This page was updated on Saturday, 09-Jul-2022 09:23:50 BST

WILDLIFE PICNIC - June 11th 2022

This event was run in conjuction with the Wickford Wildlife Society.

Report (by Martin Singleton)

Our first wildlife picnic took place on Saturday 11th June. The weather was fine and sunny but very windy at times. The large windbreak seemed a good idea in theory but proved hard to set up and fell down pretty quickly - a lesson for next year, work out how to set it up before bringing it along! Anyway, once settled, we had a very pleasant afternoon watching the wildlife of the lake and listening to the birds singing, which included Lesser Whitethroat and Reed Warbler. We also had a moth land on my beer bottle, which was later identified as a probable Marbled Minor. Highlight of the day was a Common Tern fishing the lake and successfully catching a few small ones. A very pleasant day and certainly something we will repeat next year. Sighting details are below.

Birds - 18 Species

Common Name Scientific Name Date Total Count Notes
Barn SwallowHirundo rustica11/06/202233 over the lake
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus11/06/202222 over the lake
Canada GooseBranta canadensis11/06/20221313 adults with 6 fast growing chicks
Carrion CrowCorvus corone11/06/202222 hanging around the lake
Common ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybita11/06/20223At least 3 singing in the hedges
Common MoorhenGallinula chloropus11/06/20223At the lake
Common TernSterna hirundo11/06/20221A really nice adult bird fishing
Common Wood PigeonColumba palumbus11/06/20223Loafing around the lake
DunnockPrunella modularis11/06/202211 heard singing on the island
Eurasian CootFulica atra11/06/20224At the lake
Eurasian MagpiePica pica11/06/20223Arguing the crows at the lake
Eurasian Reed WarblerAcrocephalus scirpaceus11/06/20223At least 3 singing in the reedbeds
European Herring GullLarus argentatus11/06/202222 overhead
Feral Pigeon (Feral Rock Dove)Columba livia 'feral'11/06/202211 overhead
Grey HeronArdea cinerea11/06/202222 flew over the lake but did not land
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus11/06/20221Over the lake
Lesser WhitethroatCurruca curruca11/06/202211 sang in the hedge near the lake constantly
MallardAnas platyrhynchos11/06/202273 males and 4 females

Butterflies - 1 Species

Common Name Scientific Name Date Total Count Notes
Small TortoiseshellAglais urticae11/06/20225Several flying around but not landing due to the wind

Moths - 1 Species

Common Name Scientific Name Date Total Count Notes
Marbled MinorOligia strigilis11/06/20221Sent a photo to the Essex moth recorder who advised that this was probably a Marbled Minor but should be recorded as Marbled Minor agg (Oligia strigilis agg,) as it is impossible to distinguish from its close relatives without dissecting it!
To view a few photos of the day, in particular the Tern fishing please click on the link below:

Tern Fishing