Blog

10 June 2014 Winter in summer

The Thurrock IKEA only opens at 10am on weekdays. But the Blackwall and Dartford Tunnels - our two possible approaches - are both chocka for hours either side of rush hour. I decided to set off early, and was driving eastwards along the A13 in Barking shortly after 6am. A large bird flying low over the road, heading southwest, caught my eye. Astonishingly, it was an Osprey! My first in London and, I think, only my second non-breeding bird in Britain. Stopping at Rainham Marshes produced another surprise: a Water Shrew that scuttled across the path between dykes. Too quick for photos, but a nice view. Back-up was provided by a calling Cuckoo and plenty of Reed and Sedge Warblers. Then onto Thurrock for a quick wander round Chafford Gorges, a chalkpit reserve of which I am peculiarly fond. This fondness dates from seeing my first exampels of three orchid species there, courtesy of then-warden Adam Taylor: Bird's-nest Orchid, Green-flowered Helleborine and Broad-leaved Helleborine. Green-flowered is a rarity in Essex, and Adam wrote about discovering it in the 'Tales from the Bush' section of BBC Wildlife. While I couldn't find any of this trio (too early for the helleborines, too overgrown for the Bird's-nest), I enjoyed a plethora of Common Spotted Orchids and a score of fading Common Twayblades. But the highlight was a Chafford speciality: Round-leaved Wintergreen. This scarce plant, more usually found in dune slacks, is absurdly common here, and there were hundreds flowering. Winter in summer, indeed. And not a flatpack in sight.