The month started with a bang when a Red-rumped Swallow was found over the lake in Gunners Park at 8am on the 1st. It remained for just under two hours before departing with the hirundine flock. Also on the 1st a Ring Ouzel was reported at Wakering Stairs when a Nightingale arrived on Two Tree Island and held territory all month. A Black Swan was at Bowers Marsh at the start of the month where it remained throughout the summer and one or two drake Garganey were also present from the 1st through to mid-June. The Cape Shelduck was reported at Battlesbridge on the 1st before it relocated once again to Bowers Marsh on 3rd and 4th. Another drake Garganey visited Vange Marsh from the 2nd to the 4th when single Wheatears were still to be found on Wallasea, Bowers Marsh, and in Gunners Park. A Pectoral Sandpiper was an excellent find on Bowers Marsh on the 3rd; it stayed until the 4th and was only the second spring record for Essex. Also at Bowers Marsh on the 4th were two Common Sandpipers, and a Pink-footed Goose was added to the motley crew of gathering waterfowl of dubious origin. The only Green Sandpiper of the month was on Vange Marsh on the 4th. A Red Kite drifted over Leigh and a male Montagu’s Harrier passed high over Canewdon on the 4th, the same day that a Short-eared Owl was noted again on Wallasea where it lingered intermittently until the 20th. A Spotted Redshank at Bowers Marsh on the 8th was the only record this month. The last Wheatear of the spring was on Wallasea on the 10th where an Arctic Tern was also noted. A report of a Bullfinch at Wakering Stairs on the 10th was noteworthy. Two Little Terns were reported off Canvey Point on the 11th. Turtle Doves were noted at several sites other than Wakering Stairs between the 13th and 20th with one to two at Canewdon, Rochford, and Wallasea. Up to five Wall butterflies were noted from the 13th to the 26th at four traditional sites and a Muntjac was recorded on Hadleigh Downs on the 14th. A small passage of Red Kites was noted on 16th and 17th with a total of four birds seen at three sites. The Green Hairstreaks on Canvey Wick were seen on the 16th only when between three and five were counted. The following day the first Painted Lady of the year was seen at Wakering Stairs. A singing Siskin in Coombe Wood on the 17th was a surprise. The Black-necked Grebe present at Bowers Marsh since early April was seen for the last time on the 20th. A Barnacle Goose of doubtful origin was at Lower Raypits on the 22nd, the same day that two Crossbills flew over Coombe Wood. An unseasonal influx of 20 Guillemots into the Thames off Canvey was all the more remarkable given that they were the first sightings of the year! A showy Grasshopper Warbler was at Wakering Stairs from the 25th to the 30th and a Little Stint there on the 25th was a good spring record. Another Red Kite was reported on the 25th when one passed over Shoebury. A pair of Black-winged Stilts toured Bowers Marsh and Wat Tyler C.P. on the 26th but unfortunately did not linger. A Spoonbill was at the former site briefly on the 27th. Little Ringed Plovers reached a spring peak of five on Bowers Marsh on the 29th when there were a further three on Vange Marsh and one on Wallasea. Two Grey Partridges were found on Wallasea on the 30th where one remained through to the 8th June, three Painted Lady butterflies were also noted there. The pair of Bullfinch near Rayleigh were seen again on the 30th but were getting increasingly harder to find.
JUNE 2015
June was a very quiet month with little of note besides butterflies. A Green Hairstreak was an unusual find on Benfleet Downs on the 7th. The following day Painted Lady butterflies reached a high for the month of 17 on Wallasea. A drake Garganey was present on Bowers Marsh from the 8th to the 12th. Low numbers of Heath Fritillary butterflies appeared in Belfairs Woods from the latter date through to the month’s end but with no more than seven recorded on any one day due to deterioration of suitable habitat. Little Ringed Plovers bred successfully on Wallasea as a pair with three chicks was seen there on the 15th. Two Turtle Doves continued to visit a Canewdon garden infrequently from the 16 to the 24th. There was a small arrival of Hummingbird Hawkmoths in the latter part of the month with sightings on 17th, 24th, and 27th at Leigh, Ashingdon, and Westcliff respectively. A Red Kite was reported over Ashingdon on the 18th. Ten Siskins at Sutton Road Cemetery on the 27th were both unseasonal and unexpected. The first White-letter Hairstreak of the year was on Hadleigh Downs on the 29th, the same day that the first two White Admirals were recorded in Belfairs Woods.
JULY 2015
The first half of the month was very quiet for bird sightings with two Garganey at Vange Marsh throughout the month being the only avian record of note. Non-avian highlights comprised a Red-veined Darter photographed in Gunners Park on the 3rd, a Hummingbird Hawkmoth in Leigh on the 7th and five White Admirals in Belfairs Woods on the 9th. Little Ringed Plovers are typically the first returning autumn wader as evidenced on the 12th with an impressive count of 21 on Vange Marsh and a further six on Bowers Marsh. Siskin passage began on the 15th with almost daily sightings through to late September. Up to 50 birds in total passed through before the end of the month, an unprecedented number for July. The first Willow Emerald Damselfly of the year was noted at Star Lane Pits on the 17th. Two White-letter Hairstreaks were still present on Hadleigh Downs the following day when a Red Kite was also reported over Canvey. A Garden Warbler was a welcome visitor to a garden by Coombe Wood on the 20th. The second ever Southern Emerald Damselfly for Essex was sheltering in the SSSI reserve in Gunners Park from the 21st through to the 5th August. The second Red Kite of the month was seen over Southchurch on the 22nd the same day that the first Clouded Yellow of the year arrived at Paglesham. Wader numbers continued to build towards the end of the month with 14 each of Spotted Redshank and Green Sandpiper on Vange Marsh from 23rd to the 27th whilst adult Curlew Sandpipers commenced their return passage with singles at Wakering Stairs and Two Tree Island on 25th and 31st respectively. The Grasshopper Warbler was seen and heard again at Wakering Stairs on the 25th as were three Turtle Doves. Three adult Arctic Terns and a Little Tern were seen off Canvey on the 25th, the same day that two Southern Migrant Hawkers were found again at Wat Tyler C.P. where they continued to show through to the end of August. The month ended well for one lucky observer when both Silver-washed Fritillary and White Admiral visited his garden beside Coombe Wood on the 30th.
AUGUST 2015
A Red Kite was reported over Wat Tyler CP on the 1st. The adult Curlew Sandpiper on Two Tree Island was seen daily through to the 4th whilst it or another was seen at Tewke’s Creek on the 2nd. Diligent counting of the high tide roost on Two Tree Island on the 1st also revealed 2,167 Black-tailed Godwits along with seven Common Sandpipers and two Clouded Yellows. At Wakering Stairs, three Arctic Skuas and an early Short-eared Owl were all reported on the 1st, and five Turtle Doves were present there the next day. The first Spotted Flycatcher of the autumn was reported near Rayleigh on the 2nd as were two Purple Hairstreaks. A Siskin visited a garden feeder in Hadleigh on the 2nd with three there on the 6th. During the first week of August Southern Migrant Hawkers reached six at Wat Tyler CP, four at West Canvey Marsh, and a single was on Canvey Wick. Reasonable numbers of Black Terns passed through this month commencing with 30 off Canvey on the 7th and peaking at 47 there on the 31st. A female Red-backed Shrike was a good find at Bowers Marsh on the 11th. It had the decency to stay until the 21st allowing most people to connect. Also present at Bowers Marsh along the tip fenceline were six Whinchats and four Stonechats. Seawatching at Canvey on the 13th provided paltry totals of five Arctic Skuas, one Great Skua, 26 Black Terns, and seven Common Scoters. This represented the peak count of Arctic Skuas this month and was the only Great Skua of the month. A Wryneck was an excellent find in Gunners Park on the 14th, as was a Tree Sparrow there the same day. The Wryneck was not seen after the 14th but the elusive Tree Sparrow did put in an appearance on the 15th and 19th. Sandpiper passage peaked mid-month with Vange Marsh hosting 12 Green Sandpipers and 11 Common Sandpipers whilst Bowers Marsh held ten Green Sandpipers and the first Wood Sandpiper of the autumn on the 15th. A ‘flock’ of three Wood Sandpipers were on the underwatched lagoon at Lower Raypits on the 16th where one remained through to the 26th. Three juvenile Little Ringed Plovers frequented the newly created habitat on Wallasea on the 16th. Another inland passage Spotted Flycatcher was at Coombe Wood on the 19th where two Purple Hairstreaks were added to a rather impressive garden butterfly yearlist. Two Garganey and a Wood Sandpiper arrived on Vange Marsh on the 21st with all remaining until the end of the month. Yellow Wagtails reached a year high peak of 50 on Wallasea on the 21st where two Short-eared Owls arrived the following day and remained all month before being joined by a third individual on the 27th. The third Spotted Flycatcher of the autumn was reported from Bowers Marsh on the 22nd. A juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper spent the day on the scrape at Wat Tyler CP on the 23rd yet remarkably was not even a yeartick for most locals following the spring bird on Bowers Marsh! Attempts at seawatching were made but usually failed through lack of birds; three Arctic Skuas, nine Arctic Terns, eight Little Terns, and a Porpoise off Canvey on the 24th were the ‘highlights’. Drift migrants arrived in Gunners Park on 24th and 25th with single Spotted Flycatchers on both dates and a Pied Flycatcher on the former, at least one Redstart from the 25th onwards and four Wheatears. The low water levels and muddy margins at Vange Marsh continued to pull in the waders with three Little Stints arriving on the 26th, six Little Ringed Plovers and 15 Spotted Redshanks on the 27th, and 15 Ruff on the 29th. Not to be outdone, West Canvey Marsh produced a Wood Sandpiper and 11 Green Sandpipers on the 29th. A claim of six Whinchats was made on Two Tree Island on the 29th when four Clouded Yellows were on nearby Hadleigh Downs. Around the creeks, 52 Common Seals and a Grey Seal were counted from a dedicated boat trip on the 29th. A new Spotted Flycatcher and Pied Flycatcher dropped in at Gunners Park on the 30th when five Porpoise were seen off Canvey but not much else. A surprise local rarity on the 31st came in the guise of a pair of Egyptian Geese in Southchurch Park East; they were shamelessly twitched the next day but had already moved on elsewhere.
SEPTEMBER 2015
The two Egyptian Geese had apparently moved to Wat Tyler CP on the 1st but still they did not linger. More typical autumnal fare was to be had in Gunners Park where there were now two Redstarts from the 1st to the 13th and two Wheatears. A total of just seven Wheatears passed through the entire area this month. Two juvenile Spoonbills flying high up-river at Gunners Park on the 2nd were a surprise but the Siskin passage which recommenced there on the 2nd and remained strong into October was more expected. Low numbers passed through at many sites on a daily basis through the month peaking at 85 in Gunners Park on the 6th. On the 3rd an impressive 600 House Martins moved through Gunners Park in just thirty minutes. West Canvey Marsh hosted a Garganey on 4th and 5th, a Wood Sandpiper from the 4th to the 9th, and 800 Swallows on the 5th. Across the creek on Bowers Marsh a Red-crested Pochard was present on the 4th and 5th as was an unusually late Cuckoo on the latter date. A Little Stint on Wallasea on the 6th was a good site record and one or two Curlew Sandpipers frequented Tewke’s Creek on the 6th and 7th. The last Turtle Dove of the year was at Wakering Stairs on the 6th when a Hedgehog visited an Eastwood garden for a few nights. An obliging Shag was close inshore at Gunners Park on the 7th where it remained for the rest of the autumn. Seawatching at Canvey yielded 15 Arctic Skuas and nine Arctic Terns on the 7th with Little Gull, two Guillemots, and three Porpoise there the next day along with the first two Dark-bellied Brent Geese of the autumn. Numbers built rapidly to 400 here just four days later with a further 130 at Wakering Stairs. Another Wood Sandpiper paid homage to Vange Marsh from the 8th to the 18th. As expected, Buzzards were more widespread this month but a count of 15 over Paglesham Lagoon was quite exceptional for our corner of Essex. A Curlew Sandpiper was claimed from Two Tree Island on the 10th. Gunners Park was productive on the 11th with two Spotted Flycatchers and a Pied Flycatcher all newly arrived along with two Clouded Yellows. There were two Little Stints on Bowers Marsh on the 11th with up to seven the following day on Vange Marsh with some remaining all month. The two Egyptian Geese were seen again early on the 12th, this time at Vange Marsh but once again they soon disappeared. Little Tern passage peaked at 22 at Wakering Stairs on the 12th and Spotted Redshanks numbered 21 the following day at Vange Marsh. A Redstart was reported from Hadleigh Castle on the 13th with another photographed in a Thorpe Bay garden earlier in the month. Just a single Short-eared Owl was reported from Wallasea this month with sightings on 13th and 26th, with another single along Benfleet Creek on the 24th. A Garganey was at Bowers Marsh on the 14th with possibly the same bird at Wat Tyler CP the next day. Whinchat numbered six again this month at Bowers Marsh on the 15th with five at Fleet Head and three at West Canvey Marsh earlier in the month. Seawatching at Canvey continued to be poor all month with the 16th being one of the rare days of note when 11 Arctic Skuas, six Great Skuas, nine Black Terns, and a distant Roseate Tern were all recorded. A Glossy Ibis was reported at Wat Tyler CP briefly on the 17th before becoming a little more reliable from the 19th to the 23rd. A Caspian Gull bearing a green ring remained loyal to the scrape at Wat Tyler CP on 18th and 19th providing many with the opportunity to enjoy this scarce but regular visitor, a Redstart there on the 18th was a good site record. Little Egret roost numbers broke new records this month with 224 along Benfleet Creek on the 19th and 143 on Two Tree Island on the 14th. A late Swift was in Gunners Park on the 19th as was the last Spotted Flycatcher of the year. A check on the local population of Hazel Dormice in Belfairs on the 19th with a qualified handler yielded eight adults and 24 young. On the 20th, visiting birders found and photographed a Wilson’s Phalarope at Vange Marsh, although its identity was not confirmed until the following afternoon. Fortunately it remained until the 3rd October and was always on view albeit distantly at times. A first for the area and seventh for Essex it proved popular with birders from across the country. Five presumed Lesser Redpoll flew over Rochford on the 20th with another over Westcliff on the 23rd. An early Merlin kept the Short-eared Owl company on Wallasea on the 26th when a Willow Emerald Damselfly was photographed in Gunners Park. A Hummingbird Hawkmoth was a welcome visitor to a Leigh garden on the 27th. A group of three Great White Egrets were watched circling over Bowers Marsh on the 27th before appearing to land behind the tip; one was seen later that day flying low across Vange Wick. A late Pied Flycatcher dropped in at Gunners Park on the 28th and unsurprisingly was the last flycatcher of the year. Both Curlew Sandpiper and Pale-bellied Brent Goose were reported around Two Tree Island on the 29th. Still the seawatching season failed to gain momentum with the only records of note on the 30th being a respectable 65 Pintail off Canvey Point and two Little Gulls.
OCTOBER 2015
Three Little Stints remained at Vange Marsh on the 1st. Both Pale-bellied Brent Goose & Black Brant were picked out from the thronging Dark-bellied Brent Goose flock which numbered 6,000 off Two Tree Island on the 2nd and a Great White Egret was seen distantly from Wallasea also on the 2nd. A late burst of passage in Gunners Park saw a Firecrest there from the 2nd to the 4th along with 35 Goldcrests, 27 Chiffchaffs, and 16 Blackcaps. A late Curlew Sandpiper was found in Potton Creek on the 4th. Last month’s Glossy Ibis put in a fleeting visit to the scrape at Wat Tyler CP on the 6th. Finches were on the move this month evidenced by 20 Lesser Redpolls at Wakering and 20 Siskins in Gunners Park on the 6th with passage of both species continuing daily throughout the month in small numbers. There were shades of summer on the 8th when a Hobby was at Wat Tyler CP, a Common Sandpiper was at Bowers Marsh, and five Wall butterflies were on Hadleigh Downs. An adult Crane parading around and calling on the scrape at Wat Tyler CP on the 9th was a fantastic local mega. It was rumoured to have been seen the evening before flying towards Bowers Marsh. It remained at Wat Tyler CP until mid-morning on the 9th when it flew off high to the south and was presumably the same bird seen later that day at Dungeness. With just a pair or two of Coal Tits in Hockley Woods, Benfleet, and Thundersley, a Coal Tit in Gunners Park on the 9th was quite likely of the continental race whereas the two near Thundersley the same day were local birds. A Painted Lady in Gunners Park on the 9th was the last of the year. Searching for the Glossy Ibis in the local Little Egret roosts on the 9th was unsuccessful but did reveal 198 Little Egrets still present on Benfleet Downs and 62 on Two Tree Island. A seawatch from Wakering Stairs on the 10th produced the highest count of the year for Gannets with a paltry 20, and the month’s only Great Skua! Two Clouded Yellows persisted on Wallasea on the 10th as did a single Little Stint at Vange Marsh. The nomadic Egyptian Geese duo finally settled down at Friars Park from the 10th onwards. The equally mobile Glossy Ibis paid brief visits to Wat Tyler CP on the 11th, 14th, and 15th. There was a small fall of Firecrests mid-month with three in Coombe Wood on the 11th, one in South Benfleet also on the 11th, and one at Shoebury East Beach from the 15th to the 18th. The first Eider of the year (!) were two off Gunners Park on the 11th where a fine summer plumaged Red-throated Diver was present the next day along with a Guillemot. There were now two Merlins on Wallasea as at the 13th with a male and a female present intermittently until the end of the month. A showy and confiding Black Redstart was present around the seawall at Gunners Park from the 13th to the 20th, and one of the resident Coal Tits visited a Hockley garden on the 13th. Southend Pier was unproductive on the 14th yielding just a late Arctic Tern. Significant thrush movement was noted from the 14th to the 17th with a Ring Ouzel and 211 Redwings over a Leigh garden on the 14th, 107 Fieldfares over the same garden on the 17th, and three Ring Ouzels in Gunners Park on the 17th where one remained until the 23rd. The last of three Wheatears this month was along Canvey Seafront on the 16th. Single Bramblings were noted over Leigh and Rochford on 17th and 18th when another Firecrest was located in gardens in Rayleigh. A party of three continental Coal Tits were a very good find at Shoebury East Beach on the 18th. They worked their way along the treeline before disappearing inland. Nearby, a Velvet Scoter was reported off Wakering Stairs the same day. The wandering Glossy Ibis visited Vange Marsh for ten minutes on the 20th before flying off once more. Hen Harriers returned to Wallasea on the 22nd with two ringtails present daily through to the end of the month. A Ring-necked Parakeet was reported over Southchurch on the 22nd and then again over Westcliff on the 26th. Finches continued to pass through Gunners Park with 20 Siskins, 25 Lesser Redpolls, and three Bramblings there on the 25th when the Shag out in another appearance too. A Coal Tit prospected gardens in South Benfleet on the 25th and 31st. Two Red-breasted Mergansers and the Shag were on the sea off Gunners Park on the 26th. The Glossy Ibis was finally nailed down at Wat Tyler CP from the 27th onwards when its preferred feeding area along Timberman’s Creek was found. Meanwhile an adult Spoonbill flew over West Canvey Marsh on the 27th but did not land. Yet another Firecrest was located on the 27th when one took a liking to a garden in Leigh for two days. Two Black Redstarts were in Gunners Park on the 28th with one reported in Southchurch the next day. By comparison, one Brambling was reported in a Leigh garden on the 28th with two in Gunners Park the following day. A Ring Ouzel reported in Gunners Park on the 31st could equally have been one from mid-month keeping a low profile or a new arrival. The influx of Short-eared Owls noted across the country gained momentum locally in the final days of the month with five at South Fambridge on the 31st, three at West Canvey Marsh, three on Wallasea, two on Two Tree Island, and singles at Wat Tyler CP and Battlesbridge. A Barnacle Goose on the Roach on the 31st had probably not come from very far but was still a good local record. This autumn’s seawatch totals make for dire reading with a total of 51 Gannets, 50 Arctic Skuas, eight Great Skuas, three Little Gulls, three Guillemots, and two Eider. No Pomarine Skuas, Long-tailed Skuas, Shearwaters, Petrels, Fulmars or Sabine’s Gulls were recorded this autumn making it possibly the worst on record. Whether this has anything to do with the dredging of the Thames for the deep water port or the profusion of offshore windfarms is open to discussion, or it may just be that the days with optimum weather for seawatching were in short supply this year.