ON THE MIGRATION LINES

Southend has the great advantage for those interested in birds of being on one of the main immigration lines.

Those migratory birds that come to this country to nest in many cases only remain here a few days and then move on, as suitable surroundings have become fewer and fewer form building and disturbance by the increasing population. Moreover in a community where keepering has practically ceased the increase in numbers of jays, magpies, carrion crows and rooks has become a menace to all other birds, and has already practically wiped out the breeding stocks of lapwings and redshanks on the marshes.

However, a good many of the warblers still hold their own in patches of woodland, and the nightingale is comparatively common, doubtless from its habitat of nesting in the densest of thickets. All three species of woodpecker appear to be on the increase, and nest well into the town, as also does the amusing spotted flycatcher. The very local and scarce bearded tit has appeared in two successive winters and it is hope it may become established, and the Lapland bunting is now a regular winter visitor.

In winter the widgeon still visit the local mudflats in large numbers, and also the brent geese; during the war the geese arrived regularly at the beginning of November, but they are shy birds and today usually wait for hard weather before coming to Leigh.

The widgeon are usually accompanied by a few pintail, mallard, teal, golden-eyes and an occasional pochard, whilst the goosander, redbreasted merganser, scaup, and scoter are in the habit of cruising a short distance from the shore. Rare and occasional winter visitors are the bittern, spoonbill, avocet and eider, and a flamingo was unfortunately shot on Foulness just before the war.

The black-headed and common gulls both frequent local parks and playing fields in the autumn and winter whilst the herring and greater and lesser black-backed are usually to be seen on the shore. In rough weather in winter both the great skua and glaucous gulls have been identified.

Rare visitors to the district which have been satisfactorily determined in the last few years have been the wax-wing, which for a short time one winter established itself on the hawthorns on the railway bank in the heart of the town, the great grey shrike, hoopoe, golden oriole and night-heron.

Our native hawks, the kestrel and sparrowhawk, which were formerly not uncommon, have been wiped out from eating small birds which have fed on seed corn treated with poisonous dressings, but both the peregrine, merlin, rough-legged and common buzzards appear at times in the autumn and winter, whilst the hen harrier is seen, and too often shot, almost every year. Several kinds of owl still breed with us, of these the little and brown owls are the commoner, the long-eared is occasional, whilst the charming and useful barn owl, though a resident, is all too rare. The short-eared owl is a regular autumn visitant to the marshes, and a pair remained to breed in 1954.