New Year’s Day walk to Stone Point
After what has seemed like forever, today was my first opportunity to wander by the sea in good light for a while and the first time since I completed my move to the Essex coast in early December. A moderate north westerly made me wonder whether I would see my top of the list target birds for the day but as it was 1st January, I couldn’t fail to add a substantial ticks to my count for the year.
The ubiquitous Turnstone was the first to show as I made my way north from the end of the promenade at the Naze Tower. There seemed to be a massive turnout of families picking over the shingle strewn sand as I descended the steps to the beach, hopeful that they would uncover fossilised sharks’ teeth on the recently uncovered sand. The Turnstones could be seen working their way through the ‘moonscape’ of the London Clay pools of the lower beach, picking up stones, probably to uncover small crustaceans and molluscs.
As I walked northwards, I couldn’t help but be concerned for the rapidly eroding cliffs of sand. The increasingly exposed underlay of clay, made it seem entirely feasible that they will disappear within my lifetime and hoped that I will be welcoming Sand Martins back for at least another year. Maybe I will have to be satisfied by the nearby colony at Wrabness, come Spring!
Erosion threatened Sand Martins in Tendring
It wasn’t long before the Brent geese started to appear at the tide edge, making their distinctive noisy guttural honking but keeping cautiously afloat on account of the dog exercising that was going on. I had to be philosophical and relaxed about the spectacle. Wild birds scattered liberally at the water’s edge with a big hint of wildlife enthusiasts levelling binoculars and telescopic lenses in their direction, that failed to sensitise the dog owners that it might not be such a good idea to throw sticks and balls seaward. It would be possible for everyone to enjoy the Bank Holiday and I suppose it is something I have to get used to but I might have a more emotional reaction at the time of the next one, when birds will be well into the breeding season.
Pale Bellied Brent geese moving in with the ebb
Sanderling
Dunlin
Dunlin
The day was looking quite promising, apart from some heavier cloud in the distant west as I strode out towards Stone Point. This was a landmark I had not reached before by foot but I had been warned about the danger of being cut off by the tide. Confident that the next high water was several hours away, I got ambitious thoughts of perhaps making the creeks and seeing some Common Seals or in disturbing some of the Short Eared owls, which have been seen just before Christmas in the further most dunes there. I thought that by this time the ‘shorties’ have probably settled on the site for the winter, or so I convinced myself, so the urgency wasn’t so great.
A ‘curfew’ of Curlews (a new collective term for me!) flew in from the south, their size really accentuated by the smallest of our waders, which now had a growing numbers of Dunlin mixing with the Sanderlings.
Curlew
Dunlins
As I got further along the strand, so the human ‘intrusion’ diminished and the dunes, marshes, drying creeks and beach became quieter. I have not experienced a beach quite like this before, with the London Clay becoming more rugged and acting as the only sea defence to prevent the North Sea from engulfing Hamford Water completely. However, there is a resilience, which I don’t profess to know about, which provides a permanence to some inshore sandbars and shingle spits, which must be the cause of the coastline remaining this way.
I was momentarily distracted from the geology and wildlife by the intrusion of what looked like a private helicopter coming in from the sea. No military markings or police or coastguard livery, which reminded me of the fact that Essex has one of the longest coastlines of the country, stretching some 350 miles. 
At one stage, I slipped my way onto the lower beach to investigate the remains of a predated conger eel but the prospect of a catastrophic slip on the film of clay mud that more or less covered the entirety, had me retracing my boot prints quite carefully and quickly. 
Mysteriously, this carcus was missing head and tail!
Lots of gulls we’re on the beach now as I reached the point where I could have been cut off by the tide near Stone Marsh. A Rock pipit was calling from the edges of the marsh and then appeared momentarily and I snatched a shot but by now the sky was filled with dark but high clouds, nevertheless things looked safe as far as a downpour was concerned.
Herring gull
Black headed gull
Rock pipit
Great black backed gull
On reaching Stone Point, I met a couple taking their lunch who were scoping Pye Sand, where there were a good number of Oyster Catchers and Brent Geese. We also detected a couple of Grey Plovers, which were apparently using this as a stop off point before moving onto their beach banquets at low tide. The couple confirmed the continued presence of a Snow bunting, which had landed close to them. As they moved off around Stone point, I decided to hang about in the vicinity, as the vegetation suggested it was one of the few feeding areas for this species.
Oyster catchers and Brent geese at Pye Sand
Grey plover
The only man made sea defences of Hamford Water became visible at Stone Point and these were a number of old sunken iron barges, which give the impression that there had been a military landing at some point but I am assured it was done only as a tidal defence.
Canada geese in front of old barge sea defence
Scouring the dunes, my patience was rewarded with the sighting of the Snow bunting. It emerged from a clump of Marram grass, flying about 10 metres away and settling on the shingle, which made it incredibly difficult to see, especially as it stood motionless. Despite, the falling light it allowed me to capture its presence in a photo or two. Hopefully there are more around as it looked quite lonely.
Snow bunting
A solitary’lonely’ bird
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