Wildlife and conservation review 2003
• The northward spread of many Odonata, including the Emperor Dragonfly now reaching
Northu mberland
• A similar spread of many butterflies, including Comma and Speckled Wood (the latter
even reaching the Orkneys), local increases of some species such as Adonis Blue on many
sites, and the production of additional broods
• Immigrant moths, such as Hummingbird, Convolvulus and Death's-head Hawks, appearing
in ever-larger numbers, and new species from southern Europe arriving on our shores.
This year, the big news was the arrival of a number of examples of the Splendid Brocade
• The spread of many injurious pests, from the Lily Beetle and Rosemary Beetle to Fallow
Deer and Muntjac, and
• The establishment of Wild Boar. According to Defra, there are now more than a thousand
in Kent and Sussex alone, and they are 'now beyond control'.
Whilst it maybe unwise to attribute all these responses to climate changes, the message is clear: we
are living in very changing times. And as if to further underline the issue, it was announced that
one of our greatest climate change fears had been realised - a major ice shelf in the Arctic, the
Ward Hunt, stable for at least 3000 years, had split in two and allowed a large freshwater lake to
drain away. This of course raised further fears of possible disruption to the Atlantic Conveyor: if
the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift, which keep north-west Europe warm, arc diverted
southwards by increased flows of Arctic meltwater, we may see that 'global warming' leads to
significant local cooling as our climate comes to resemble that of Labrador.
Weather records continued to be broken into October. It was the sunniest ever, and remained relatively
dry until the last few days of the month when we received the first meaningful rain for several
months, leading to a monthly total of about two-thirds of the average. The largely clear skies did
however result in many cold nights, with frost even in the coastal belt. This combination of
circumstances certainly paid off in the form of the best display of autumn foliage colours for
years, continuing well into November, despite the gales which marked the start of that month. But
despite the promising start, the fungi season failed to arrive - as is usual in dry conditions, most of
the best finds were of species growing on dead wood which are seemingly partially insulated from
wider environmental drought. Having said that, one of the best records of the year was the ground-
dwelling Mottled Bolete Leccinum variicolor in Fryerning Churchyard, the only time it has been
found in Essex outside of Epping Forest.
Little Egret numbers continued to build up. On the 18th, a co-ordinated count around the county
produced more than 400 birds, a remarkable figure given its rarity status until a few years ago. In
the Lee Valley, a female Bittern which was radio-tagged at the site in January put in a welcome
return appearance. During the early winter period, some doubts have been expressed about its
fitness: it had previously suffered a broken leg, and its movements were far from dramatic (the
longest being a meTe 650m). But in the interim, it had returned to its birthplace in Humberside, is
presumed to have bred, and then flown back here for the winter.
Persistent easterly winds around the 12th were responsible for large seabird movements from all
the traditional watch-points (the Naze, Bradwell and Canvey), including four species of skua, Sooty
and Cory's Shearwaters, Leach's Petrels, Grey Phalaropes and Sabine's Gull. The Naze also produced
a string of excellent migrant passerines, including up to 30 Firecrests on one day, 3 Yellow-
browed and a Pallas's Warbler, Red-breasted Flycatcher and Richard's Pipit. One of the latter was
also a good find inland on Wanstead Flats, while other inland migrants included a Barred Warbler
at Sewardstone (with lingering Ortolan Buntings) and a Red-rumped Swallow at Hanningfield. A
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Essex Naturalist (New Series) 21 (2004)