring for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the warmest spring for all countries in the UK.
Summer 2025 was the warmest UK summer on record with a mean temperature of 16.10°C.
Although dominated by high pressure with a series of lengthy warms spells and a number of heatwaves, frontal rain and storms, including thunder storms affected many areas throughout the season.
As spring developed, it was encouraging to see more moths and butterflies than the previous year and there were also some decent migrant birds found. As the season continued, it soon became apparent that this blog would again be covering three familiar themes: record temperatures, the arrival of new species on the back of climate change and the decline in populations of species that used to be common.
During the season changeover, a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker drumming in Hazeleigh Wood on 22nd March was a welcome sound. Hopefully they will yet recolonise the wood, as there is a population not that far away, within the Danbury reserve complex. Lingering winter birds included a Woodcock at Hazeleigh on 2nd April and a Short-eared Owl at Limbourne Creek on 3rd April. The regular build-up of Black-tailed Godwit prior to their return to Iceland was particularly impressive, with a peak count of 1750 counted on 9th April.
Returning summer migrants were reported from the third week of March. The list below shows the first dates for the commonest species. The first dates from 2024 are in brackets. Considering all the factors that must influence their migrations, it is amazing how similar many of the dates are. For many of the species, the dates are within two or three days of each other. Cuckoo this year arrived on exactly the same day as last year!
First records of returning summer migrants
(Blackcap and Chiffchaff are not included due to confusion between first arrivals and lingering wintering birds).
- Sand Martin, Lofts Farm, 18th March (9th April)
- Swallow, Lofts Farm, 29th March (25th March)
- Nightingale, Hazeleigh Wood, 7th April (2nd April)
- Yellow Wagtail, Lofts Farm, 8th April (18th April)
- House Martin, Lofts Farm, 9th April (3rd April)
- Sedge Warbler, Heybridge Pits, 9th April (7th April)
- Common Whitethroat, Heybridge Pits, 9th April (6th April)
- Common Tern, Heybridge Pits, 9th April (7th April)
- Reed Warbler, Prom Park, 12th April (8th April)
- Cuckoo, Heybridge Pits, 13th April (13th April)
- Lesser Whitethroat, Heybridge Pits, 14th April (17th April}
- Swift, Lofts Farm, 22nd April (24th April)
Other migration
It was a poor spring for some of our regular passage migrants, with just a couple of Willow Warbler, a single Northern Wheatear and just a sprinkling of Whimbrel reported.
Oddly, though, there was a good selection of scarcer passage migrants seen, with Heybridge Pits in particular delivering the goods. A Little Ringed Plover put an appearance in at Lofts Farm and then there were three Ruff off Heybridge Pits. A Little Gull also stopped off at Heybridge Pits and over the next few days, two parties of Arctic Tern passed through the pits and a drake Garganey called in at Lofts Farm.
Passerine passage migrants included Ring Ouzel at Limbourne Creek and Heybridge Pits, Grasshopper Warbler at Heybridge Pits and Mundon Sluice and a Spotted Flycatcher at Lofts Farm.
The best birds of the Spring were the two Dotterel that Adrian Dally found on a field at Mundon Hall Farm. Unfortunately they did not stay for long but for those managed to see them I am sure it was great to see them at ground level in Essex rather than having to either travel abroad or to climb three thousand feet or so to see them on their Scottish breeding territories.
Of course it is not just birds that migrate. The rarest moth record of the Spring was a migrant Pretty White-barred at Hazeleigh Wood, a species from Southern Europe/ North Africa, a first record for Essex.
Other invertebrates recorded in early spring included a rather unexpected Birch Sawfly, the largest British species in its family, seen on Alexanders by Mundon Sluice.
Breeding birds
Another poor year for many of our traditional nesting species.
Within the main conurbations of Maldon and Heybridge, there may now be only one site, in north Heybridge, where House Martin still nest, but at least there are still some breeding sites within the nearby countryside. On a slightly positive note, House Martin were seen around some of the new housing developments at Westcombe Park, the North Heybridge Garden Suburb. They might even have been breeding there – attracted perhaps by all the wet mud around the building sites, that they could use to construct their nests.
The only spring Turtle Dove record was of one calling over a couple of days just south of Hazeleigh Wood, that could have been trying to set up a territory. Garden Warbler remains a scarce bird locally – the only singing bird found was by the regular site along the canal at Langford. Hobby had a failed breeding attempt to the south of Maldon but as there were more records than normal across the patch, they could well have bred elsewhere.
Most worryingly, for local birders, the numbers of Bullfinch seem to have collapsed, with just three local reports over the spring/ summer. To put this into context, they used to be regular all over the place – Chigborough Lakes, Maldon Wick, Hazeleigh, Heybridge Pits… There has been a decline nationally, with the BTO reporting a drop by 23.4% in the five years to 2023 but our loss seems to be even more severe than this.
Black-headed Gull returned in good numbers to breed at Heybridge Pits and there were 23 Common Tern nests counted amongst them. Unfortunately the main colony was later abandoned, possibly due to water level issues, or even predation by Otter…
There was better news for some of our other scarcer species. Two pairs of Bearded Tit bred at Heybridge Pits and at least two individuals were also seen at Limbourne Creek for the first time. Breeding Grey Wagtail have usually only been noted around Beeleigh, but likely breeding activity was also seen at Langford Weir and around industrial areas close to the centre of Heybridge.
At Hazeleigh Wood, Nightingale are still holding strong with an estimated 12-14 pairs. Again, there was a Nightingale singing along nearby Maldon Wick too.
A pair of Common Teal at Heybridge Pits in May hinted at possible breeding but they did not stay around. Marsh Harrier were seen throughout the summer and nesting behaviour was recorded in the Mundon area. Yet again Mediterranean Gulls were seen regularly over the town and there were two pairs around the Heybridge Pits Black-headed Gull colony but they did not settle to nest – we still await the first local breeding record! In contrast the building sites around Heybridge Wood did attract another scarce breeder, confirmed when Phil Roethenbaugh photographed a recently fledged Black Redstart there.
Colonists
Looking at the recent success of different species, it might seem that the future avian world will be dominated by crows, pigeons and gulls.
Within Maldon, the most striking recent population boom has been that of the Jackdaw. In central Maldon it is now one of the commonest species seen (and heard!).
This increase is part of a national trend. According to BTO data, in the 28 years from 1995 to 2023, the UK population increased by 62%.
The large gull colony within the Heybridge industrial areas has also continued to increase.
Adrian Dally’s regular counts indicate that the Herring Gulls are currently somewhat more numerous than the Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
Bad news for local residents is that for the first time it was reported by someone on a local Facebook group that a Herring Gull had taken someone’s ice cream. The worry is that the hooligan habits of some of the gulls that breed at coastal resorts are being learnt by the Heybridge gulls!
There were more sightings of Otter in the area but frustratingly, they continue to remain very secretive.
Some of the recent invertebrate arrivals have consolidated their presence, with Fire Bug being found in the Prom Park amongst other sites, Southern Oak Bush-cricket now present in gardens in central Maldon and Scarce Chaser dragonfly no longer confined to the canal.
2025 delivered more first local records of species that have been spreading nationally. These included a sea slug, a dragonfly and a distinctive moth.
An unusual-looking fragile shell found on 3rd April on the mud beside Maldon Prom, turned out to be a shell of the Bubble Snail, Haminoea navicular, a type of sea slug. Typically, it is a species of shallow muddy estuaries, often amongst beds of sea-grass. In the UK it is mainly found around southern and south-western coasts. In 2017 a colony was discovered at Wrabness, and a further one in 2020 along the River Deben in Suffolk. It is possible that the Maldon record was a one-off, with the shell having been transported by boat. More likely perhaps, there is a local colony that we can look out for. These recent East Anglian colonies are thought to have been initiated through larvae been carried on the hulls of leisure boats that have been visiting Maldon from the Hampshire or Dorset coasts. (Many thanks to Simon Taylor for help with the identification and information about the species.)
The next significant species found was a new dragonfly. This was one we were waiting for, having heard of increasing records elsewhere in the county. Daryl Rhymes posted about seeing them further up the canal so I thought I would give it a go and I ended up scoring the first patch sighting of Norfolk Hawker at Beeleigh on 16th June. A fortnight later, Daryl took some better photos at Elms Farm Park. Traditionally they have been known in the UK from breeding sites in the Norfolk Borads. However the recent arrival into southern counties appears to originate from continental populations. Their alternative name of Green-eyed Hawker describes them well. They have a habit of clinging to waterside vegetation, making them easier to have a proper look at than many of their relatives.
Scarlet Tiger is a moth whose population has been recently spreading. Previously they were known mainly from the South and West of the country but there have been increasing records to the North and East. It is currently a rare moth in Essex, with the first modern record only in 2016. In 2025 there was a bunch of Essex records, amongst which Cindy Lawes caught the first local example on 21st June, in her central Maldon garden. An impressive insect, that would not look out of place in the tropics.
Other interesting records
A Beautiful Silver-mark moth at Hazeleigh on 24th June was interesting to me at least. It represented the 2000th species of wildlife that I have recorded within our Maldon patch. Might sound a lot but as there are over 70,000 species to be found in the UK I feel I am still just scratching the surface, especially with many of the families of invertebrate animals as well as with mosses, lichen and fungi. (I am also well aware that if there were a local league table, there is a certain bird club president from Heybridge who has seen significantly more than me, but I am happy to claim second place!)
In July there was a big arrival of insects on the East coast, with 7-spot Ladybird being the most obvious species. Some started likening it to the ladybird ‘invasion’ of 1976 but the arrival was not sustained and numbers soon dropped off. Around Maldon there were plenty of reports of ladybirds on social media but unfortunately no proper surveys were made so we missed out on the potential of rarer species enjoyed by more diligent observers elsewhere.
It was a better year for some butterflies, such as Small Tortoiseshell, Common Blue and Marbled White. A nice surprise was to find a Silver-washed Fritillary in the grounds of the Museum of Power at Langford, away from its main local haunt at Hazeleigh.
There were lots of other assorted insects sharing the Langford buddleias with the fritillary, including Hummingbird Hawk-moth and Median Wasp.
Hazeleigh Wood wasn’t going to let other sites steal its thunder and continued moth-trapping there turned up two more good moths that are usually associated with other sites in Essex – Lappet and Large Thorn.
In August, a couple of bat surveys were carried out by Colleen Freer, along the canal between Tescos and the Golf Course, as part of the National Bat Monitoring Programme. The weather was disappointing (wet!) however bats were recorded. The majority were Soprano and Common Pipistrelle, however several Daubenton’s were heard and seen dipping low over the water. Of the two Pipistrelles, the Soprano was recorded more, perhaps not surprisingly as they are supposed to prefer riparian habitats. Listening to the various other sounds picked up by our bat detectors, the most plausible other bat present was Leisler’s, which we do know occurs in the general area.
Returning birds
Different species have their own ideas as to when seasons start and finish. Some of the first returning waders are probably non-breeders/ failed breeders.
By the end of June, Common Sandpiper, Greenshank, Lapwing, Curlew, Redshank and Black-tailed Godwit had all been seen.
In July, a Turtle Dove was seen by Northey causeway and a Black Tern was spotted at Heybridge Pits.
The summer’s warm, dry weather pretty much dried out the main lake at Chigborough Lakes EWT and the extensive mud that was revealed attracted Green Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwit and two Little Ringed Plover.
By August, migration was in full swing, with Whimbrel and several Little Ringed Plover (in a good year for them) amongst the waders and Wheatear, Whinchat, Yellow Wagtail, Garden and Willow Warbler amongst the passerines. As usual, Lofts Farm attracted the hirundines with Swallow, House Martin and Sand Martin all seen in good numbers.
Catfish update
After mentioning last year the record-breaking catfish caught at Chigborough Lakes in April 2024 it would be remiss of me not to mention that an even bigger Wels Catfish was caught there later in the year. This new record-breaker weighed 150 pounds 3 ounces and was caught by Shaun Ings, on the 28th September 2024 and has now been ratified by the British Record Fish Committee.
LOCAL WILDLIFE SITE NEWS
Sadly, the main news regarding local wildlife sites was the series of fires during the dry summer. There were fires at Heybridge Woods and a smaller one at Ironworks Meadow. Unfortunately these were eclipsed by a devastating fire at the Ironworks Meadow Reserve on 14th July.
A strong south-westerly wind spread the fire from the meadow to the growth around the borrowdyke and the bridge, bird-watching platform and walkways and drove the fire across the reserve to the Navigation canal. The plastic composite wood used for the bridge and decking took alight, causing a cloud of black smoke. The view of the Fire Services was that all these fires had been started deliberately. The fire obviously had a devastating effect on such of the wildlife as was unable to run, fly, swim or burrow out of its path. Unfortunately, much of the wildlife within the grassland will have perished. This will have included Field Voles, Meadow Ants and Common Lizards. These are animals that have built up their populations over many years and will take a while to recover.
Despite all, the reserve team are resolved to rebuild the reserve and work hard to re-establish the meadow and other habitats. They have been bolstered by the response of the general public and have been overwhelmed by the generosity of local residents and businesses. Hopefully, some of the population of Water Vole has survived and we have found Marsh Sow-thistle, that has been party of a re-introduction programme re-introduced to the reserve, is still there.
Donations towards the reconstruction of the reserve are stlll welcome via https://gofund.me/9eb77207 or https://chelmerblackwatercic.uk/index.php/donations/
On a brighter note, in April I joined a group being taken round the recent work at Langford Weir being carried out by Essex and Suffolk Water. A recently completed project has been to construct an 18m-long fish and eel pass about 50m downstream of an abstraction point to enable aquatic species to migrate past the weir that was built to maintain the river’s water level to maximise abstraction availability. There were already eel screens protecting abstraction points along the canal and at Mill House Hotel; hopefully the eels can find their way to the new ladder!
And finally, ‘Our Wild Local Space’, the community wild space at Washington Close that was mentioned in my previous blog post, has continued to flourish. The efforts of the Heybridge and Maldon Climate Action Partnership, who manage the project, were rightly rewarded when they were presented with the 2025 Nature Conservation Award by Maldon District Council.
If you have any comments on this summary, or information on anything that I have overlooked, please let me know.
My grateful thanks to those who have been out and about and contributed their sightings and shared their photographs – without them I would have nothing to write about!
John Buchanan
john.clanbuchanan@btinternet.com
MISC PHOTOS OF LOCAL SCENERY
