New blog - local patch sites
17th March 2020
I have started writing a daily blog which can be found at SS15 wildlife watching.
Arising from the spread of COVID-19 in the UK, the Government brought in advisory and mandatory measures in respect of "social distancing" and "self-isolation". As a consequence, all my planned spring and early summer wildlife watching trips around East Anglia and to Somerset, Wales and the Scottish Highlands have quickly disappeared from my calendar. Furthermore, a provisional itinerary in respect of a late August/early September trip across the Bay of Biscay and around Asturias and Castille y Leon in northern Spain has not progressed beyond initial research.
So, after much thought (well, actually none), plan B was "local patch" birding. In fact, given the restrictions on what the Government describe as "all but essential travel", it is the only solution available to me if I want to have any experience of wildlife and the outdoor environment. It was not difficult for me to choose a local patch since I needed a site or sites close to (within 1 mile) my home so that there was no need to travel by public transport or rental car.
This, therefore, confined me to the SS15 postcode area. The SS15 postcode area is around 1.8 miles north west of Basildon town centre in Essex and contains Laindon, Lee Chapel North, Noak Bridge, Steeple View and Southfields.
I have actually chosen 3 sites within the SS15 postcode area:
St. Nicholas Church and surrounding areas …. my established "local patch"
Noak Bridge Nature Reserve
Gloucester Park
Arising from the spread of COVID-19 in the UK, the Government brought in advisory and mandatory measures in respect of "social distancing" and "self-isolation". As a consequence, all my planned spring and early summer wildlife watching trips around East Anglia and to Somerset, Wales and the Scottish Highlands have quickly disappeared from my calendar. Furthermore, a provisional itinerary in respect of a late August/early September trip across the Bay of Biscay and around Asturias and Castille y Leon in northern Spain has not progressed beyond initial research.
So, after much thought (well, actually none), plan B was "local patch" birding. In fact, given the restrictions on what the Government describe as "all but essential travel", it is the only solution available to me if I want to have any experience of wildlife and the outdoor environment. It was not difficult for me to choose a local patch since I needed a site or sites close to (within 1 mile) my home so that there was no need to travel by public transport or rental car.
This, therefore, confined me to the SS15 postcode area. The SS15 postcode area is around 1.8 miles north west of Basildon town centre in Essex and contains Laindon, Lee Chapel North, Noak Bridge, Steeple View and Southfields.
I have actually chosen 3 sites within the SS15 postcode area:
St. Nicholas Church and surrounding areas …. my established "local patch"
Noak Bridge Nature Reserve
Gloucester Park