Birds of Essex (Helm County Avifauna)

657 Pages·2007·8.8 MB·English

by  Simon Wood

The Birds of
ESSEX
Simon Wood
(cid:35)(cid:40)(cid:50)(cid:41)(cid:51)(cid:52)(cid:47)(cid:48)(cid:40)(cid:37)(cid:50)(cid:0)(cid:40)(cid:37)(cid:44)(cid:45)
(cid:44)(cid:47)(cid:46)(cid:36)(cid:47)(cid:46)
To Mel, Ollie and Amy
Published 2007 by Christopher Helm, an imprint of A&C Black Publishers Ltd.,
38 Soho Square, London W1D 3HB
www.acblack.com
Copyright © 2007 text by Simon Wood
Copyright © 2007 photographs by the following photographers:
Steve Arlow, J. K. Clayden/Saffron Walden Museum, John Davies, Chris Gibson, Bob Glover, Chris
Gomersall, Andrew Hay/RSPB, Adrian Kettle, Reston Kilgour, Steve Lindsell, Ian Lycett, John Skinner,
Dave Stewart, Alan Tate, Rob Wilson, Simon Wood
The right of Simon Wood to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance
with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988.
ISBN 978-0-7136-6939-8
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means
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or retrieval systems – without permission of the publishers.
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regulations of the country of origin.
Commissioning Editor: Nigel Redman
Project Editor: Jim Martin
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS
Foreword by Simon Cox 4
Acknowledgements 5
The county of Essex by David Corke and Simon Wood 7
Fossil birds in Essex by Michael Daniels 15
Archaeological remains and place names by Simon Wood 19
Wetland Bird Survey in Essex by Chris Gibson 20
Essex ornithology – a brief history by Nick Green 50
Essex museums and collections by Nick Green 57
Essex ornithological highlights by Nick Green 60
Using this book 67
Systematic list of the birds of Essex 73
Appendix 1: category D species 586
Appendix 2: category E species 589
Appendix 3: unsubstantiated records 615
2005 records 619
Scientific names of organisms mentioned in the text 621
Bibliography 623
Gazeteer 641
Index 649
Publication of the colour plates in this book
has been aided by financial assistance from
Essex & Suffolk Water
FOREWORD
For many people, watching birds is simply a pleasure. Others, however, choose to document their observations and,
when appropriate, to publish them or make them available to organisations such as the Essex Birdwatching Society.
In this county, we have been fortunate to have a long line of ornithologists and all-round naturalists who have been
motivated to do just that and in consequence there is a wealth of published data on the birds of Essex.
The author of this book and his support team have researched a vast number of publications in order to identify,
and whenever possible to interpret, trends in our constantly changing bird population and to relate these to changes
nationally and even further afield. The result is by far the most detailed of the five Essex avifaunas published to
date, a truly valuable benchmark at a time when there are many real concerns about the future of the wildlife of this
planet that we are privileged to live on.
Not only do books such as this serve as a tribute to the many thousands of observers, both amateur and profes-
sional, who have contributed to our ever growing knowledge of the natural world, they also highlight the benefits of
a collective effort and act as a stimulus to identify areas where we need to know even more about our environment
and the way we are affecting it. That, surely, is what makes it all worthwhile.
Simon Cox
President of the Essex Birdwatching Society
4
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
“If I see further, it is because I stand on the shoulders of giants”
Isaac Newton
Never being one to stand on ceremony, I would like to say my “and finally” first. Without the support, encouragement
and considerable personal sacrifices that have been made by my wife, Mel, there is simply no way that this major under-
taking would ever have been finished. I simply cannot thank her enough. At times, progress was difficult but she was
always there to restore my morale and enthusiasm for the project. For that, and for our two wonderful children, Ollie
(born August 2000) and Amy (born February 2004), I am eternally grateful; they all make me realise that there is more
to life than books and birds!
A very big thank you must also go to Nick Green for his considerable help, encouragement, enthusiasm and
his faith in my ability to finally complete the task at hand. He assisted greatly with background work and research,
including many hours spent at numerous museums, data analysis, drafting several of the species’ texts, and proof
reading. He also wrote several of the introductory chapters. Nick gained a goddaughter, Amy, in the process!
Steve Grimwade did a marvellous job as Art Editor, organising the photographers and artists, designing the dust
cover and redesigning the County map.
Graham Ekins not only provided very useful ringing summaries for each species but also assisted with countless
queries over the years.
Greg Bond, the late Mike Dennis and Geoff Gibbs, who were part of the original Avifauna Working Group
that met regularly from late 1998 to May 2001, also gave freely their considerable and varied knowledge of the
County’s birds and drafted some of the initial species’ accounts. Others who assisted with these drafts were: the
late Ken Barrett; David Blurton; Paul Charlton; Simon Cox; Jeremy Dagley; Adrian Dally; John Emberson; John
Fitzpatrick; Andy Goodey; Steve Grimwade; Derek Gruar; John Hart; Neil Harvey; Clive Ireland; Roy Ledgerton;
Colin MacKenzie-Grieve; Andy Malley; Margaret Mitchell; Alf Mullins; Russell Neave; the late Jean Patterson;
Graham Smith; Jim Smith; Les Steward; Andrew Thompson; John Thorogood; Chris Tyas; David Wimpress;
Derek Wood.
Chris Gibson, David Corke and Mike Daniels put together fascinating chapters on very different aspects of the
Essex avifauna, whilst many artists (Alan Harris – who also provided the illustrations for the front cover – Richard
Allen, George Brown, Simon Patient, Sam Shippey and Gary Wright) and photographers (Steve Arlow, J. K.
Clayden of the Saffron Walden Museum, Chris Gomersall, Andy Hay of the RSPB, Adrian Kettle, Reston Kilgour,
Steve Lindsell, Ian Lycett, John Skinner of the Southend Museum, Dave Stewart of Birding Images, Alan Tate and
Rob Wilson) all gave their work free of charge. All images and drawings are copyright © of the artist/photographer.
Chris Mason also gave freely of his many research papers. Simon Cox kindly provided the Foreword to the book in
his capacity as President of the EBS; this is fitting since he was the author of the last Essex Avifauna in 1984.
Proof readers spent many hours combing the text for errors and contradictions and also provided useful
constructive comments. These included Steve Arlow, Greg Bond, Simon Cox, Mike Dent, Andy Goodey, Roy
Ledgerton, Margaret Mitchell, Daryl Rhymes, and Howard Vaughan. Howard, in his role as current Senior EBS
County Recorder, also responded promptly to many questions and gave free access to the Society’s database.
I thank all those people who dug out their old note books to check on the details of historic records or provided
answers to numerous questions: the late Ken Barrett; Bradwell Bird Observatory; Simon Cox; the late Mike Dennis;
East London Birders Forum; Peter Evans; Graham Ekins; John Fitzpatrick; Neil Harvey; the late Stan Hudgell;
Southend Ornithological Group; Les Steward; Phil Vines; John Wright.
My thanks must also go to the EBS’s County Recorders who comprehensively documented the raw bird data
over the years and made this project possible. EBS Recorders (with years in office in brackets) include the late
Geoff Pyman (1949–58), Robert Hudson (1957–61), the late Mr and Mrs Weston (1961–72), Richard Hull
(1972–73), John Thorogood (1972–79), John Howard (1979–87), John Miller (1987–93), the late Mike Dennis
(1987–2001), Les Steward (1994–99), Howard Vaughan (2001-present), Bob Flindall (2001-present), Peter
O’Toole (2001–02), Roy Ledgerton (2003-present) and Paul Levey (2003-present). Of course, none of this would
have been possible without the large number of observers who have sent in records over the decades, and it is hoped
that this book will inspire both existing and up-and-coming birders to provide the data that will become ever more
important in protecting our avifauna in the future.
5
Birds of Essex
Rare and unusual records were assessed by the EBS Records Committee from 1949–91 and thereafter by the
Identification Panel, which consisted of Steve Arlow (from 2004), Greg Bond (from 1992–2006), Simon Cox (to
2006), Graham Ekins (to 2006), the late Stan Hudgell (to 2003), Adrian Kettle (from 2001), Jim Smith, Phil
Vines (to 2006) and John Wright (1990–91). Mike Dent, Chairman of the EBS Records Committee (2001–04), is
sincerely thanked for chasing various records and details.
The Essex Atlas Working Group consisted of Geoff Gibbs (Chairman), the late Mike Dennis (Senior Editor), the
late Maurice Adcock, John Clarke, Martin Henry, Roy Ledgerton, Margaret Mitchell and the late Jean Patterson.
Many field workers assisted in the collection of data from 1988–92 to produce breeding maps, graphs, etc.
Data were supplied by the Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS), a joint scheme of the British Trust for Ornithology
(BTO), The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT), Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Joint Nature
Conservation Committee (JNCC), the latter on behalf of the Countryside Council for Wales, Department of the
Environment Northern Ireland, English Nature and Scottish Natural Heritage. Colette Hall of the WWT is thanked
for providing all Essex data, including north Stour and all the Lea Valley and Metropolitan Essex, 1961–2000 for
wildfowl and waders; Howard Vaughan collated and supplied data for the years 2001–2004. These data are critical
for the calculation of the five-year, average peak counts and setting up the respective tables.
The BTO kindly supplied all Essex ringing recovery data for the period 1979–2002. The BTO ringing scheme is
funded by a partnership of the BTO, JNCC, Duchas the Heritage Service – National Parks and the Wildlife (Ireland)
and the ringers themselves. The BTO also supplied local CBC data and David Noble and Andrew Joys are thanked
for their time in providing this. The BTO’s website pages www.bto.org.uk/birdtrends2004/index.htm and www.
bto.org.uk/birdfacts/index.htm have both been used extensively. The website is an excellent source of data and is
thoroughly recommended.
The Game Conservancy and MAFF Fisheries Statistics Division are thanked for providing data without
charge.
The late Mike Rogers, Secretary of the BBRC, is thanked for responding to numerous queries, whilst BBRC
Chairman Colin Bradshaw is also thanked for an early peek at the BBRC Report 2004. Steve Piotrowski gave us
much useful advice following the successful production of his The Birds of Suffolk (Piotrowski 2003).
Various librarians at the Zoology Library, Tring, Herts, are sincerely thanked for fielding e-mails regarding
various research topics and promptly posting photocopies of key references where necessary. Ian Dawson, Senior
Librarian at the RSPB, is also thanked for his extensive help fielding numerous questions. Tim Melling, Secretary of
the BOURC, also gave prompt answers to many questions. The many visits to museums and collections always met
with the enthusiastic assistance of the curators for which I am most grateful (see Museums chapter).
Special thanks are due to Linda Hewitt, Librarian of the LNHS, for assistance at Imperial College, South
Kensington, London, where the LNHS library is kept and for ensuring that EBS’s collection of London Bird Reports
was complete for the period 1949–2000.
There would not have been any colour plates in this book without the help of Miranda Davis of Essex & Suffolk
Water, who organised the magnificent sum of £3,000 in sponsorship. Many others also sponsored species’ write-ups,
to all of whom I am most grateful. Anthony Harbott, EBS Treasurer, did a marvellous job as ever, holding on to
the purse-strings. Colin Mackenzie-Grieve, the then EBS’s solicitor, provided invaluable advice and support when
the terms of the contract were negotiated with A&C Black. Gerry Johnson also supplied Nick and I with copious
reams of free paper!
Just two months before the script was completed, my PC suffered a catastrophic Windows crash and, although
only one day’s work was lost, I must pass a very big thank you to Martin Meddle who got the PC up and running
again, despite the complexity of the failure.
Marianne Taylor, Nigel Redman and Jim Martin at A&C Black/Christopher Helm and copy editor Tim Harris
must be thanked for their patience and skill at various stages of the book. I would like to thank Jim and Tim in
particular for turning over 400,000 words, hundreds of tables and artwork into the excellent publication you see
before you.
Whilst every attempt has been made to iron out any errors or discrepancies, in a publication of this size some
may slip through the net. I would of course be pleased to receive notification of any errors, care of the publishers.
Finally, I would like to say a very personal thank you to those who provided help and advice during the long
evolution of this project but who are sadly no longer with us: Ken Barrett, Mike Dennis, Stan Hudgell, Chris
McClure, Jean Patterson and Geoff Pyman.
Simon Wood, Maldon, September 2006
6
THE COUNTY OF ESSEX
— a brief introduction
INTRODUCTION
In the Dark Ages, Essex was a kingdom, the kingdom of the Saxons that (some of the time) had boundaries that
would be familiar to today’s geographers and naturalists. Thus, the rivers Lea and Stort in the west, Thames to the
south, Stour to the north, and the North Sea to the east bound the county.
In 1873 when Watson divided the counties of the British Isles into vice-counties of approximately equal size for
botanical recording purposes, the boundaries of Essex administered by Essex County Council were pretty much the
same as those administered by the King of Essex 1,200 years earlier. Watson split Essex into northern and southern
vice-counties (18 and 19 in his national system) and these two vice-counties have formed the basis of almost all
Essex biological recording ever since. Except for Essex losing the parishes of Heydon and Great and Little Chishill
in the extreme northwest to Cambridgeshire in 1895 and some minor revisions to the boundary along the Lea
Valley (Harris 2002), there have been no other changes to the physical area defined as Essex for recording purposes
in this book. Large areas of Essex are now London boroughs and considered Metropolitan. For the purpose of this
book and to keep in line with other publications, Metropolitan Essex is that part of Essex that falls within 32.2km
(20 miles) of St Paul’s Cathedral.
Around 70 environmental organisations are active in Essex, the principal two being the Essex Wildlife Trust and
the RSPB. The former has some 16,000 members and 3,000 corporate members and manages over 3,000ha on 92
nature reserves, including Abberton, Hanningfield, Colne Point and Thorndon CP. The RSPB is Europe’s largest
independent conservation organisation and manages four reserves in Essex, including the extremely important Old
Hall and Rainham Marshes.
GEOLOGY
“Essex is NOT flat and uninteresting; Essex is slightly undulating and uninteresting.”
Anon
It is sometimes said that the geology of Essex does not play a major part in determining the distribution and abun-
dance of birds in Essex; it could, however, be argued most strongly that the reverse is true. It is the county’s geologi-
cal history and consequent landforms which have produced a rather flat land with slow-flowing rivers reaching the
sea in saltmarsh and mudflat-edged estuaries that make Essex famous for its flocks of coastal birds.
Deep below the surface of Essex are Silurian and Devonian rocks dating from a time when the ancestors of
humans and birds were the same primitive fish. The rocks nearer the surface in Essex are fairly young in geological
terms, the oldest being the chalks of the Grays area and extreme northwest which were laid down less than 100 mil-
lion years ago when early birds and dinosaurs were dominant and Essex was beneath the same large crystal-clear sea
that covered much of Europe. Above the chalk is a layer of pebble and gravel deposits. These include the Oldhaven
Beds, which contain a large number of fossils, including what appears to be the bones of the earliest Essex (sea?)
bird. Over these are the pebbles and gravels of the London Clay that make up the surface of the greater part of
the county.
WEATHER AND CLIMATE
Long-term weather records show that Essex has a low rainfall of around 500–600mm per year, although the major-
ity falls in the summer months. Compared to the rest of the east coast, Essex has warmer, sunny summers and win-
ters that are not quite so cold. This probably has considerable significance for food availability in coastal habitats. In
estuarine localities, where nutrients are available in abundance, the biological productivity is linked to temperature.
Thus, the Essex mudflats should be especially rich feeding grounds with high productivity starting earlier in the
spring and later in the autumn than in colder regions.
Weather patterns appear to be getting less predictable with a greater frequency of extreme weather. Thus, recent
years have seen periods of drought and hot weather interspersed with high rainfall. Although they have become
fewer in recent years, prolonged periods of frosts can have significant impacts on local populations of species such
as Grey Herons, Kingfishers and Wrens.
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Birds of Essex
The long-term sea level rise associated, in part at least, with global warming is having two contradictory
effects on the areas of saltmarsh and mudflats. Sea level rises flood or erode existing habitats and these are
not replaced where efficient seawalls are maintained. However, the huge cost of seawall maintenance, and the
lower perceived value of agricultural land defended by these walls, is leading to a policy of ‘managed retreat’:
breaches in seawalls are left and new saltmarsh and mudflats allowed to develop in areas previously protected
from the sea.
Very densely populated regions, such as Metropolitan Essex, maintain high night-time temperatures, due pri-
marily to heat escaping from houses. This can raise temperatures by 6º C compared to the neighbouring countryside
and be vitally important for the survival of roosting, small birds.
HYDROLOGY
Most of Essex consists of drainage basins that are wholly within the county. The southern boundary is the tidal
Thames, in effect an inlet of the sea as far as Essex is concerned. To the east is the North Sea. Draining into these
marine surroundings are the Colne, Blackwater, Crouch, Roach and Roding. These rivers and their tributaries are
entirely within Essex and drain most of the county. The flatlands of Tendring, Dengie, Foulness, Southend and the
Thames marshes are drained by smaller river, brook and dyke systems, also within Essex.
The Lea and Stort form the western boundary and drain the western strip of the county, with the Stour in the
north. The extreme northwest chalk is the only area drained by a river that flows out of the county, the Cam.
The drainage of almost all Essex farmland, combined with the deepening and straightening of many stretches
of river, has led to rapid run-off of rainwater. This, combined with high abstraction rates from aquifers beneath the
chalk, has meant that many farm ditches and headwaters are dry for much of the time. The lower reaches of the
main rivers are prevented from drying up by the substantial input of large quantities of treated sewage. The northern
outfall sewer is the largest tributary of the Thames and on most days around 50% of the water in the lower reaches
of most Essex rivers is derived from sewage.
GEOGRAPHICAL CHANGES
When the tundra habitats, which covered Essex in the most recent Ice Age, gave way to those associated with the
present climatic phase there would have been three major habitat types covering the county: broad-leaved wildwood;
broad rivers with wide marshy or fenland floodplains; estuaries and coasts bounded by saltmarsh and mudflats. The
conversion, over a period of about 3,000 years, of the ‘natural’ Essex into what we see today is the history of farm-
ing and the development of the urban population. Before this process began there was no immensely long period
of stability, since climatic changes at the end of the Ice Age caused a succession of changes in the structure of the
wildwood. From around 800–1800AD, there was probably a relatively stable mix of habitats but from the 1830s, and
particularly from the mid-1900s, the changes to the Essex countryside were much faster than in any other period.
The creation of open farmland and heathland, leaving the remaining woods isolated from each other, has been
achieved over several millennia. Seawalls, which mark an abrupt transition from saltmarsh to dry land, are perhaps
300 years old at most. Practically all freshwater habitats have also been deliberately created since the 19th century,
whilst 95% of all urban habitat and road networks appeared during the 20th century.
Changing climate and habitat will affect the species occurring across the county. The original wildwood may
have held an avifauna similar to the remnants still present in Bialowieza, Poland. The change to traditional farm-
ing would have allowed what were originally steppe species such as Skylark, Stone Curlew, Grey Partridge and
Yellowhammer to increase; the modern agricultural revolution has hit these species hard.
THE HABITATS OF ESSEX
Despite our modern technology, it is surprisingly difficult to find reasonable estimates of the proportion of Essex
covered by different habitats. The table shows the split between the major types; where these differ from published
estimates, this is because the percentages are of the land area of the geographical county of Essex and not the
administrative one.
Farmed Land and Hedges
The statistics on agricultural uses are, not surprisingly, more accurate than for other habitat types, although esti-
mates given in the table for linear habitats are much less accurate. Today, the huge expanses of cereal land have
8
The county of Essex
little ornithological interest and what there is continues HabitatType %oflandarea
to decline as industrial farming methods progress towards ofEssex
Farmedlandandhedges 60-62%
making much of the countryside a monoculture. The Urban(buildings, townroads&gardens) 25-30%
Woodlands(inc.wood/pasture forests) 7-8%
widespread increase in autumn sowing has made most land
Interurbanroads,railways,verges,airports 2-4%
unsuitable for stubble-feeding passerines in winter and Stillor flowingwater about1%
has also been associated with the huge loss of Skylarks. Totalarea APPROX4,000km2 100%
Lapwings, which were also fairly common, have now all
Intertidalhabitatsatlow tide,about400km2 anadditional10%
but disappeared and the small Stone Curlew population in Thepercentageofthe landareaofthegeographicalcounty
the northwest has also succumbed. ofEssexoccupiedbyeachmajorhabitattype
Oil-seed Rape makes up about 50% of non-cereal arable crops and these are also of little ornithological interest
although the Woodpigeon has successfully exploited the rich winter feeding it provides.
Set-aside land has proved to be an interesting, if expensive, addition to the Essex farming scene that in some circum-
stances can have an interest far greater than normal crop fields, although many areas designated as set-aside are merely
planted up with crops such as Oil-seed Rape that are not destined for human consumption. Rotational set-aside can
provide a welcome increase in food diversity on farm fields, as can permanent set-aside, managed with gamebirds in mind;
Pheasant and Partridge shooting is still an important rural
business in some areas. Nearer the coast, specially subsidised Landuse Area(km2) %ofEssex
Cereals 1,340 33
winter crops are provided to attract Brent Geese away from
Otherarablecrops 470 12
commercial crops where they may do considerable damage. Setaside 380 9
Grass 350 9
The intensively fertilised grasslands, composed of very Coastalgrazingmarsh 65 1.9
low diversity grass and herb communities, provide grazing Hedges 30? less than1.0
Orchards 12 less than0.5
and silage or hay crops for Sheep and Cattle and continue Cerealmargins 10? less than0.5
to be important feeding grounds for Rooks. The extremely Ditches 4? less than0.5
Farmed land inEssex
low insect numbers in these grasslands probably has a lot to
do with today’s low bird numbers; even those insects associated with Cattle dung have been significantly reduced
by the widespread use of worming drugs.
Unlike the intensive modern grasslands, the coastal grazing marshes are of huge interest and importance to
birds. These ancient pastures, derived from saltmarshes now protected by seawalls, have suffered significant losses
due to deep drainage and conversion to arable. The remaining 6,500ha are mostly protected under ESA or similar
grant schemes. The main landowners are conservation bodies and the MoD, although there are still some large
private landowners. These marshes provide the principal or only breeding sites for, amongst others, Shelduck,
Garganey, Shoveler, Gadwall, Snipe, Redshank and Yellow Wagtail. In the winter, Brent Geese, Lapwing and Golden
Plovers roost in huge numbers.
Although a tiny part of Essex is given over to commercial fruit production, around 65ha is old orchard that
is listed in the Essex BAP as requiring conservation; such habitat is important for owls, woodpeckers, Spotted
Flycatchers and Bullfinches.
The length of hedgerows in Essex could be established from aerial photographs but this has never been done;
the figure of 17,237km of old hedges is an extrapolation from a single farm study. The importance of this habitat is
immense for nesting sites, feeding and as a ‘corridor’ between habitats. The substantial loss of hedgerows has been
a significant factor in the decline of many farmland species and is isolating many remaining small populations.
Around 500km of seawalls protect Essex farmland and produce a sharp transition from one habitat to the next.
Many seawalls provide good nesting sites for such species as Skylarks, Meadow Pipits, Yellow Wagtails and Corn
Buntings, which have declined inland. However, overzealous mowing and herbicide treatment are almost certainly
adversely affecting populations even here.
Drainage ditches on arable land, when unaccompanied by hedges, still provide important habitats as they have
their own microclimate, long vegetation and good insect populations, and they provide good cover for partridges and
ground-nesting passerines. Like seawalls, however, even these are suffering at the hands of modern agriculture.
Cereal field margins, where a wildlife strip is left unsown with cereals or a wide conservation headland is sown
but left largely unsprayed, are an increasing and important feature of many Essex farms. Until recently, the main
incentive was to improve gamebird chick survival. Now, however, grant aid and legal restrictions on pesticide use
close to hedges have seen increasing areas given over to these habitats, which have great potential for restoring some
of the bird diversity lost in intensively farmed areas.
9