At the end of last week I took a walk along the river Chelmer, leaving just after six am to walk from Barnes Mill at Chelmer Village to Paper Mill Lock, to the north of Little Baddow. I could hear Skylarks singing from the long grass on the Baddow Meads and Warblers singing from the cover of the riverbank and as I walked east along the towpath I was accompanied by Whitethroats and Sedge Warblers. Near Sandford Lock I paused to listen to the resident blackbird, distinguished by it's imitation of a distant police siren, and continued on past the reeds and under the A12 bypass, the river now swinging north and flowing parallel to the noisy road. A big compensation here is the presence of the fishing lakes and nearby reedbeds, good spots for Reed Buntings, Sedge Warblers, Reed Warblers and Common Terns. Three Terns were flying back and forth over the lakes and two peeled off to fly across the river in front of me and head off to the east.
Insects abounded as I continued downstream, the most visible being the Common Blue Damselflies and Banded Demoiselles, big concentrations found here that saw one or two fly up with each footstep. Passing Cuton Lock with it's WW2 pillbox I followed the river eastwards, away from the town and the drone of the A12 and into quieter countryside... until you hear the noise of the work being done to restore Stonham's Lock and the heavy trucks coming and going along a rough track next to the river nearby, kicking up clouds of dust as they thunder by. To the west of Stonham's Lock the river is idyllic and here I found the creatures I'd come this way in search of... Scarce Chaser dragonflies! Chasers are a type of dragonfly I'd not seen and Scarce Chasers are, well, as the name suggests: they are quite scarce! There are only certain waterways in the UK that support these fantastic insects, although the populations in those rivers are healthy, which certainly seemed the case here as there were lots to be found all along the river.
Passing Stonham's Lock I heard a lovely call, the pee-wit fluting of a Lapwing! A common bird that I see not often enough by far, but here five were flying overhead and calling, a great sight to see and something to really warm my heart. I left them behind and continued to Little Baddow Lock, watching a Common Tern flying upstream as I crossed over the road bridge. Here I began to see more walkers and joggers, yet the river still felt remarkably secluded and I was able to enjoy the surroundings in a fair peace and solitude. Ahead I heard the unmistakable sound of a Cuckoo, repeating it's call rapidly from the willows across the river, then saw it fly quickly yet with rather leisurely wingbeats across to a tree on the south side. I spent a minute trying to locate it then saw it disappear upstream, a few fading calls from a distant perch were the last I heard.
And so I arrived at Paper Mill Lock, welcomed by a gang of scrapping Moorhens who, legs flailing at each other, made a din to end the quietude I'd enjoyed for the last mile or so. Here the mood of the river changed, boats lining the banks and people coming to and fro. Benches and tea rooms, dogs and children, the sound of canoes dragged from their stowages lending this lock a very busy and not entirely welcome air, at least so it seemed to me after the last couple of miles. I walked to the road at the far side of the lock and watched the swallows hunting insects over the water then, checking my map and considering my energy levels and the state of the sky I decided to turn back along the river homewards.
Retracing my steps I saw Common Terns and passed Mallards and ducklings at Little Baddow lock, more Scarce Chasers, Sedge Warblers, a Great Crested Grebe with a humbug-coloured chick and a number of Large Skipper butterflies before reaching Barnes Mill again and heading for home.
Male Scarce Chaser
