Blog Archives: WildEssex

The Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens: after the Ladybird Blizzard…

Beth Chatto Gardens, Britain's Wildlife, WildEssex, WildWivenhoe

My July Wildside Walks around the Beth Chatto Gardens came with a backstory. Just over a week previously, we had seen an influx of insects into north-east Essex that was unprecedented this millennium. Two previous blogs cover the events of that week: I didn’t have time to get to the gardens while the influx was actively under way so we had to enjoy the spectacle from Wivenhoe Lower Lodge and Walton-on-the-Naze. In fact I have to go back to the long, hot summer of 1976 to recall such numbers…

I did however manage to get to the gardens the day after the insect blizzard and found the flowers to be dripping with hoverflies and ladybirds. In keeping with our observations from the previous couple of days, all ladybirds seemed to be 7-spots, and the hoverflies were of six main species: Eupeodes corollae, Eupeodes luniger, Syrphus ribesii, Episyrphus balteatus, Sphaerophoria cf scripta and Scaeva pyrastri.

 

A week later, for the walks, things had quietened down a lot. Yes, there were still many more than the (recently) ‘normal’ number of insects (aside from aphids which the hungry hordes had hoovered up), but clearly many of the ladybirds and hoverflies had either been eaten or moved on. We were in Blackpool four days after our influx, and noticed a significant arrival of ladybirds there, perhaps ‘ours’, having crossed the North Sea and pushing on, boldly going places where there might still be aphids left to eat.

As always there were some star plants, doing the heavy lifting and feeding the most insects: lavenders, marjorams, sea-hollies, buddleias, scabiouses, fennels and spurges. Anyone wanting to enhance their own garden for summer wildlife could do a lot worse than to bring in some of these, or their close relatives.

Coming as this did right at the start of the Big Butterfly Count 2025 citizen science survey, I’ll start with the butterflies. In total, fifteen species were spotted and I could have easily added another five or more had I gone searching specifically for them.

The above were just a few of those on offer but, in terms of number, pride of place must go to the Gatekeepers. They were everywhere, seeming to love the marjoram especially.

And there was much more than just the butterflies. There were of course the remnants from the previous week’s arrivals: ladybirds and hoverflies.

Then there were several other hoverflies that seemed not to be represented in the main influx such as Drone Fly and Batman Hoverfly, while tachinid parasite-flies were also noticeable, especially Tachina fera and Eriothrix rufomaculatus.

Hogweed Bonking-beetles were numerous, and not restricting themselves to their favoured umbel inflorescences, while a Black-and-yellow Longhorn beetle nibbled the Eryngium majestically, pushing aside the hoverflies as it fed.

Many different bees and wasps were active on all the favoured flowers, and more. As well as bumbles and honeys, bees included miners and leaf-cutters, solitary bees that seem to be doing well here this year, perhaps related to their being apparently fewer Honeybees dominating the floral resources. Leaf-cutters have also been busy cutting discs from leaves, like a garden Matisse, then inserting them into suitable nesting holes.

The social Common, German and  Median Wasps (two colour forms of the latter pictured here) fed alongside solitary wasps like Bee-wolf and Ornate-tailed Digger-wasps Cerceris rybyensis:

With so much action on the flowers, not surprisingly there were those hoping to take advantage, including Flower Crab-spiders and Blue-tailed Damselflies, ‘sit-and-wait’ and ‘in-flight’ predators respectively. And with all that going on up top, our attention was rather deflected from the insects feeding on the leaves and stems such as this Hairy Shieldbug.

But probably the most notable thing about these walks was the number of ‘firsts’, at a range of scales. There was a first for me in this garden (although others have reported it as it has spread to our part of the world over the past five years): a Jersey Tiger moth. Another day-flying moth, albeit rather worn, was a Six-spot Burnet, probably the first garden record. And a dead Bank Vole was the first I have identified with certainty here, having not done any small mammal trapping surveys.

Three bugs were new to the garden list, although probably have simply been overlooked in the past: Nysius senecionis (just five previous records on the Tendring Peninsula, here with the small plasterer bee Colletes daviesanus for scale, showing how easy it would be to miss), Orthops campestris (only three Tendring records, all right by the coast) and Liocoris tripustulatus (widespread across Essex, albeit with records concentrated in the south of the county, which probably says more about the distribution of active recorders than the species itself!).

A Large-headed Resin-bee Heriades truncorum was the first garden record. This species has spread from being a south-eastern rarity in the last two decades, but in Essex has generally been found on brownfield sites by the Thames and west of Colchester: its two recorded localities on the Tendring Peninsula are both right by the coast. Perhaps caught up with the influx of Seven-spots, a single Adonis Ladybird (small, with spots weighted to the front half of the wing-cases) was also new to the garden list. This is found mainly in sandy areas and on brownfields sites, so in Essex it is most frequent west of Colchester and along Thames-side. Likewise the  lovely little fly Cistogaster globosa, a parasite of shieldbugs, that is found mainly in the same two areas of Essex, but rather more sparsely. And another parasite, the ichneumon wasp Ctenichneumon panzeri (if identified correctly: they are many and tricky) is recorded on the National Biodiversity Network Atlas from only 14 locations nationally, none of which is anywhere near Essex. The latter is surely down to to under-recording.

But this is certainly not the case with the insect highlight of the day: two Long-tailed Blues, again probably ones that had been caught up in last week’s immigration spectacular. Not only is this a new garden record, there are only seven previous Essex sightings, and I have never before seen it in the UK. Safe to say, I got rather excited!

Although widespread in mainland Europe, Long-tailed Blue has rarely been proven to breed in this country, and its occurrence is generally the result of immigration. And so is unpredictable, irregular and always a delight. What a way to mark the first day of this summer’s national butterfly survey!

My next set of Wildside Walks are scheduled for 19 September, booking through the Beth Chatto website at 11AM or noon. Especially if we get some useful rain, I would expect the summer to continue in a similar insect-rich vein. While many of the current star plants are coming to a natural end, there are more to come. The various forms of Bistorta amplexicaulis  together with the daisy family (coneflowers, hemp-agrimonies, black-eyed-Susans and Michaelmas-daisies, for example) should prove some of the insect-feeding stars for the next two months.

I make no apologies for finishing by repeating what I have written in a previous blog in relation to this year of insect riches.

We must not let complacency set in, and stop doing all we can to save the future planet just because (unusually) there are lots of insects around. Nothing has changed fundamentally compared to last year when I was complaining of the Silent Summer. The same pesticides are used profligately. Habitat loss and fragmentation is increasing in the drive to build more houses to satisfy a ‘crisis’ promoted by housebuilder lobbyists. And climate collapse is accelerating, especially with world ‘leaders’ in thrall to big oil.

There are always oscillations around a declining trend. Last year was a trough, this looks like a peak. It may well be due to weather patterns of the last few months. And almost certainly many of the insects we have been seeing in coastal Essex are not home-bred. Thank goodness for immigration, as in so many aspects of life.

It is years like this one that give me hope though. As a conservationist over the past four decades, I have seen the continuing, worrying decline of wildlife, but I cling to hope that if nature is given the chance it can and will bounce back. It has to…

The Ladybird Blizzard at Walton-on-the-Naze

Britain's Wildlife, Travel by Rail, WildEssex

Our long-planned day out in Walton last week was hijacked by circumstances: it came at the height of the recent massive insect immigration event. Everywhere the air was thick with flying ladybirds (seemingly just one species, the 7-spot) while every Fennel, Wild Carrot and Hogweed umbel was covered in hoverflies (mostly half-a-dozen species):

… and Buddleia was a-flutter with butterflies, of which the Large Whites and Red Admirals at least were likely immigrants, alongside presumably locally bred Brimstone and Peacocks.



The beach was clearly a first arrival point, with many hoverfly and ladybird casualties, and the lucky ones just resting after the rigours of a sea crossing. While not on the scale of the ‘red tide’ I saw in Bridlington in 1976, the simple number of flying insects was phenomenal.



However, our main reason for visiting was to look at the back-side of Walton: the town celebrates its beach and cliffs, its pier and amenities. And rightly so. But it has another side, the Backwaters, a tidal embayment which almost turns the outer part of the town into an island on spring tides.



As we found, the back-side is lovely, saltmarsh with Sea-lavender and Golden Samphire, sea walls with Crow Garlic, each bulbil a tasty mouth freshener on what was turning into another hot day. Alexanders too, the seeds now ripe, becoming aromatic peppercorns, and Duke-of-Argyll’s Tea-plant, soon to be the source of goji berries. A feast indeed!

Around the yacht harbour, there were in excess of a hundred Swallows, no doubt relishing the abundance of aerial food, more Swallows together than I have seen in the whole of Essex this summer. The way their activity ebbed and flowed, erupting every few minutes in twittering crescendos, seemingly unrelated to the presence of any potential predators, was fascinating. It was almost as if we were witnessing the internal battle between two competing and contradictory forces: the urge to migrate, and the counter-pull of the rich supply of food, right there, right now…



Walton Mere, a former boating lake captured from the estuary in times past is now barely visible, the sea walls surrounding it now largely broken down. The Mere has been welcomed back into the Backwaters. This was a pleasure to see…last time I was there twenty or more years ago was to express my official disapproval of plans to fill in the Mere and build flats on it, changing the whole face of the town (and no doubt the bank balance of the proponent). Still, had the worst happened the flats would probably have sunk into the Essex ooze by now!

The problems with exploring the back-side of Walton are the interruptions to access round the sea wall. But the one stretch that is available was very pleasant, alongside a bank of extravagantly scented Japanese Rose, the leaves of which harboured large numbers of Box Bugs, in all instars save for adult, as well as clutches of golden eggs, like precious jewels.

And so we crossed to the beach, moving from solitude to the summer masses in just a couple of hundred metres. But the young Sea-slaters on the groynes were oblivious to the beach activity, and very active in the sunshine.

All that was left to complete our day by the seaside was a lovely snack and pint in the Victory and an ice-cream overlooking the sea, with battalions of ladybirds and hoverflies still thick in the air.

The Buzz is Back! Wivenhoe’s Lower Lodge….

Britain's Wildlife, WildEssex, WildWivenhoe

The past couple of years have been pretty dire for our insect life. I was worried in 2023, more so in 2024, and openly voicing my concerns we were entering an era of ‘Silent Summers’.

The decline of insects is well documented, especially since WW2 as a result of climate change, habitat loss and fragmentation, and the overuse of pesticide poisons. But while declines continue, there are fluctuations around the average, and it seems that this summer is one of the ‘better than recent’ years. The buzz in the hedges, the splat on the windscreens – all point to a good year.

So it’s midsummer in Wivenhoe and the place to be to look for insects is Lower Lodge. But while for the past two years it has been looking in vain, this year they are back in force. So much so I visited twice in a few days, both of which were very hot days indeed.

On 4th July the Hogweed umbels were at their  peak, and feeding all manner of beetles (including most numerously Hogweed Bonking Beetles), hoverflies and the rest. No names needed – just enjoy the bioabundance!

Other good nectar sources at the moment include Wild Carrot, Field Scabious, Bird’s-foot-trefoil, Creeping Thistle and Common Ragwort. These will all continue for a few weeks, and then the heavy lifting will be taken over by Common Knapweed and Bristly Oxtongue, so we can hope for more insect riches to come.

And as we come out of the ‘June Gap’, butterflies should now be a constant feature. On a very hot, but breezy, day there were three species of Skipper, three Browns, Small Coppers, Purple Hairstreaks, two Blues, plus several admirals (including a rather battered White Admiral) and Whites, and (as ‘honorary butterflies’) the day-flying moths 6-spotted Burnet and Brassy Longhorn.

It was hot. Very hot. Too hot for most other things other than fly-by Emperor Dragonflies and Brown Hawkers. The sunbathing squirrel says everything about that day!

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But in the days before my second visit on 10th July, we had the ‘ladybird blizzard’, three days of sustained insect arrivals, presumably from the Low Countries. Indeed my second visit was on the third of those days, and the air was still full of flying hoverflies, ladybirds and Large White butterflies.

So what seemed like riches a week previously were supplemented manyfold by the new arrivals. The newcomers were numerous , but only a restricted number of species – one ladybird (7-spot), only half a dozen or so species of hoverfly, and probably only Large White and Red Admiral among the butterflies – and turned the umbels into something resembling tutti frutti ice-cream. And this was not a localized phenomenon – report suggest that similar sights were being witnessed from Great Yarmouth to the Thames, and inland at least to Bury St Edmunds. The number of insects involved is simply inconceivable and incalculable.

Overall butterflies and burnets were also more numerous than a week previously, as expected due to the passage of the season:

And yes there were a few things worthy of note, here the furry hoverfly Eristalis intricarius, the parasite-fly Nowickia ferox and the leaf-cutter bee Megachile willoughbiella.

Of course we must not let complacency set in, and stop doing all we can to save the future planet just because (unusually) there are lots of insects around. Nothing has changed fundamentally compared to last year when I was complaining of the Silent Summer. The same pesticides are used profligately. Habitat loss and fragmentation is increasing in the drive to build more houses to satisfy a ‘crisis’ manufactured by housebuilder lobbyists. And climate collapse is accelerating, especially with world ‘leaders’ (and their hangers-on, Mr Starmer) in thrall to big oil.

There are always oscillations around a declining trend. Last year was a trough, this looks like a peak, as many of us will remember during the long, hot summer of 1976. It may well be due to weather patterns of the last few months. And almost certainly many of the insects we are seeing in coastal Essex are not home-bred. Thank goodness for immigration, as in so many aspects of life.

It is years like this one that give me hope though. As a conservationist over the past four decades, I have seen the continuing, worrying decline of wildlife, but I cling to hope that if nature is given the chance it can  and will bounce back. It has to…

 

Exploring the Lee Valley

Britain's Wildlife, Travel by Bus, Travel by Rail, WildEssex

We don’t have to go far to have fun on our short breaks by public transport. The western boundary of Essex is the River Lea, and just across the river and canal is Enfield, Middlesex as was. The whole valley is a complex of waterways and greenspace, much of it under the wing of the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority.

Our two-night stay at Enfield Premier Inn saw us arriving in middle of the hottest day of the year (so far), a ferocious heat that drove us first into the Greyhound pub for refreshment. A drink, but no atmosphere or food, a pub that sadly makes nothing of its prime location next to the canal, the River Lee Navigation.

So we moved swiftly on, walking the towpath but not really paying much attention in the heat, apart from seeing and smelling the recent grassland wildfires. And the sound of screaming Swifts above, always a good sign…

After a couple of hours respite in the hotel and restaurant, it had cooled down sufficiently to make the idea of a towpath walk attractive. Banded Demoiselles, like fluttering fairies, were everywhere, as the cooling air was filled with birdsong – Whitethroats, Chiffchaffs and Song Thrushes especially – and a Red Kite flew over and into a copse. It was hard to believe we were inside the M25…

Hogweed and Wild Carrot umbels attracted numerous hoverflies and other insects, Russian Comfrey provided for the bees, and indeed everything seemed to be hosting insect life…

The impression of tranquil countryside continued to grow as dusk started to fall, with the temperature still up at 26 degrees. We were at Enfield Lock, as with all such spots a place of timeless delight. Many more Demoiselles, with fast-flying Emperors and a Southern Migrant Hawker dragonfly providing the entertainment, along with some impressive Greek Dock plants with exquisitely sculpted seeds and Himalayan Balsam flowers, a beacon for bumblebees.

After a night of rain, the morning air smelled of a grateful Earth. We headed to Walthamstow Wetlands, a flagship London Wildlife Trust reserve based around Thames Water reservoirs. ‘Greenwashing’ comes to mind given the reputation of the water company, but the repurposed buildings are impressive: the Engine House café, which provided excellent breakfast, and the Coppermill Tower with extensive views over the reserve and beyond.

As to the reserve, well there was wildlife – Common Terns, Great-crested Grebes, breeding Cormorants, Mute Swans with ‘Polish’ cygnets, Vervain, Blue-tailed Damselflies etc – and we learned from a friendly volunteer that the Barnacle Geese that tried to mug us are probably the only ones breeding in London. But the margins felt too manicured and with too much focus on fishing. And the weather was dull and rainy, which might have coloured our opinion!

For us, the Paddock, a community nature park just across the road, was much more authentic, the sort of brownfield bonanza that London does best. A rich, multicultural mix of plants from all corners of the world, managed to a point but not tamed, retaining the joys of randomness. You never know what to expect around the next corner…

In fact we liked it so much that we returned later in the day when the sun came out, and found it filled with insects:

Packing in more experiences, we headed out of the valley through Springfield Park, with interesting grassland, a family of Mistle Thrushes and old trees, including Walnuts with mite galls, and London Plane with lepidopteran leaf-miners. Who says non-natives have no value? And another good café!

Into Stoke Newington, Abney Park Cemetery provided welcome shade now the sun was out. One of the famous garden cemeteries, even the stone is now seeming to crumble to dust as the urban jungle takes over.

Meadow Cranesbill and Enchanters’-nightshade lent their colour to the ride-sides, and the large Burdocks were covered in Terellia tussilaginis picture-winged flies, including females laying the foundations of the next generation.

The Three Crowns, just off the High Street, had some elegant styling, but our refreshment stop of choice was the Coach & Horses, with a friendly welcome, good beer, tales of the Krays and a recently unearthed wooden wall featuring drinks advertising posters dating back to the 1880s!

Then a bus ride took us back to Tottenham Hale, and to the Ferryboat Inn for an excellent meal, overlooking the Coppermill Stream, with nest-building Coots, tree-clambering Moorhens on the hunt for ripe brambles and egg-laying Emperor Dragonflies among the Yellow Water-lilies.

 

And while we were there in the evening sun, it seemed like a great opportunity to explore this developing part of town, around Tottenham Lock:

Our final day saw us heading north along the canal, upvalley and under the M25. Incensed by the towpath litter, Jude had gathered a bag full of plastic before we reached Waltham Abbey. Surely the houseboaters wouldn’t despoil their own back yards…so is it the anglers, or cyclists, or simply your average ‘hard of thinking’? Whatever, it didn’t put us off .. the local folks we met were pretty much universally polite and welcoming.

Sadly Waltham Abbey Church was closed. But the churchyard was shady and cool on what was unfolding into another very hot day, the heat amplified by the humidity arising from yesterday’s rain. And it gave us more time to explore the gardens and grounds.

And here we found what we were looking for, one of the main reasons for this break, Striped Shieldbugs. Very familiar to us from mainland Europe, this area is the only reliable place to find them in the UK, having first turned up here three or four years ago, possibly related to the salad-packing factories nearby. And here they were, in singles and doubles on Hemlock plants around the margins of the grounds.

The rough grassland also contained other interesting invertebrates, including Bee-wolf, Yarrow Plume moth and Privet Leafhopper.

And then there were the formal gardens, especially those with Lavender hedging and edging. We simply had to sit and enjoy the huge number of bees, more in one place than than I have ever seen before in this country. The buzz was much more like that I used to enjoy in the Pyrenees. In just one short stretch of eight  metres of flowering Lavender we counted at least 150 bumblebees alone on one snapshot survey, involving at least six species.

And they were far from the only insects. There were a few Honeybees, plus numerous ladybirds, Cinnamon Bugs and Deraeocoris ruber, Commas, Large and Small Whites, Peacocks and a Painted Lady. Simply remarkable. And as we wandered off, a surprise in the form of a fly-through Marbled White, too fast for a photo, but always good to see. Congratulations to the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority for the provision and management of this greenspace and garden.

 

Maybe we should have stayed there longer, but it was getting to be very hot again so, after a short stroll along Cornmill Stream past Sweet-flag in the river and the first sweet blackberries in the hedges, the Crown pub was beckoning us for a lunchtime cold pint, in very pleasant surroundings.

Afterwards, a bus to Waltham Cross, to get the train home. While there, we thought a look around might be good. But we hadn’t contended with the heat, the crowds, too much traffic, the noise, the dust, the roadworks…and the Eleanor Cross (one of three remaining originals) inevitably was shrouded in hoardings and netting. Waltham Cross, you had your chance to engage, but blew it!

And so home. But clearly there is much more for us to explore in the Lee Valley,  downstream to Stratford and the Thames and upstream to Hertford and beyond. We will be back!

 

Saturday Morning Moth Club at the Minories – July 2025

Britain's Wildlife, WildEssex

The Minories, in the heart of Colchester city, is a delightful place, its garden a haven of calm amid the urban bustle. Managed on traditional lines, the garden has a lawn, borders, shrubs and trees but relatively recently there have been some very positive changes, with the new gardener David at the helm. The garden is no longer drenched in poisons and pesticides, new plants specifically attractive to wildlife have been brought in, so-called ‘weeds’ that have sprung up are now tolerated, welcomed even, and a section of lawn is now a hay meadow.

And so the idea was hatched to investigate the biodiversity value of this site, and hopefully keep on monitoring to demonstrate that small green spaces are valuable, and that with good management they can become more valuable. Part of this was to run a moth trap (in fact two) in early July, and use the opening of the trap the following morning as an opportunity to draw in those who want to learn more about these often hidden parts of our wildlife.

 

The big trap was set in the folly, which as David’s photos show turned it into a deluxe moth attractor. The night was warm, with some rain at dawn, although a little breezy, and we really had no idea what to expect… Well , the good news is that there were some real crowd-pleasers. Elephant Hawkmoth, of which we caught three, is always one of those:

This was just one of thirty larger moth species, perhaps fewer than we might have hoped for, but remember that the garden sits in a pool of surrounding night-time light, especially when FirstSite has an evening event, as it did on this occasion. The surrounding light must have an effect on the attractiveness of the trap light.

If the hawkmoths provided the colour, many other of the larger moths provided the intrigue, the camouflage and the array of names: Bright-line Brown-eye, Mottled Rustic, The Uncertain, Cloaked Minor, Light Arches…

… The Spectacle (it’s name says it all), Coronet adding a rich green to the palette, Dark Sword-grass hinting at possible immigration from the continent and Reed Dagger, a predominantly coastal Essex Red Data List species which must have wandered up from the river.

And then the geometrids, the weaker fliers among the larger moths, including Peppered Moth (here warming up for take-off), and a couple of ‘bird-poos’: Lime-speck Pug and Least Carpet.

In total the traps probably contained in the region of 60 larger moths. But this figure was well surpassed by the micromoths: I estimated maybe 300 Garden Grass-veneer grass moths alone, along with dozens of at least three species of small ermine: Bird-cherry, Willow and Apple Ermines. Given that most micros have much shorter adult stages and smaller living spaces, really the abundance of grass moths must be down to the proximity of David’s five square metre hay meadow. Just imagine what more of this could do, in the Minories or indeed anywhere else could do for the world.

They may be (generally) smaller, but the micromoths cannot be overlooked – they come in such an interesting array of shapes, colours and postures:

And moths are not the only creatures active by night that are attracted to the traps. We found beetles (Lesser Stag Beetle, Summer Chafer, lots of Harlequin Ladybirds, and a single 18-spot Ladybird, the first time we have come across this conifer specialist)…

… tiger craneflies, the parasitic wasp Amblyteles armatorius) and a  Common Earwig …

… both green (Chrysopa carnea) and brown (Micromus variegatus) lacewings …

… and an array of bugs: Forest Bug, Birch Shield bug, Deraeocoris flavilinea, Phytocoris varipes and a Toad Bug.

A full list of everything we found is appended here Minories Saturday Morning Moth Club 5 July 2025, and all were released safely into shelter in the garden after the event.

Of course, while in the garden we couldn’t help but notice other things of interest, unrelated to the presence of the traps. There were Mint Moths on the labiates and Marmalade Hoverflies seemingly on every composite flowerhead…

… a Cinnamon Bug among the geraniums, and scale-insects on the roses …

… Enchanters’-nightshade and Small Balsam popping up unseeded in the borders …

… and a lovely white-form Flower Crab-spider on a blush-pink rose and, when we first found it, eating a green Cucumber Spider. And then when I examined the photos closely, I could see that it too was being eaten, by a tiny orange tick. All of life goes on in the Minories garden, and hopefully Saturday Morning Moth Club will return in summer 2026!

The Wild Side of Essex: Midsummer at the Naze and Colne Estuary

Britain's Wildlife, Cockaynes Reserve, WildEssex, WildWivenhoe

Midsummer week saw two Wild Side of Essex day walks for Naturetrek. The weather, as hoped, was good, albeit very breezy for the Naze and somewhat too hot for the Colne Estuary.

Being exposed and windy, it felt almost autumnal at the Naze, albeit without the migrating birds. Except that is for a flurry of Swifts, around twenty in all, that came in off the sea mid-morning, which could conceivably have been the vanguard of the July exodus. Otherwise it was summer all the way, with singing Common and Lesser Whitethroats, Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs and Cetti’s Warblers, almost all keeping stubbornly out of sight rather than exposing themselves to the teeth of the wind.

On the clifftop grassland and scrub, Sea Hog’s-fennel was just coming into flower, and in sheltered locations Large White butterflies were in huge numbers, perhaps indicating recent immigration. Other butterflies included a few Meadow Browns, Commas, Small and Essex Skippers and a Holly Blue.

The drought of the past months meant there were rather few flowers although Corky-fruited Water-dropwort, Tufted Vetch, Slender Thistle and Field Bindweed tried hard, and indeed were being much visited by insects, especially Thick-thighed Beetles.

Other insects that attracted our attention were a Yellow-and-Black Longhorn beetle; lots of Ladybirds, especially 7-spots and Harlequins; and Dock and Box Bugs.

A Lackey caterpillar, initially hiding in the foliage, proceeded to give a virtuoso performance, first crawling right out to the end of a shoot, and then back again when it realised there was nowhere else to go.

We also found a picture-winged fly Xyphosia miliaria on its larval foodplant Creeping Thistle; surprisingly this seems to be only thinly scattered across north Essex despite the ubiquity of its host.

With the clifftop copse giving some shelter, we looked out to sea for a while. No seabirds, just wind farms, ports, shipping and a sea fort…

Heading out onto the beach and saltmarsh, we passed Tamarisk in full flower, towards dune plants that included Frosted Orache, Prickly Saltwort and Marram…

… with Common Sea-lavender, Golden Samphire, Sea-purslane and Perennial Glasswort on the marsh.

The only waterbirds were feeding Oystercatchers and a Little Egret among the Black-headed Gulls, a flyover Cormorant and a lone young male Eider that seems to have foregone the opportunity of a summer break back at the Farne Islands.

The strandline produced all manner of shells from Oysters to Slipper-Limpets and Piddocks to Whelks.

Rounding the corner, the tide having receded, we found the focus of the return walk: geology. 50 million year old London Clay, variably topped with 3 million year-old Red Crag and more recent windblown loess, all telling tales of antiquity.

Pyritised wood and iron-stained Crag shells on the beach provided the mementos of the day:

And then the influence of geology on modern day wildlife, a new, clean landslip face with as many, maybe more, Sand Martin holes as I have ever seen there. We had been seeing the birds all day, together with House Martins and Swallows, but here there was a twitter of activity, including first-brood nestlings about to make the big leap.

Colt’s-foot leaves covered the unstable slopes, while a new site record for me on one of the spring-lines was Hemlock Water-dropwort , a rather uncommon plant in north Essex. And heading back to the car park, Narrow-leaved Ragwort and a fragrant flourish to finish, Wild Privet.

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Four days later for the Colne Estuary at Wivenhoe, it was much less breezy, very sunny, and extremely humid following the band of heavy rain that swept over us just a overnight. Thank goodness the heights of the Essex Alps caught the breeze during the hotter parts of the day!

Starting around the sea wall of Ferry Marsh, Reed Warblers were in song and the local speciality Dittander (duly tasted!) in full flower. Other plants like Salsify and Bristly Ox-tongue were attracting pollinators such as the hoverfly Scaeva pyrastri, with Thick-thighed Beetles in the Field Bindweed.

 

There were ladybirds everywhere, mostly 7-spot and Harlequin, in larval, pupal and adult states, together with a selection of other insects such as the bug Deraeocoris ruber.

A purple glow suffused the saltmarshes as Common Sea-lavender was coming into bloom, and newly sprung Marsh Samphire was no doubt a succulent treat for the grazing Canada Geese.

Then along Wivenhoe waterfront, a palimpsest of maritime activity past and present, with Swifts, House Martins and House Sparrows all in evidence, and rare plants occupying the cracks in block-paving: Jersey Cudweed and Four-leaved Allseed.

Beyond the flood barrier, the estuary widens rapidly among more natural surroundings. Barrier Marsh had singing Common Whitethroats, Linnets and Reed Buntings, a Cuckoo calling from across the river, with a few flypast Emperor and Brown Hawker dragonflies. On the mudflats there were a few Oystercatchers and Black-headed Gulls, including the first of this season’s fledged young, as Common Terns flew over, returning to the gravel pit breeding sites after fishing in the estuary.

The sea wall had flowering Strawberry Clover and Crow Garlic, the seaward side also with Shrubby Seablite and Golden Samphire, while Meadow Brown, Large White and Painted Lady butterflies skipped around.

Grange Wood is a near-unique (in the Essex context) ancient wood/tidal water interface, the shady conditions harbouring singing Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and Song Thrushes, roaming families of Long-tailed Tits. Taking the opportunity to cool down and rehydrate, it gave us chance for a leisurely look at Herb Robert, Wood Sage and Stinging Nettles, many bearing the galls of the gall-midge Dasineura urticae, another species that is largely absent (or under-recorded?) from most of Essex, including the Tendring Peninsula…

From there it was up on to the Essex Alps, with some magnificent boundary Oaks, parched sandy fields with Common Ragwort in profusion (although very few Cinnabar caterpillars), and both Buzzards and a Red Kite overhead.

Along Cutthroat Lane, passing some magnificent clumps of Butchers’-broom, Brimstone, Ringlet and Gatekeeper butterflies  were added to the day’s list before we reached Cockaynes Reserve, a remarkable example of life after gravel extraction. And not surprisingly, very droughty indeed.

Field Maple in fruit mingled with the mushroom-scented sprays of Sweet Chestnut flowers, and a myriad of solitary bees and wasps jostled for space among the flowering Common Centaury.

And all wrapped up with a stroll along the crest, catching what breeze we could, with views over the estuary as far as the open sea, and Small Coppers and Lesser Calamint (the iconic plant of the Essex Alps) at our feet completed two days full of all kinds of everything, the Wild Side of Essex at its best.

The Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens: Midsummer madness!

Beth Chatto Gardens, Britain's Wildlife, WildEssex, WildWivenhoe

It was the day before Midsummer for the June Wildside Walks, just coming up to the peak time for insect activity. But the weather may have different ideas – a couple of months with almost no rain are starting to parch the landscape and if this continues, it may be that the high summer peak is lesser than we would hope for, especially given the busy, buzzy days we have had recently.

But for now, the floral riches are ready and waiting…

Especially in hot weather much activity centres on the ponds, and here there were four species of damselfly…

…and a couple of dragonflies: Emperors, always on the go and typically impossible to photograph, and Four-spotted Chasers, real posers and justifying the four pictures here!

On the Lysimachia round the ponds, there was a sawfly larva with a distinctive black mark on its head. This turned out to be Monostegia abdominalis, the only sawfly that feeds on this genus: although probably overlooked and under-recorded, there appear to be no previous records from Essex on the NBN Atlas. Sawflies suffer from under-recording a lot, especially as there are few good identification resources. Take Iris Sawfly, all over our waterside irises this year and very obvious, that is shown from just three spots in Essex on the NBN Atlas, a wonderful resource but only as good as the data that are provided to it!

Of course some sawflies are rather better known, especially the larvae of Solomon’s-seal Sawflies that are making their mark on our plants (our badge of honour!). And right at the moment there is a huge emergence of what may be Turnip Sawfly adults although they don’t seem to be associated with their customary food plant family, Brassicaceae.

Butterflies are rarely numerous in the ‘June gap’, but their diversity is increasing slowly. A Painted Lady pointed to recent immigration, newly emerged Brimstones, Small Tortoiseshells and Commas were on the wing, while both Large and Small Skippers, Common Blues, Meadow Browns and Purple Hairstreaks set the scene for July.

True bugs included a showy Hawthorn Shieldbug, together with large numbers of the recently arrived species Closterotomus trivialis in both its colour forms. First found in the UK in London in 2009, by 2020 it had reached our garden.

A selection of the beetles on show included a fine, warningly coloured Wasp Beetle, many metallic green Thick-thighed Beetles and (rather less welcome) a Vine Weevil…  And it seems that ladybirds have been breeding well this summer, to judge from the number of larvae, including those of Harlequin and 14-spot Ladybirds.

There were a few Common Scorpionflies flittering among the leaves in search of insect prey…

… and plenty of hoverflies, waspy ones such as Syrphus ribesii and Eristalis arbustorum and less marked species like Xylota segnis and a Cheilosia.

Moving on to the Hymenoptera (bees, wasps and ants), of course Honeybees were everywhere. One has to wonder how many other bees there would be if what are essentially livestock were not taking such a large proportion of our flowers’ resources. But  one didn’t make it: it was only when I looked at the image later that I noticed it was covered in flies, and at third glance that it was dead in the jaws of a White Crab-spider.

It is wonderful to hear the buzz of bumblebees again after the Silent Summers of the last two years. As always, Buff-tailed and White-tailed were most numerous (but with many more of the latter than last year), while Early Bumblebee and Vestal Cuckoo-bee (a species that lays its eggs in other bees’ nests) were also performing.

Solitary bees too. Whereas bumblebees and Honeybees store collected pollen in the saddlebags on their hind legs, others use the hairs under their abdomen, like this leafcutter Megachile on Cistus, and the mason bees on white Galactites.

Mining bees are also very important pollinators, but very had to identify: the ones here may be Andrena minutula, bicolor and flavipes.

Solitary digger wasps didn’t want to be left out of the picture either. These generally feed insects, especially caterpillars, to their developing young, but the adults require nectar: Cerceris rybyensis and Ectemnius continuus were foraging from the nectar-glands of  Euphorbia.

Campanula latifolia was a particular focus of pollinator activity. I was photographing (probably) a Gwynne’s Mining-bee deep in the flowers, but again only on examining the photos on the computer did I realise that it had been photobombed by something even more interesting: a Campanula Carpenter Bee, a first for the garden, and only rather thinly scattered across the county.

And our bee hotels were simply buzzing with life! It was an absolute delight to be immersed in so many insects in every part of the Gardens.

Depending on the weather, this summer could go either way from here. If drought persists, the promise of early summer may fizzle out, but if rain comes (within reason) we could be in for a bumper few months. And there are certainly the flowers coming along to help support such an abundance:

The next couple of Wildside Walks are planned for 18th July. If you are interested in joining me, please book through these links – 11am and 12am. And if moths are something you would like to know more about, there’s our Moth Morning the following day…

Midsummer moths in the Beth Chatto Gardens 2025

Beth Chatto Gardens, Britain's Wildlife, WildEssex, WildWivenhoe

Hopes were high for a bumper haul on the night before the solstice, with the nighttime temperature falling no lower than 19 degrees. And as we opened the trap it was clear that our group was in for a great time…

Everyone’s favourites of course are the hawkmoths. The colour was provided by fifteen Elephant Hawks and half a dozen Small Elephants, and the awe-inspiring size (and weight) by the single Privet Hawk. This took a liking to Jude, and a few seconds after she released it safely into a bush five metres away, it flew straight back, landed on her shorts, and stayed there for an hour. Must have known it was safe from an over-attentive Robin!

 

Cinnabars, Rosy Footmen and a couple of Brimstone Moths contributed to the wonderful kaleidoscope of colour …

… while Burnished Brass, Buff Tip and Buff Arches added metallic reflections, incredible camouflage and intricate designs.

And just a few others to show the huge range of colour and form, and their wonderful names: Peppered Moth, Clouded Border, Scorched Wing, Angle Shades, Treble Brown-spot, Small Waved Umber, Lackey, Beautiful Hook-tip and Common Emerald:

Apart from moths that normally live in the surrounding vegetation, it is also possible to catch species from afar whose migrations may bring them from far-flung corners of the continent. The L-album Wainscot and Delicate are both examples of moths that until recently were considered to be exclusively migrants to the British Isles, but may now have developed breeding populations. So whether the ones we caught were migrants or residents we shall never know.

Even smaller moths are interesting. Some of the smaller macromoths included Green Pug, Short-cloaked Moth and Festoon, the latter a scarce south-eastern species associated with ancient woodland and veteran trees.

Micromoths often slip under the radar because of their size, or are ignored because they are difficult or impossible to identify without killing them first, something we would never do. But some are as large or larger than the smaller macromoths, like the European Corn-borer, Archips podana and the aptly named Beautiful Chinamark. The latter is not only a new record for the garden, it is only thinly scattered through Essex and one of the few moth species whose caterpillars live underwater, feeding on our water plants.

Many micros though are smaller, and arguably less distinctive, though some like Argyresthia brockeella, only 5mm long, can only be described as spectacular. And then we get to the smallest of all, a minuscule 2.5mm long, the leaf-miners whose tiny caterpillars feed between the upper and lower surfaces of a leaf. There are many of them: this one is Ectoedemia subbimaculella whose larvae feed in oak leaves.

As well as moths, the trap also attracts other night-flying insects. These included water beetles and caddisflies, aquatic insects perhaps misinterpreting the light as moonglow reflecting of a pond, together with an Orange Ladybird, a mildew-feeding species that I had not previously found in the Gardens.

In total we recorded 100 species of moth (31 micros and 69 macros) with an estimated haul of  some 400 individual moths, the best such event we have run here in the past four years. The full list can be found at this link: bc-moths-june-25

All that and the chance to spend a little time taking in the beauty and tranquility of the garden before the gates are opened.

And never fear, after the group dispersed to enjoy the gardens’ delights more fully, we set about releasing the moths safely into vegetation, away from the attentions of a very inquisitive Robin, and another chance to spread the magic of moths among unsuspecting garden visitors!

If you are interested in joining one of these mornings, the next is on 19th July (booking at Marvellous Moth Morning – Beth Chatto’s Plants & Gardens) and keep an eye on the Beth Chatto website for future events next year.

 

#WildEssexWalks: Harwich and Landguard Point

Britain's Wildlife, Bug & Botany Walks, Travel by Rail, WildEssex

Phew! That was a hot one: midsummer, crystal blue skies, fierce sunlight, tempered only by a little welcome sea breeze by and on the water around Harwich and Felixstowe Dock. Our first port of call was Harwich Beach, an interesting area of low sand dunes, rich in specialised, often drought-tolerant plants.

The first small stretch of beach featured White Ramping-fumitory and Sea Beet, alongside fleshy Sea Sandwort, waxy-leaved Lyme Grass and tightly rolled but flowering Marram.

Moving around the corner to the larger beach, we were among Dittander (tasting of horseradish) and Rock Samphire (with more than a hint of diesel); Sea Holly and Sea Spurge; Red Valerian (in both red and pink forms) and Japanese Rose. The latter is hated by many, given that it can be invasive and overwhelming on sand, but this patch has barely  grown since I first saw it three decades ago. Bees love it, and so do I: the most intense rose scent you could ever imagine!

With views across to Landguard in Suffolk, shells on the beach were many and varied, including Portuguese Oysters, Common and Slipper Limpets, Periwinkles and Cockles. Then above the town Swifts were screaming, and on the grassy Mallow-covered banks, several Meadow Browns and a couple of Painted Ladies, probably newly emerged rather than newly arrived, given their pristine plumage.

Back through Harwich, past the many historical sites, and the geological display of ice-transported boulders dredged from the channel when it was last deepened; and also Jersey Cudweed, once an extreme rarity but now an expected colonist of block paving.

To Ha’penny Pier where most boarded the foot ferry to Felixstowe, a 15-minute crossing on flat calm seas, ideal opportunity to see the port and its shipping relatively close up. It is a remarkably complex bulk operation, but it does beg the question ‘how much of the stuff in those boxes do we actually need?’. Fast fashion has a lot to answer for…

A beach landing at Landguard led straight to the Viewpoint Café and a very pleasant lunch, before we headed out for another hour on foot around Landguard Point, taking a large loop around the perimeter of Landguard Fort, a strategic defensive establishment protecting the harbour over the past few centuries.

But for us it was the shingle flora that was the attraction, including Yellow Horned-poppy, Sea Kale and Viper’s-bugloss on the more bare shingle…

…Biting and White Stonecrops, along with Rest-harrow, in areas with greater vegetation cover (albeit heavily Rabbit-grazed)…

… and maritime scrub, incorporating Wild Privet (scenting the air alluringly and extravagantly), Tamarisk and Duke-of-Argyll’s Tea-tree, in flower and fruit.

Aside from the plants there were plenty of Linnets bouncing and twittering around the scrub, noisy packs of unruly teenage Starlings. Jude’s sharp eyes located the nemesis of some unfortunate caterpillar, covered in the eruptant pupae of a parasitic wasp, and in a final flourish, we found a Treble-bar moth, not surprisingly perhaps given the abundance of its St John’s-wort food plant on the peninsula.

And so it was back home once more on the ferry, and for most of us a very welcome drink in The Alma! This is likely to be our last WildEssex walk for a few months: thanks to those who have joined us today and earlier in the year. we went out on a high – and we WILL be back!

The Wild Side of Essex: Hockley Woods

Britain's Wildlife, WildEssex

The largest contiguous ancient woodland block in East Anglia, Hockley Woods sit astride the ‘southern Essex Alps’, a ridge of London Clay capped with sands and gravels, and have become a traditional fixture for Naturetrek day walks at this time of year, searching especially for one of our rarest butterflies, the Heath Fritillary. This year, I spent a couple of hours the previous day there with friends and this blog is an amalgam of the two days.

I am always worried by this trip. Given the butterflies have a short flying season of only three weeks or so, and that they can start as early as mid-May and as late as mid-June, there is no date that can guarantee sightings. Having said that I have never failed, but this year’s warm, droughty spring has brought things on a little early, so the fritillaries were numerous, but perhaps a little past their peak emergence date.

A very hot and humid spell meant that insects in general were more flighty than sometimes, but the number of insects was very noticeable. From the constant hum of Honeybees visiting Bramble flowers to the mini-swarms of flittering, feeding and flirting wood sprites, bioabundance was a joy to witness, especially given the relative dearth of insect life over the past couple of summers. Nature can bounce back quickly when conditions are right!

One reason why this site is so important for Heath Fritillary is the abundance of its larval food plant Common Cow-wheat in the coppices and rides. But apart from this, there were relatively few other plants in flower, the spring flush having now faded. Hedge Woundwort, Bush Vetch, Slender St. John’s-wort and Wood Avens were just a few of the relatively sparse flowers used to demonstrate some of the more distinctive plant families.

Thank goodness for the Bramble! Lining every ride-side and filling every gap in the leaf canopy, Bramble flowers were bursting forth and feeding all manner of insects, with bumblebees and Honeybees, and hoverfly and longhorn-beetle mimics of the stingers:

There was also a scattering of Common Figworts, with their beautiful if sombre flowers, and most showing signs of the associated Figwort Weevil – adults, spherical cocoons, slug-like larvae, and the grazed leaves.

Large Wood Ants’ nests are a real feature of the wood: it is unwise to stand too still for too long! The ants are everywhere, heaving, hauling and searching, as well as tending and milking the blackfly colonies on many a dock shoot. And one of the specialities of this wood, Four-spotted Leaf-beetle, a myrmicophilous species, inhabiting the ants’ nests, and known in Essex only from one other wood apart from the Hockley complex.

Oak (two species, plus hybrids), Hornbeam and Sweet Chestnut form the bulk of the woodland cover, but there are plenty of other species, some characteristic of spring-lines (Wild Cherry and Aspen), others very much restricted to ancient woodland site (Wild Service-tree, Woodland Hawthorn). And some with their own specialist leaf-feeders and gall-causers.

Deeper in the shade of the trees, birds were singing, especially Stock Doves, Blackcaps, Wrens, Chiffchaffs and Robins, calling Treecreepers, Nuthatches and Buzzards, and noisy bands of fledgling Great, Blue and Long-tailed Tits. Following spring drought, there were few fungi in evidence, but blue-stained wood infected by Chlorociboria aeruginascens was still to be found.

At the other end of the light/shade spectrum, a walk along the woodland edge produced singing Skylarks over the arable fields. Ox-eye Daisies were flowering and Salsify fruiting in the field margins, here a trues sense of place looking down from the lofty heights, over Southend, and across the Thames to the North Downs.

A selection of other insects from the walks included the bugs Closterotomus trivialis (a relative newcomer to the UK, first found only 15 years ago), Bracken Planthopper (despite the abundance of its foodplant, only four other recorded sites in south Essex), Common Damsel-bug and Red-legged Shield-bug.

And much more!

Despite us being in the depths of the ‘June Gap’, there were a few other butterflies around, including small numbers of Holly Blue, Speckled Wood, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Comma, Small Tortoiseshell and Meadow Brown…

… but it was the fantastic fritillaries that stole the show: the primary reason for our visit and the main memory we shall take away from it. Hats off to Rochford District Council for striking such a good balance between human recreation and nature!

Warley Place: a nature reserve like no other

Britain's Wildlife, WildEssex

During a full career working in nature conservation in Essex, I was privileged to visit most of  the best (and worst!) bits of the county multiple times. But there is one nature reserve I managed to get to only once, Warley Place, near Brentwood. I was there maybe 30 years ago, specifically to see the drifts of Wild Daffodils.

But at the end of April, the prospect of a radio interview took me back to Brentwood. And so I leapt at the chance to see Warley Place once gain, albeit in rather dull and cool conditions.

The daffodils were all but over, but botanically it was just lovely. Not surprising, given the history of the site as the former home and garden of the noted Victorian plantswoman, Ellen Wilmott.

 

From an early age Miss Wilmott set about transforming the garden, introducing traditional features such as hothouse and a walled garden, as well as more ambitious land-shaping like the Alpine gorge, created on a natural slope with r‏ocks imported from Yorkshire.

Ellen died in 1934, almost penniless as she had spent her inherited wealth on creating and maintaining this and other gardens.  Over the 20th century the house and garden fell into disrepair; it was taken over by the Essex Wildlife Trust in 1977, and since then the garden has been managed for wildlife.

Much of the decaying building and hard landscaping remain, as do probably some of the original plantings, though sadly not Ellen’s treasured filmy ferns for which she provided a specially constructed cave.

But it is nature rewinding itself, covering the scars of the last century that left a lasting impression on me. Along of course with the sheets of Bluebell and Wild Garlic, the views over to central London, and the peace and quiet, apart from birdsong. And sadly, the intrusive road traffic noise …

A curse of our times, though who am I to judge? I drove there, and then through Brentwood High Street (a revelation to me which made me think we should pay a visit some time) and to the Phoenix FM studio. The interview is linked below for any who want to listen, about me, my life and career, my work with Beth Chatto Gardens, my new book and my involvement with the campaign to save Wivenhoe Old King George Oak. The interview begins around 25 minutes into the show…

Earth Day Special! INTERVIEW: Dr Chris Gibson

Eleanor’s best photos – Meanwhile Garden & Wivenhoe

Britain's Wildlife, Eleanor's photos, Travel by Rail, WildEssex, WildWivenhoe

It’s been another lovely couple of days with Granny and Papa. We went on the train to Colchester to find bugs and other creatures in the Meanwhile Garden. There were big caterpillars and lots of bees and beetles in the flowers.

In Wivenhoe I took some pictures of insects on Hollyhocks and Daisy, and other flowers and leaves.

 

And my favourite Poppies…every year I love looking at these. Papa loves the picture at the bottom so much that he wishes he had taken it! I hope you love it too!