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 NEW THOUGHTS ABOUT THE YOUR HEALTH TOO – OFFICIAL! More good news following our headline in the Mike Logan Wood last issue that birdwatching is good for your The other day I was speaking to my sister in health – volunteering is good for you too. I Canada who happened to mention that all the wouldn’t be surprised if the majority of our in Canada had migrated southwards into readers weren’t volunteers in some capacity or America as usual. I mused upon this for a another, or have been in the past, even if it isn’t while, mainly because we in England have, to -related. A recent study of volunteering and me, seemed so far north compared with places its impact on mental health carried out by the we know in Canada. Some investigation was Green Exercise Team at the University of needed. Essex found that over a 12-week period, My map tells me that London is on the same volunteers experienced a range of benefits, latitude as the northern tip of Newfoundland. such as increased feelings of positivity, higher New York – with Madrid, and Ottawa – with levels of physical activity, and improved mental Bordeaux. health. The researchers studied volunteers on Essex Wildlife Trust programmes, and found My American bird book shows me that there is that attendance was associated with health and a winter wren – Troglodytes troglodytes – the well-being improvements, particularly for people same as our wren, with the following note with low levels of well-being. The results of the “Range – boreal Canada extending northwards study are quite detailed and you can read more into Alaska, southwards along the Pacific coast. here: Movements – Canadian migrate https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/sites/default/files southwards to winter in southern and eastern /2018- states”. That seems to confirm the situation, 05/r3_the_health_and_wellbeing_impacts_of that Canada has a very much colder winter than _volunteering_with_the_wildlife_trusts_- we do. My book also tells me that there are _university_of_essex_report_3_0.pdf eight Canadian birds called wrens, only two of which are members of the Troglodytes family If we needed any more reasons to volunteer, but all look very similar and all of which migrate. this would be a good one. Some description of the Canadian wrens may Louise Fuller 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 – 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 VOLUNTEERS TREE PLANTING Canyon wren – Catherpes mexicanus . Clear white throat and breast 1 Marsh wren – Cistothorus palustris . Brown cap 11.5cm x 4.5cm). This worked out at 2.5 cubic with white stripe. Always close to or in marshes inches (38 c.cm) per bird. Sedge wren – Cistothorus platensis . Scarce. Now perhaps we can consider the origins of An irregular migrant. Song soft and insect-like our wrens. There has been a tremendous Having sorted out the Canadian wrens, we amount of time and energy spent on looking at should not forget the fact that there are six our history and trying to find the origins of our wrens here in the British Isles which are as way of life. What have we got to use to time the follows: - arrival of a bird into our lives? Well, funnily Wren or winter wren – Troglodytes troglodytes enough, we have something called “The Wren – our common wren Cult”. You may remember that some time ago I Brown wren – T. T. indigenus . The continental wrote a piece about the event at Christmas bird, more marked on its breast with a little when men and boys would dress up and leave fatter bill. Seen in great numbers mixing with the village to walk its boundaries and shake the common bird trees to disturb a wren. If they found one they St Kilda wren – T. T. hertensis . Restricted to would stone it and kill it and hang it from a the island with about 200-230 pairs mixing with cross they had made and carry it back to the fulmars and puffins, conserved by the Wild village. There they would take it from door to Birds Protection (St Kilda) Act 1904 door and ask for alms. Fair Isle wren – T. T. fridariensis . Restricted to This has been found to be a very ancient the island and numbering 10 to 52 pairs. custom as it was tied in with the action between Darker pIumaged than the others. the eagle and the wren. You may remember Shetland wren – T. T. zetlandicus . Rufus and the time in religious history when the birds were strongly barbed plumage trying to find a king. It was going to be who Hebridean wren – T. T. hebridensis . Lives in could fly the highest. The golden eagle made it the Outer Hebrides and migrates to Ireland 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-

SHETLAND WREN for triumph of light and life. In Canada it was It also introduces me into methods our wrens the wren itself that carried the message by use to overcome particularly cold winters. They following the expansion of plant growth may gather at dusk in communal roosts, which northwards as the temperature rose as the are the more impressive given the wren’s earth warmed. The wrens followed this spread otherwise solitary anti-social lifestyle. Squirrel north and then east via Greenland and Iceland dreys (there is a record of at least 17 in one) before turning south to join the expansion in and old birds’ nests including those of swallow, Great Britain in the Bronze age. song thrush (12 birds) and house martin (30+) 26 December 2018 have been recorded. 10 wrens in a coconut If you would like to find out more try: “Folklore shell was more unusual, whilst the biggest ever of Birds” by Edward A Armstrong, part of the was a gathering of many dozens between New Naturalist Series by Collins 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. OUR COMMON WREN 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

2 OUR LOCAL GROUP WALK IN DECEMBER TO WALLASEA RSPB GOODS ISLAND RSPB RESERVE Report by Stuart Anderson FROM THE RSPB CATALOGUE AND We were pleased that Jeff Delve, local expert WEBSITE on the reserve, was able to guide our walk. He FREE DELIVERY TO YOUR DOOR was a mine of information on the history and background of the reserve, in addition to his POSTAGE FREE ability to spot and identify the many birds we saw. Fifteen of us met in the morning, greeted FOR FULL DETAILS CALL by a brisk, cold, north-westerly wind. From the car park we had good views of a corn bunting JEAN WILCOX before we climbed the steps onto the river wall and headed east with the River Crouch on our 01245 262452 left. Allfleets Marsh lies between the footpath AND SUPPORT THE CHELMSFORD and the old river wall. This was created by DEFRA as part of a habitat compensation GROUP 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 The majority continued, passing the 165 marsh which has now developed a wide range hectare Jubilee Marsh on our left. The sea wall of plants. The tide was coming in and there was breached in 2015, and again this is really was a good variety of waders and ducks albeit progressing in its development with over 100 at some distance. avocets nesting in 2018. We finally reached the To our right was Pool Marsh where again we River Roach and had a brief respite from the saw a variety of waders and ducks, including wind in one of the new shelters before turning wigeons and grey plovers, and several west and following the river flood wall. It could thousand golden plovers and lapwings taking to clearly be seen how much higher the sea level the sky beyond. It is hoped that in the long is above the marsh level. The former arable term spoonbills will be attracted to this area. fields yielded their final harvest in 2018 before We continued on the seawall, passing over the they formed saline lagoons as part of an conveyor system which was used to transfer engineered, regulated tidal exchange with the some three million tonnes of clay tunnelled from opening of the last sluice gates in November the London Crossrail project. They were 2018. These areas will only get better. shipped onto Wallasea, representing the largest We left the river coastal reserve restoration project in Europe. wall and headed The jetty and conveyor system will be removed north between in 2019. Pool Marsh and We then Acresfleet turned Lagoons back to south on a the car park for a raised track late lunch where from where a few more of our we saw a party left. We hen harrier then had a visit to RINGTAIL HEN HARRIER hunting the western end over Acresfleet Lagoons; a superb sight. The of the Marsh bird was a “ringtail”, which means it has a white Flats where we ring round its rump. It could have been a had close juvenile or a female; they are hard to tell apart. encounters with In the end Jeff thought it was probably a short-eared owls SHORT-EARED OWL female. Some of our party left at this point to (see Jeff's superb photo) and a flock of corn return to the car park. ( Ed: I was one of the buntings. people who took the short cut. On the way We even saw a brown hare and a seal during back we had more close views of the hen the day which added to our enjoyment. 44 bird harrier.) species were seen. 3 Another walk with Jeff is planned for the spring, comprises an underground wooden see Events Diary on page 10. structure with various chambers. So far, so good SOME MORE NEWS ABOUT • The sluices are managing lagoon water levels pretty much as expected so all's well WALLASEA ISLAND on that front On Monday 12 November, Chris Tyas , • The material handling equipment must be Wallasea Island Project Manager, wrote in the removed in its entirety by the end of 2020. If Essex Birders Forum: an appropriate buyer can be found, it'll go “Last Friday saw us let saline water from the during the summer of this year when there'll River Roach water into a series of three shallow be least disruption to breeding birds. The lagoons on Wallasea Island for the first time. equipment is currently the responsibility of These (132ha) of lagoons plus saline grassland BAM Nuttall. (55ha)/grazing marsh (82ha) to the east mark the final significant habitat creation works across 668ha by the RSPB at Wallasea. LOCAL GROUP AGM Our senior ecologist has described the 132ha The Local Group AGM takes place at 7.30pm of lagoons, with full water control, as unique in on Thursday 11 April, prior to the normal talk NW Europe; it will be interesting to see how which follows at 8.00pm. We would be very they develop. The lagoons will take a few pleased to see as many people as possible weeks to fill and our management will be coming to the AGM. You will have the influenced by the Reservoirs Act for the first opportunity to hear about the group’s activities three years, plus the need for the retaining over the past year, and those planned for the banks to develop the vegetation cover needed coming year, and you can express your views to prevent significant erosion. However, we and offer your thoughts for discussion. have more than enough leeway to develop a Although we would always be pleased to management system that has the potential to welcome new committee members, that doesn’t produce some remarkable results. The mean that we will drag you in just because you management and the introduction of access will attend the AGM, so do please come along. If take time, so please bear with us. you are interested in joining the committee, just Having been on site for longer hours recently, it contact any one of us – contact details are on has been great to see so many birders enjoying page 9. the raptors. The suite of coastal habitats we now have at Wallasea should attract an LOCAL GROUP WALKS CO- excellent range of coastal/wetland/rough grassland species for years to come. The last ORDINATOR remaining 'Project' element of our work at A position we are quite keen to fill is that of Wallasea is the removal of the Material Local Group Walks Co-ordinator. We have Handling System that facilitated the import of been arranging walks between us on an ad hoc the three million tonnes of Crossrail tunnelling basis but it would be good to have someone material that built Jubilee Marsh. We hope to who can draw together a more structured have this job complete by the end of December programme. You don’t have to lead the walks 2019.” yourself nor even attend them. We have plenty Our local group central point of contact, Sue of ideas for sites to visit and people who might McClellan , attends meetings of the Wallasea lead a walk, so you won’t be left to sort it out on Local Liaison Group. From January, she your own. It is mostly a matter of contacting reports that: people and agreeing dates and locations. All our walks are “own transport” so you wouldn’t • A substantial solar powered sliding entrance have to organise coaches etc. gate has been installed to deter "boy racers" The people who attend our walks really enjoy from bombing up and down the road. (Volunteers have been opening and closing them and are always grateful for the a gate morning and night until this one arrived) opportunity to go out with other like-minded people. • Funding sources are being explored for a If you think this rôle visitor facility; circa £750,000 needed would suit you, do contact • Badgers living currently in the wrong place one of us; contact details are being relocated to an artificial sett which are on page 9. 4 THE RED-NECKED PHALAROPE: It was in this wonderful landscape that we AN UNUSUAL AND SPECIAL BIRD encountered at very close quarters the bird that I had written about all those years ago at Alan Thorpe university: the red-necked phalarope. I have been interested in the red-necked With the aid of a few of the many photographs I phalarope since studying zoology at Sheffield was able to take, I’ll try to throw some light on University where, in preparation for an this special bird that I had waited so long to examination, I wrote an essay on the see. reproductive biology of birds. I remember being It takes a while for the brain to accept the idea fascinated to read about ‘sexual dimorphism that ‘sexual dimorphism reversal’ is operating in reversal’ and ‘serial polyandry’ in this species. this species, with the result that the brightest of It took me quite a while to understand the the red necks on the lake belong to the female meaning of these phrases and why such phalaropes rather than the males. 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. FEMALE RED-NECKED PHALAROPE MALE Normal sexual dimorphism is generally It’s strange the way things happen, but a associated with the striking colour patterns of chance meeting with a couple of birdwatchers male plumage, compared with the more drab, during a visit to the Scilly Isles in 2010 had a camouflage colours of the female (c.f. for most surprising and far-reaching result. “You example, the very beautiful harlequin drake with must go to Iceland”, they said. They had just his female partner. This bird is to be seen quite returned from a visit there and were only too commonly on the fast flowing Laxa river at pleased to regale Di and me with stories of their Myvatn). 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 anyone who reads this article, I would repeat the advice of HARLEQUIN DUCK AND DRAKE our Scilly Isles acquaintances – you simply As well as plumage colouration being more must go to Iceland! For birdwatchers, the last striking in the female rather than the male, a week of May and the first week of June are further aspect of the sexual reversal process perfect. If possible, hire a car and drive around involves the behavioural roles played by male the island and you will be rewarded by seeing a and female phalaropes. Thus, it is the female wonderful variety of birds and phenomenal that initiates the courtship and ensuing mating geological sites everywhere. behaviour and the male that looks after the At Lake Myvatn in northeast Iceland, however, eggs and chicks. you will surely feel you have reached At one of our mid-morning visits to the lake in birdwatcher’s Paradise. Together with the out- early June, we found the phalaropes to be in an flowing river Laxa, the lake with its many obvious state of high activity, with lots of islands forms a fantastic nature conservation chases, flutterings and vocalisations. Since area. It is Iceland’s fourth-largest lake at quite a number of birds were involved, it was 2 around 37 km and is shallow, with a maximum difficult to see where courtship began and depth of 4.5m. The eutrophic conditions of the exactly how it progressed, but the brief mating lake provide flora and fauna sufficient to feed process was quite obvious and involved a the numerous breeding birds that abound here. somewhat delicate balancing act with the male

5 poised on the female’s back, gently holding on Neither the post-breeding migration routes to her bright red neck using his beak. After his undertaken by the red-necked phalarope, nor success, the male flew a short distance in front their final destinations, are very well known, but of the female. 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

MATING GOODBYE FLIGHT than 3,000 red-necked phalaropes have been ringed there, not a single recovery has been Following the sequence of events of courtship recorded. (Data taken from a report in the year and mating, the female will lay a clutch of three 2002.) to four eggs in a grass-lined nest in a marshy area of the lake. The nest will have been N.B. A slight word of caution concerns the prepared by the successful male and this bird swarms of billions of midges that appear over will also incubate the eggs and go on to feed, and around Lake Myvatn on certain days during protect and rear the developing young. June. These flies appear with a density so Meanwhile, if there are excess males available great that keen observers of red-necked in the population, the original female will adopt phalaropes are obliged to wear protective head the serial polyandry role and repeat the entire nets in order to be able to breathe safely. The reproductive process with a different male. In word Myvatn translates as My – flies & vatn – conditions where there are insufficient males, lake. 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 VORTEX PRODUCTION, AND MIDGES presence of a thick, duck-like downy plumage All photos: © Alan Thorpe which enables it to float without becoming water-logged. This is an important adaptation, since after the breeding season the birds RSPB ALBATROSS STAMP migrate to warmer pelagic waters where they APPEAL feed primarily on plankton. They have lobed If you have been collecting stamps for the flanges on their toes (like coots) which enables RSPB’s albatross appeal, please note the them to paddle strongly. They can be seen following information. vigorously twirling around in the water Following advice from the Charity Commission, (50 revs/min), thereby creating a vortex, visible given the potential for the fraudulent use of on the surface as a series of concentric ripples, ordinary used bulk postage stamps, the RSPB which brings plankton to the surface to be will no longer collect these. However, sucked up as food by capillary action between donations of stamp collections, first day covers their upper and lower mandibles. and albums are still welcomed. 6 MADAGASCAR POCHARDS built immediately adjacent to Minsmere's southern boundary. Taken from the Guardian newspaper The 12 week public consultation on EDF's An unobtrusive brown duck thought to be proposals for Sizewell C has now begun, and extinct for 15 years has been brought back from the RSPB is asking people to respond to the the brink and given a new home on a remote consultation via a simple e-action which will lake in Madagascar. Two floating cages from highlight the importance of Minsmere to wildlife Scottish salmon farms have been transformed and people, and call on EDF to ensure it is into a safe haven for the world’s rarest duck, protected from any harm in the plans for which was driven to the brink of extinction by Sizewell C. fish farming. ( Ed: It seems somewhat ironic to me that a bird which had suffered ravages due Anyone can sign the e-action; just go to to fish farming was subsequently saved by loveminsmere.org floating cages from Scottish salmon farms. ) 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 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 Madagascar pochards had been thought to be nocturnal – those that are about at extinct but a small population was found by night – and diurnal, which are active in the day. chance. The ducks were breeding successfully A crepuscular creature is active at dawn and but the ducklings were not reaching maturity dusk, and to take the topic a bit further, a because the lake was too deep and cold for matutinal animal is busy around dawn, and them to survive and find food. Day-old chicks vespertine means it moves around dusk. were taken and reared in captivity and Cathemeral is a relatively new word, coined by ducklings have been released on to a lake more Ian Tattersall in a paper written in 1979. It is a suitable for their needs. compound of two Greek terms – “kata” meaning The project is a partnership between the “through”, and “hemera” meaning “day”; putting Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Durrell Wildlife them together gives “through the day” where Conservation Trust, the Peregrine Fund and the “day” refers to the full 24 hour period from Madagascan government. midnight to midnight. Ed: when I saw pictures of this duck on the A quick Google search did not reveal any birds television, I thought how plain it was. which are always cathemeral, but one particular Apparently tropical ducks are far less colourful article about mammals on the island of than their northern counterparts because Madagascar was interesting in that it said that unpredictable weather means they need to be some animals change their pattern according to able to breed all year round and so the males the environment, predators, food sources etc. I do not acquire colourful feathers for annual thought of the barn owl, which is mostly mating rituals. 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. LOVE MINSMERE? Louise Fuller From RSPB Regional Office The RSPB has launched a campaign seeking BIG GARDEN BIRDWATCH the support of everyone who “Loves Minsmere”. Don’t forget to submit your results from the This campaign is asking everyone who knows RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch if you have not and loves RSPB Minsmere nature reserve – as already done so. In this winter weather, make I'm sure many of you do – to take action to help sure your feeders are all clean and full of keep it safe from negative impacts of the new enticing goodies, and remember birds need Sizewell C nuclear power plant, proposed to be fresh water too. 7 handsome sum of £376.22; a very creditable HOUSEHOLD ITEMS QUIZ amount and a great effort by all involved. Sue McClellan I attended the concert and it was most Many thanks to all participants of our latest enjoyable. The choir sang a variety of quiz, and to Robin for spending huge amounts Christmassy songs with a high level of skill. of time and effort to sell 570 copies. He visited The guest artists were well received, and the Maldon Orchestra played with great aplomb. If RSPB and Essex Wildlife Trust nature reserves you get the chance to see any of these several times each, wandered round a variety performers in the future, do go along, I’m sure of random places to collar complete strangers, you will have a good time. and badgered friends and acquaintances until they bought at least one copy each. We’re sure NESTING LITTLE TERNS AT RSPB some gave money to get rid of him! Robin’s OLD HALL MARSHES valuable contributions were extremely From the RSPB Regional newsletter worthwhile though, as we made a record profit An update to the article in the autumn of over £530.00. newsletter, about the novel method of raising We also thank Rainham Marshes reserve staff the shingle beach by importing tonnes of who allowed Robin to mingle with visitors on crushed oyster shells, and then going even several occasions, particularly during the further by lifting two particularly vulnerable little terns’ nests into raised crates from the shingle Autumn and Christmas Fayres, resulting in sales beach to improve their chances of survival in a of over £100 from that location alone. surge tide: Robin always thanks me for converting his Further monitoring of the raised nests showed hand-written ideas into a presentable quiz that both nests would have been washed away, format. That doesn’t take much effort, and I had they not been raised. The two nests can achieve most of it in the relative comfort of produced two fledglings, and the site produced five fledglings in all. This was a great success home. His gratitude is appreciated though. after the disastrous previous year, when ten Of the 33 completed entries, the majority had nests were washed away. all clues answered, indicating that most Another project to benefit nesting terns at Old “quizzers” were very persistent. A few were Hall Marshes has been the building of a tern only let down by the tie-breaker so the entry raft. The volunteer work party constructed the standard was again very high. Some raft in 2017; this was quite a task partly due to the inaccessibility of the site and the need to contenders came from as far afield as Dorset, transport all materials by quad bike and trailer Cheshire, Surrey and Lincolnshire but the happy as far as possible, then by hand. Unfortunately winner is a local lad – Peter Rose of Ongar. when the raft was complete there was a lack of Well done Peter. rain so the water levels were too low to float it. Robin’s next quiz will be available in Eventually in early 2018 the raft was able to be floated out to its position and will hopefully see September. Meanwhile, all the “Household many years of use by nesting terns. Items” that you’d like to check, or may have failed to spot, can be found on our website.

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 TERN RAFT AT OLD HALL; photo ROY MCPHERSON 8 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 Show and BBC Springwatch. events. With his usual humour, Russell will share some For further details of all events, including future secrets, and describe the lengths he goes to in dates not in the newsletter, please see our web order to achieve his stunning photographs and site: videos at various locations across the UK. Russell www.rspb.org.uk/groups/chelmsford/events/ is famous for his barn owl, little owl and water vole images but he'll show us some new species If you are planning to attend any of our events, at this event. Come along and see them for please check the website in case of any last yourself. 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 WATER VOLE theatre is across Lordship Road from the main Tonight's meeting will take place in Writtle college building, to the right of the Wilkins tea University College's MAIN CAMPUS BUILDING, room, and there is free parking on site. Access is Lordship Road, Writtle. The lecture theatre is just at ground level. a few steps beyond the reception area on the Entry £3.50 adults. No discount for postal group ground floor. It is also accessed from the car park members. behind the building. Free parking behind the theatre. Visitors need the college road that goes down the left side, then behind, the main campus Thursday 14 February 2019 building. Leave Lordship Road via either the GETTING UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL TO WILDLIFE college road that leads straight to the main PLEASE NOTE change of venue; details below. building entrance, or the next exit if driving We welcome the return of Russell Savory, a towards Writtle. Both lead to the same car park popular and very enthusiastic film-maker and which is adjacent to the lecture theatre. photographer who has featured on The One Postcode: CM1 3RR 9 Thursday 14 March 2019 Sunday 3 March 2019 ICELAND AND BACK CUDMORE GROVE COUNTRY PARK (ECC), We welcome the return of Brian Nobbs who will Bromans Lane, East Mersea CO5 8UE (grid present this talk. reference of car park TM 06483 14566). Meet in As well as looking at the resident birds, we'll the car park at 10.30am . Take the left turn examine the migration of those species which shortly after coming off the causeway onto travel to and from, or via, the UK, contrasting the Mersea Island and just keep going without breeding birds with winter photographs taken in turning off for about 2.9 miles, then the road the UK. turns sharp left, the turning to Cudmore Grove is The fascinating geology of this unusual area is on the right on this corner. It is signposted. also discussed and illustrated as we effectively There is a charge for parking; the machines take circumnavigate the country. cash and cards. There are toilets here, and sometimes the refreshment kiosk is open. This is a coastal site so remember your warm Thursday 11 April 2019 waterproof clothes and your boots. AGM at 7.30pm (see page 4) followed by the talk We hope to see waders, wildfowl and . at 8.00pm. Maybe snipe, brent geese, and some raptors. AN EAST ANGLIAN WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER’S NOTE I have checked the tide times and height YEAR for this date and it should be OK to cross the We welcome Kevin Sawford from Suffolk – a new causeway on to the island from the mainland speaker for our group. (The Strood) but if you get there and there is This talk will follow a journey through the water across the causeway, DO NOT CROSS. 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 Saturday 20 April 2019 the RSPB's Nature's Home magazine and other FINGRINGHOE WICK (EWT), ), South Green Road, material. An experienced speaker, Kevin has Fingringhoe CO5 7DN (grid reference TM 04825 presented talks to many wildlife groups, camera 19266). Meet in the Visitor Centre at 10.00am . clubs and like minded societies, and has received Free entrance to EWT members (bring your lots of praise. See some testimonials on his membership card), £2 for non-members. Stuart website http://www.kevinsawford.com Anderson will be leading the walk which will last We look forward to seeing Kevin demonstrate his about three hours. The Margaret Hide offers passion and enthusiasm for the natural world. 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

ROE DEER BY KEVIN SAWFORD 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 WALKS bonus – the visitor centre with toilets and a little If you would like to lead a walk for us, date and café! location of your choosing, do please get in touch with one of the committee members; contact Sunday 26 May 2019 information is above. Another chance to visit RSPB WALLASEA ISLAND, Details of our next programmed walks are below. this time in a different season. Meeting at We will be organising more walks for 2019 and 10.30am in the car park. Full details in next details will be on our website and in the next newsletter but meanwhile they are also available newsletter as soon as they are available. on our website. 10