Chelmsford & Central Essex Group News

CHELMSFORD & CENTRAL ESSEX GROUP NEWS

Winter 2018/19

The RSPB is a registered charity in England & Wales 207076, in Scotland SC037654

VOLUNTEERING IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH TOO – OFFICIAL! More good news following our headline in the last issue that birdwatching is good for your health – volunteering is good for you too. I wouldn’t be surprised if the majority of our readers weren’t volunteers in some capacity or another, or have been in the past, even if it isn’t bird-related. A recent study of volunteering and its impact on mental health carried out by the Green Exercise Team at the University of Essex found that over a 12-week period, volunteers experienced a range of benefits, such as increased feelings of positivity, higher levels of physical activity, and improved mental health. The researchers studied volunteers on Essex Wildlife Trust programmes, and found that attendance was associated with health and well-being improvements, particularly for people with low levels of well-being. The results of the study are quite detailed and you can read more here: https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/sites/default/files/2018- 05/r3_the_health_and_wellbeing_impacts_of_volunteering_with_the_wildlife_trusts_- _university_of_essex_report_3_0.pdf If we needed any more reasons to volunteer, this would be a good one. Louise Fuller

VOLUNTEERS TREE PLANTING

NEW THOUGHTS ABOUT THE WREN Mike Logan Wood The other day I was speaking to my sister in Canada who happened to mention that all the wrens in Canada had migrated southwards into America as usual. I mused upon this for a while, mainly because we in England have, to me, seemed so far north compared with places we know in Canada. Some investigation was needed. My map tells me that London is on the same latitude as the northern tip of Newfoundland. New York – with Madrid, and Ottawa – with Bordeaux. My American bird book shows me that there is a winter wren – Troglodytes troglodytes – the same as our wren, with the following note “Range – boreal Canada extending northwards into Alaska, southwards along the Pacific coast. Movements – Canadian birds migrate southwards to winter in southern and 1 eastern states”. That seems to confirm the situation, that Canada has a very much colder winter than we do. My book also tells me that there are eight Canadian birds called wrens, only two of which are members of the Troglodytes family but all look very similar and all of which migrate. Some description of the Canadian wrens may not go amiss:- House wren – Troglodytes aedon – a widespread and common small wren with short cocked tail and faintly barred pale plumage Bewick’s wren – Thryomanes bewickii – commonest in the west but declining. Sideways jerking of white fringed tail Carolina wren – Thryoyhorus ludovicianus – commonest in south-east except after severe frost. Broad white eyestripe Cactus wren – Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus – giant wren of the deserts; flies low; brown spotted, white striped eye Rock wren – Salpinctes obsoletus . No other wren has light streaking on breast. Bobs as it walks Canyon wren – Catherpes mexicanus . Clear white throat and breast Marsh wren – Cistothorus palustris . Brown cap with white stripe. Always close to or in marshes Sedge wren – Cistothorus platensis . Scarce. An irregular migrant. Song soft and insect-like Having sorted out the Canadian wrens, we should not forget the fact that there are six wrens here in the British Isles which are as follows: - Wren or winter wren – Troglodytes troglodytes – our common wren Brown wren – T. T. indigenus . The continental bird, more marked on its breast with a little fatter bill. Seen in great numbers mixing with the common bird St Kilda wren – T. T. hertensis . Restricted to the island with about 200-230 pairs mixing with fulmars and puffins, conserved by the Wild Birds Protection (St Kilda) Act 1904 Fair Isle wren – T. T. fridariensis . Restricted to the island and numbering 10 to 52 pairs. Darker pIumaged than the others. Shetland wren – T. T. zetlandicus . Rufus and strongly barbed plumage Hebridean wren – T. T. hebridensis . Lives in the Outer Hebrides and migrates to Ireland

SHETLAND WREN It also introduces me into methods our wrens use to overcome particularly cold winters. They may gather at dusk in communal roosts, which are the more impressive given the wren’s otherwise solitary anti-social lifestyle. Squirrel dreys (there is a record of at least 17 in one) and old birds’ nests including those of swallow, song thrush (12 birds) and house martin (30+) have been recorded. 10 wrens in a coconut shell was more unusual, whilst the biggest ever was a gathering of many dozens between January and March in 1979 in the roof eves of a cottage at Lydney, in Gloucester. They arrived 25 to 40 minutes from dusk to dark and at the same time they were lining up to enter. Perhaps the most remarkable of all, given the confined nature of the space, was a gathering at High Kelling, Norfolk of over 60 birds in a nest box measuring 5.5” x 4.5” x 0.5” (14cm x 11.5cm x 4.5cm). This worked out at 2.5 cubic inches (38 c.cm) per bird. Now perhaps we can consider the origins of our wrens. There has been a tremendous amount of time and energy spent on looking at our history and trying to find the origins of our way of life. What have we got to use to time the arrival of a bird into our lives? Well, funnily enough, we have something called “The Wren Cult”. You may remember that some time ago I wrote a piece about the event at Christmas when men and boys would dress up and leave the village to walk its boundaries and shake trees to disturb a wren. If they found one they would stone it and kill it and hang it from a cross they had made and carry it back to the village. There they would take it from door to door and ask for alms.

2 This has been found to be a very ancient custom as it was tied in with the action between the eagle and the wren. You may remember the time in religious history when the birds were trying to find a king. It was going to be who could fly the highest. The golden eagle made it and was going to be awarded the prize when the wren popped out of the eagle’s feathers and won the day. This was the creation of the Wren Cult which has been found to have arrived in Great Britain in the Bronze Age and was carried by megalith builders whose cultural inspiration came from either the Mediterranean region or from southern America. Probably these folk cherished mainly solar religious beliefs. The Wren Hunt represents New Year ceremonial, having as its purpose the defeat of the dark earth powers and identification with the hoped-for triumph of light and life. In Canada it was the wren itself that carried the message by following the expansion of plant growth northwards as the temperature rose as the earth warmed. The wrens followed this spread north and then east via Greenland and Iceland before turning south to join the expansion in Great Britain in the Bronze age. 26 December 2018 If you would like to find out more try: “Folklore of Birds” by Edward A Armstrong, part of the New Naturalist Series by Collins

OUR COMMON WREN

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OUR LOCAL GROUP WALK IN DECEMBER TO WALLASEA ISLAND RSPB RESERVE Report by Stuart Anderson We were pleased that Jeff Delve, local expert on the reserve, was able to guide our walk. He was a mine of information on the history and background of the reserve, in addition to his ability to spot and identify the many birds we saw. Fifteen of us met in the morning, greeted by a brisk, cold, north-westerly wind. From the car park we had good views of a corn bunting before we climbed the steps onto the river wall and headed east with the River Crouch on our left. Allfleets Marsh lies between the footpath and the old river wall. This was created by DEFRA as part of a habitat compensation scheme following the loss of habitats in Felixstowe and Harwich Docks area. Silts were pumped between the river walls before the old wall was breached in 2006 creating this new marsh which has now developed a wide range of plants. The tide was coming in and there was a good variety of waders and ducks albeit at some distance. 3 To our right was Pool Marsh where again we saw a variety of waders and ducks, including wigeons and grey plovers, and several thousand golden plovers and lapwings taking to the sky beyond. It is hoped that in the long term spoonbills will be attracted to this area. We continued on the seawall, passing over the conveyor system which was used to transfer some three million tonnes of clay tunnelled from the London Crossrail project. They were shipped onto Wallasea, representing the largest coastal reserve restoration project in Europe. The jetty and conveyor system will be removed in 2019. We then turned south on a raised track from where we saw a hen harrier hunting over Acresfleet Lagoons; a superb sight. The bird was a “ringtail”, which means it has a white ring round its rump. It could have been a juvenile or a female; they are hard to tell apart. In the end Jeff thought it was probably a female. Some of our party left at this point to return to the car park. ( Ed: I was one of the people who took the short cut. On the way back we had more close views RINGTAIL HEN HARRIER of the hen harrier.) The majority continued, passing the 165 hectare Jubilee Marsh on our left. The sea wall was breached in 2015, and again this is really progressing in its development with over 100 avocets nesting in 2018. We finally reached the River Roach and had a brief respite from the wind in one of the new shelters before turning west and following the river flood wall. It could clearly be seen how much higher the sea level is above the marsh level. The former arable fields yielded their final harvest in 2018 before they formed saline lagoons as part of an engineered, regulated tidal exchange with the opening of the last sluice gates in November 2018. These areas will only get better. We left the river wall and headed north between Pool Marsh and Acresfleet Lagoons back to the car park for a late lunch where a few more of our party left. We then had a visit to the western end of the Marsh Flats where we had close encounters with short-eared owls SHORT-EARED OWL (see Jeff's superb photo) and a flock of corn buntings. We even saw a brown hare and a seal during the day which added to our enjoyment. 44 bird species were seen. Another walk with Jeff is planned for the spring, see Events Diary on page 10.

SOME MORE NEWS ABOUT WALLASEA ISLAND On Monday 12 November, Chris Tyas , Wallasea Island Project Manager, wrote in the Essex Birders Forum: “Last Friday saw us let saline water from the River Roach water into a series of three shallow lagoons on Wallasea Island for the first time. These (132ha) of lagoons plus saline grassland (55ha)/grazing marsh (82ha) to the east mark the final significant habitat creation works across 668ha by the RSPB at Wallasea. Our senior ecologist has described the 132ha of lagoons, with full water control, as unique in NW Europe; it will be interesting to see how they develop. The lagoons will take a few weeks to fill and our management will be influenced by the Reservoirs Act for the first three years, plus the need for the retaining banks to develop the vegetation cover needed to prevent significant erosion. However, we have more than enough leeway to develop a management system that has the potential to produce some remarkable results. The management and the introduction of access will take time, so please bear with us. Having been on site for longer hours recently, it has been great to see so many birders enjoying the raptors. The suite of coastal habitats we now have at Wallasea should attract an excellent range of coastal/wetland/rough grassland species for years to come. The last remaining 'Project' element of our work at Wallasea is the removal of the Material Handling System that facilitated the import of the three million tonnes of Crossrail tunnelling material that built Jubilee Marsh. We hope to have this job complete by the end of December 2019.”

4 Our local group central point of contact, Sue McClellan , attends meetings of the Wallasea Local Liaison Group. From January, she reports that: • A substantial solar powered sliding entrance gate has been installed to deter "boy racers" from bombing up and down the road. (Volunteers have been opening and closing a gate morning and night until this one arrived) • Funding sources are being explored for a visitor facility; circa £750,000 needed • Badgers living currently in the wrong place are being relocated to an artificial sett which comprises an underground wooden structure with various chambers. So far, so good • The sluices are managing lagoon water levels pretty much as expected so all's well on that front • The material handling equipment must be removed in its entirety by the end of 2020. If an appropriate buyer can be found, it'll go during the summer of this year when there'll be least disruption to breeding birds. The equipment is currently the responsibility of BAM Nuttall.

LOCAL GROUP AGM The Local Group AGM takes place at 7.30pm on Thursday 11 April, prior to the normal talk which follows at 8.00pm. We would be very pleased to see as many people as possible coming to the AGM. You will have the opportunity to hear about the group’s activities over the past year, and those planned for the coming year, and you can express your views and offer your thoughts for discussion. Although we would always be pleased to welcome new committee members, that doesn’t mean that we will drag you in just because you attend the AGM, so do please come along. If you are interested in joining the committee, just contact any one of us – contact details are on page 9.

LOCAL GROUP WALKS CO-ORDINATOR A position we are quite keen to fill is that of Local Group Walks Co-ordinator. We have been arranging walks between us on an ad hoc basis but it would be good to have someone who can draw together a more structured programme. You don’t have to lead the walks yourself nor even attend them. We have plenty of ideas for sites to visit and people who might lead a walk, so you won’t be left to sort it out on your own. It is mostly a matter of contacting people and agreeing dates and locations. All our walks are “own transport” so you wouldn’t have to organise coaches etc. The people who attend our walks really enjoy them and are always grateful for the opportunity to go out with other like-minded people. If you think this rôle would suit you, do contact one of us; contact details are on page 9.

THE RED-NECKED PHALAROPE: AN UNUSUAL AND SPECIAL BIRD Alan Thorpe I have been interested in the red-necked phalarope since studying zoology at Sheffield University where, in preparation for an examination, I wrote an essay on the reproductive biology of birds. I remember being fascinated to read about ‘sexual dimorphism reversal’ and ‘serial polyandry’ in this species. It took me quite a while to understand the meaning of these phrases and why such activities made the phalarope so unusual, but having done so, I thought it all sounded rather exciting and worth following up. I made a mental note to try to observe it in real life at some later stage. However, my interest in the sex-life of the red-necked phalarope remained at a theoretical level and it was many years before I even saw one, let alone witness its displays of avian sexual dimorphism reversal or serial polyandry. It’s strange the way things happen, but a chance meeting with a couple of birdwatchers during a visit to the Scilly Isles in 2010 had a most surprising and far-reaching result. “You must go to Iceland”, they said. They had just returned from a visit there and were only too pleased to regale Di and me with stories of their trip. They told us, quite coincidentally, that the red-necked phalarope was so common there that they were “falling over them” as they travelled around. We noted their words most carefully! The two birdwatching visits that we subsequently made to Iceland in 2012 and 2014 were the direct result of this meeting at St Mary’s and we had a fabulous Icelandic experience on both occasions. To

5 anyone who reads this article, I would repeat the advice of our Scilly Isles acquaintances – you simply must go to Iceland! For birdwatchers, the last week of May and the first week of June are perfect. If possible, hire a car and drive around the island and you will be rewarded by seeing a wonderful variety of birds and phenomenal geological sites everywhere. At Lake Myvatn in northeast Iceland, however, you will surely feel you have reached birdwatcher’s Paradise. Together with the out-flowing river Laxa, the lake with its many islands forms a fantastic nature conservation area. It is Iceland’s fourth-largest lake at around 37 km 2 and is shallow, with a maximum depth of 4.5m. The eutrophic conditions of the lake provide flora and fauna sufficient to feed the numerous breeding birds that abound here. It was in this wonderful landscape that we encountered at very close quarters the bird that I had written about all those years ago at university: the red-necked phalarope. With the aid of a few of the many photographs I was able to take, I’ll try to throw some light on this special bird that I had waited so long to see. It takes a while for the brain to accept the idea that ‘sexual dimorphism reversal’ is operating in this species, with the result that the brightest of the red necks on the lake belong to the female phalaropes rather than the males.

FEMALE RED-NECKED PHALAROPE MALE Normal sexual dimorphism is generally associated with the striking colour patterns of male plumage, compared with the more drab, camouflage colours of the female (c.f. for example, the very beautiful harlequin drake with his female partner. This bird is to be seen quite commonly on the fast flowing Laxa river at Myvatn).

HARLEQUIN DUCK AND DRAKE As well as plumage colouration being more striking in the female rather than the male, a further aspect of the sexual reversal process involves the behavioural roles played by male and female phalaropes. Thus, it is the female that initiates the courtship and ensuing mating behaviour and the male that looks after the eggs and chicks. At one of our mid-morning visits to the lake in early June, we found the phalaropes to be in an obvious state of high activity, with lots of chases, flutterings and vocalisations. Since quite a number of birds were involved, it was difficult to see where courtship began and exactly how it progressed, but the brief mating process was quite obvious and involved a somewhat delicate balancing act with the male poised on the female’s back, gently holding on to her bright red neck using his beak. After his success, the male flew a short distance in front of the female.

MATING GOODBYE FLIGHT Following the sequence of events of courtship and mating, the female will lay a clutch of three to four eggs in a grass-lined nest in a marshy area of the lake. The nest will have been prepared by the successful male and this bird will also incubate the eggs and go on to feed, protect and rear the developing young. Meanwhile, if there are excess males available in the population, the original female will adopt the serial polyandry role and repeat the entire reproductive process with a different male. In conditions where there are insufficient males, females resort to monogamy. It seems likely that this specialised type of reproductive behaviour will ensure the maximum possible number of offspring for any given local population, whilst at the same time enlarging and increasing the variability in the gene pool of the species. To conclude, it is appropriate to mention a few further points of interest and adaptations possessed by this unusual and special bird. In evolutionary terms the red-necked phalarope is considered to have diverged from the typical sandpipers about 28 million years ago and its closest relative today is believed to be the Terek sandpiper. Apart from polyandry and sexual dimorphism reversal, the species differs from all present- day sandpipers by the presence of a thick, duck-like downy plumage which enables it to float without becoming water-logged. This is an important adaptation, since after the breeding season the birds migrate to warmer pelagic waters where they feed primarily on plankton. They have lobed flanges on their toes (like coots) which enables them to paddle strongly. They can be seen vigorously twirling around in the water (50 revs/min), thereby creating a vortex, visible on the surface as a series of concentric ripples, which brings plankton to the surface to be sucked up as food by capillary action between their upper and lower mandibles. Neither the post-breeding migration routes undertaken by the red-necked phalarope, nor their final destinations, are very well known, but the Arabian Sea and the Pacific Ocean off Peru, the Galapagos Islands, the Philippines and New Guinea are quoted as possibilities. A few have even appeared as rare migrants in and around Australia, so it seems that this small bird (at 17-19 cm in length, it is smaller than a starling!) is an accomplished traveller and navigator. A final interesting fact relevant to the partial disappearance of post-breeding red-necked phalaropes and of special relevance to the Myvatn population is that although more than 3,000 red-necked phalaropes have been ringed there, not a single recovery has been recorded. (Data taken from a report in the year 2002.) N.B. A slight word of caution concerns the swarms of billions of midges that appear over and around Lake Myvatn on certain days during June. These flies appear with a density so great that keen observers of red-necked phalaropes are obliged to wear protective head nets in order to be able to breathe safely. The word Myvatn translates as My – flies & vatn – lake.

VORTEX PRODUCTION, AND MIDGES All photos: © Alan Thorpe

7 RSPB ALBATROSS STAMP APPEAL If you have been collecting stamps for the RSPB’s albatross appeal, please note the following information. Following advice from the Charity Commission, given the potential for the fraudulent use of ordinary used bulk postage stamps, the RSPB will no longer collect these. However, donations of stamp collections, first day covers and albums are still welcomed.

MADAGASCAR POCHARDS Taken from the Guardian newspaper An unobtrusive brown duck thought to be extinct for 15 years has been brought back from the brink and given a new home on a remote lake in Madagascar. Two floating cages from Scottish salmon farms have been transformed into a safe haven for the world’s rarest duck, which was driven to the brink of extinction by fish farming. ( Ed: It seems somewhat ironic to me that a bird which had suffered ravages due to fish farming was subsequently saved by floating cages from Scottish salmon farms. )

Madagascar pochards had been thought to be extinct but a small population was found by chance. The ducks were breeding successfully but the ducklings were not reaching maturity because the lake was too deep and cold for them to survive and find food. Day-old chicks were taken and reared in captivity and ducklings have been released on to a lake more suitable for their needs. The project is a partnership between the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, the Peregrine Fund and the Madagascan government. Ed: when I saw pictures of this duck on the television, I thought how plain it was. Apparently tropical ducks are far less colourful than their northern counterparts because unpredictable weather means they need to be able to breed all year round and so the males do not acquire colourful feathers for annual mating rituals.

LOVE MINSMERE? From RSPB Regional Office The RSPB has launched a campaign seeking the support of everyone who “Loves Minsmere”. This campaign is asking everyone who knows and loves RSPB Minsmere nature reserve – as I'm sure many of you do – to take action to help keep it safe from negative impacts of the new Sizewell C nuclear power plant, proposed to be built immediately adjacent to Minsmere's southern boundary. The 12 week public consultation on EDF's proposals for Sizewell C has now begun, and the RSPB is asking people to respond to the consultation via a simple e-action which will highlight the importance of Minsmere to wildlife and people, and call on EDF to ensure it is protected from any harm in the plans for Sizewell C. Anyone can sign the e-action; just go to loveminsmere.org

8 AND THE WORD OF THE MONTH IS …. …. “cathemeral”. That’s a lovely word, isn’t it? I came across it in the Country Diary column in the Guardian newspaper, where the author used it to describe moles. Never having come across it before, I looked it up, and found that in this context, it means an animal that moves by day and night, without differentiating between them. It can be irregularly active at any time of day or night. I think we have all heard of nocturnal animals – those that are about at night – and diurnal, which are active in the day. A crepuscular creature is active at dawn and dusk, and to take the topic a bit further, a matutinal animal is busy around dawn, and vespertine means it moves around dusk. Cathemeral is a relatively new word, coined by Ian Tattersall in a paper written in 1979. It is a compound of two Greek terms – “kata” meaning “through”, and “hemera” meaning “day”; putting them together gives “through the day” where “day” refers to the full 24 hour period from midnight to midnight. A quick Google search did not reveal any birds which are always cathemeral, but one particular article about mammals on the island of Madagascar was interesting in that it said that some animals change their pattern according to the environment, predators, food sources etc. I thought of the barn owl, which is mostly nocturnal or crepuscular, but if, for instance, food is short and it has hungry chicks to feed, it can be seen out hunting in the daytime. Louise Fuller

BIG GARDEN BIRDWATCH Don’t forget to submit your results from the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch if you have not already done so. In this winter weather, make sure your feeders are all clean and full of enticing goodies, and remember birds need fresh water too.

HOUSEHOLD ITEMS QUIZ Sue McClellan Many thanks to all participants of our latest quiz, and to Robin for spending huge amounts of time and effort to sell 570 copies. He visited RSPB and Essex Wildlife Trust nature reserves several times each, wandered round a variety of random places to collar complete strangers, and badgered friends and acquaintances until they bought at least one copy each. We’re sure some gave money to get rid of him! Robin’s valuable contributions were extremely worthwhile though, as we made a record profit of over £530.00. We also thank Rainham Marshes reserve staff who allowed Robin to mingle with visitors on several occasions, particularly during the Autumn and Christmas Fayres, resulting in sales of over £100 from that location alone. Robin always thanks me for converting his hand-written ideas into a presentable quiz format. That doesn’t take much effort, and I can achieve most of it in the relative comfort of home. His gratitude is appreciated though. Of the 33 completed entries, the majority had all clues answered, indicating that most “quizzers” were very persistent. A few were only let down by the tie-breaker so the entry standard was again very high. Some contenders came from as far afield as Dorset, Cheshire, Surrey and Lincolnshire but the happy winner is a local lad – Peter Rose of Ongar. Well done Peter. Robin’s next quiz will be available in September. Meanwhile, all the “Household Items” that you’d like to check, or may have failed to spot, can be found on our website.

9 CHELMSFORD MALE VOICE CHOIR and MALDON ORCHESTRA BENEFIT THE RSPB Louise Fuller In December the Chelmsford Male Voice Choir and the Maldon Orchestra gave a concert from which proceeds were divided between several charities, including the RSPB Chelmsford Local Group. We were very grateful to receive the handsome sum of £376.22; a very creditable amount and a great effort by all involved. I attended the concert and it was most enjoyable. The choir sang a variety of Christmassy songs with a high level of skill. The guest artists were well received, and the Maldon Orchestra played with great aplomb. If you get the chance to see any of these performers in the future, do go along, I’m sure you will have a good time.

NESTING LITTLE TERNS AT RSPB OLD HALL MARSHES From the RSPB Regional newsletter An update to the article in the autumn newsletter, about the novel method of raising the shingle beach by importing tonnes of crushed oyster shells, and then going even further by lifting two particularly vulnerable little terns’ nests into raised crates from the shingle beach to improve their chances of survival in a surge tide: Further monitoring of the raised nests showed that both nests would have been washed away, had they not been raised. The two nests produced two fledglings, and the site produced five fledglings in all. This was a great success after the disastrous previous year, when ten nests were washed away. Another project to benefit nesting terns at Old Hall Marshes has been the building of a tern raft. The volunteer work party constructed the raft in 2017; this was quite a task partly due to the inaccessibility of the site and the need to transport all materials by quad bike and trailer as far as possible, then by hand. Unfortunately when the raft was complete there was a lack of rain so the water levels were too low to float it. Eventually in early 2018 the raft was able to be floated out to its position and will hopefully see many years of use by nesting terns.

TERN RAFT AT OLD HALL; photo ROY MCPHERSON

10 RSPB LOCAL GROUP COMMITTEE MEMBERS 2018/19 Vacant Group Leader Stuart Treasurer/Joint 01245 261102 [email protected] Anderson Membership Secretary Janet Hawkes Secretary 01376 512628 [email protected] Sue McClellan Meetings (Talks) 01245 471576 [email protected] Secretary & Central Point of Contact Vacant Field Trips Co-ordinator Louise Fuller Newsletter Editor/Joint 01245 421614 [email protected] Membership Secretary Gerry Johnson Pin Badge Sales Co- 01245 356633 [email protected] ordinator If you no longer wish to hear from RSPB Chelmsford and Central Essex Local Group, please contact Group Membership Secretary Louise Fuller – tel. 01245 421614 or email [email protected] – confirming your name and address/email address and stating that you wish to unsubscribe from the RSPB Chelmsford and Central Essex Local Group's communications.

EVENTS DIARY Interested non-members are welcome at all events. For further details of all events, including future dates not in the newsletter, please see our web site: www.rspb.org.uk/groups/chelmsford/events/ If you are planning to attend any of our events, please check the website in case of any last minute changes, rather than calling the organisers, unless the details of the event specifically say otherwise.

TALKS Talks are held at the Northumberland Theatre, Writtle University College, Lordship Road, Writtle, Chelmsford, CM1 3RP, commencing at 8.00pm and finishing about 9.50pm, with an interval where refreshments are available. The lecture theatre is across Lordship Road from the main college building, to the right of the Wilkins tea room, and there is free parking on site. Access is at ground level. Entry £3.50 adults. No discount for postal group members.

Thursday 14 February 2019 GETTING UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL TO WILDLIFE PLEASE NOTE change of venue; details below. We welcome the return of Russell Savory, a popular and very enthusiastic film-maker and photographer who has featured on The One Show and BBC Springwatch. With his usual humour, Russell will share some secrets, and describe the lengths he goes to in order to achieve his stunning photographs and videos at various locations across the UK. Russell is famous for his barn owl, little owl and water vole images but he'll show us some new species at this event. Come along and see them for yourself.

WATER VOLE Tonight's meeting will take place in Writtle University College's MAIN CAMPUS BUILDING, Lordship Road, Writtle. The lecture theatre is just a few steps beyond the reception area on the ground floor. It is also accessed from the car park behind the building. Free parking behind the theatre. Visitors need the college road that goes down the left side, then behind, the main campus building. Leave Lordship Road via either the college road that leads straight to the main building entrance, or the next exit if driving towards Writtle.

11 Both lead to the same car park which is adjacent to the lecture theatre. Postcode: CM1 3RR

Thursday 14 March 2019 ICELAND AND BACK We welcome the return of Brian Nobbs who will present this talk. As well as looking at the resident birds, we'll examine the migration of those species which travel to and from, or via, the UK, contrasting the breeding birds with winter photographs taken in the UK. The fascinating geology of this unusual area is also discussed and illustrated as we effectively circumnavigate the country.

Thursday 11 April 2019 AGM at 7.30pm (see page 4) followed by the talk at 8.00pm. AN EAST ANGLIAN WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER’S YEAR We welcome Kevin Sawford from Suffolk – a new speaker for our group. This talk will follow a journey through the seasons displaying the diverse flora and fauna of East Anglia, illustrated with many of Kevin's published images and some of the stories behind them. Kevin is a multi-award winning wildlife photographer whose images feature regularly in the RSPB's Nature's Home magazine and other material. An experienced speaker, Kevin has presented talks to many wildlife groups, camera clubs and like minded societies, and has received lots of praise. See some testimonials on his website http://www.kevinsawford.com We look forward to seeing Kevin demonstrate his passion and enthusiasm for the natural world.

ROE DEER BY KEVIN SAWFORD

WALKS If you would like to lead a walk for us, date and location of your choosing, do please get in touch with one of the committee members; contact information is above. Details of our next programmed walks are below. We will be organising more walks for 2019 and details will be on our website and in the next newsletter as soon as they are available. Sunday 3 March 2019 CUDMORE GROVE COUNTRY PARK (ECC), Bromans Lane, East Mersea CO5 8UE (grid reference of car park TM 06483 14566). Meet in the car park at 10.30am . Take the left turn shortly after coming off the causeway onto Mersea Island and just keep going without turning off for about 2.9 miles, then the road turns sharp left, the turning to Cudmore Grove is on the right on this corner. It is signposted. There is a charge for parking; the machines take cash and cards. There are toilets here, and sometimes the refreshment kiosk is open. This is a coastal site so remember your warm waterproof clothes and your boots. We hope to see waders, wildfowl and passerines. Maybe snipe, brent geese, and some raptors. NOTE I have checked the tide times and height for this date and it should be OK to cross the causeway on to the island from the mainland (The Strood) but if you get there and there is water across the causeway, DO NOT CROSS.

Sunday 20 April 2019 FINGRINGHOE WICK (EWT), ), South Green Road, Fingringhoe CO5 7DN (grid reference TM 04825 19266). Meet in the Visitor Centre at 10.00am . Free entrance to EWT members (bring your membership card), £2 for non-members. Stuart Anderson will be leading the walk which will last about three hours. The Margaret Hide offers superb all round views of the developing intertidal area where the tide will be coming in. We hope to see various waders, ducks, raptors and perhaps a kingfisher whilst overhead we may see swallows, swifts and martins. In the woodland and scrub areas we may see and/or hear early returning spring migrants including the nightingale. The reserve is open until 5.00pm if you wish to explore further. Don’t forget your warm clothes and stout boots as it is an estuarine site and can get cold. A bonus – the visitor centre with toilets and a little café!

Sunday 26 May 2019 Another chance to visit RSPB WALLASEA ISLAND, this time in a different season. Meeting at 10.30am in the car park. Full details in next newsletter but meanwhile they are also available on our website.