Welcome to Friends of the Wick Country Park

Crickets & Dragonflies

Sunday 25th July 2010

We were blessed with yet another warm day and our highest attendance ever of forty five people. The main issue that arose was that due to the high number of people attending we did not have enough nets and magnifying glasses but fortunately everyone was prepared to share so that no one missed out trying to catch either crickets or grasshoppers lurking in the longer grass around the edge of the park. Some of the children found it quite funny watching their parents attempt to recreate their mis-spent youth with not much success. Ranger Mark had already done a recky around the park a bit earlier and was confident we would be able to catch something.
It was not long before one of the younger members of the party who was more adept at using a net caught a Roesels cricket. We continued to move long the path and quickly managed to capture both Meadow & Field grasshoppers although some did manage to escape when trying to extract them from the net
As with previous years we managed to catch sight of the brightly coloured Wasp spider, patiently waiting for its prey to get caught in its web.
It was pleasing to see there were a number of butterflies about, particularly the Gatekeeper & Meadow Brown. Whilst they are fairly common, the increase in numbers is a success for the development of the park. Both are fairly similar in colouring but the Gatekeeper is slightly smaller, more orange and having two white pupils on the eye spots unlike one on the Meadow Brown.
As we headed towards the lake we caught a few Conehead crickets. On reaching the edge Ranger Mark felt that due to fairly strong winds we may not see as many dragonflies/damsel flies as they preferred/were more active in calmer conditions. Sadly the prediction became true and only saw an individual black tailed skimmer. Also a fleeting glimses of Common Blue and Blue Tailed damsel flies. After a while, despite some patience, we were not fortunate enough to see any more species and called it a day, heading back to the pavilion for tea, orange juice & biscuits.

Crickets & Dragonflies

Sunday 16th August 2009

On a warm and sunny afternoon it was great to see both adults and children eagerly arriving to seek out insects around the park. Armed with nets,magnifying glasses and identification charts we set off with the first stop being the dipping pond besides the pavilion. The first spot of the day was a Ruddy Darter resting close to the water's edge. As we went to go onto the bridge a common lizard was seen basking in the afternoon warmth. We stood for a few seconds on the bridge and very soon we spotted our first Emerald Damsel fly flitting across the pond.
With little other action we moved off around the hill, stopping after a few hundred yards in silence to listen for the chirping sounds of both crickets and grasshoppers. With grasshoppers it is the male that makes the sounds to attract the females to mate. With ranger Mark identifying the areas where there was activity, we headed into the longer grass. With nets sweeping it wasn't long before we managed, after a little practice and effort, to catch Field & Meadow Grasshoppers, along with Roesel's & Short Winged Crickets. By use of the magnifying glasses we were able to see the clear and distinctive features on what we had caught.
As we moved towards the Pill Box we saw a clearly pregnant and beautifully coloured Wasp Spider sitting in the middle of an intricately weaved web. Just further along we also caught a glimpse of a beautiful Cinnabar caterpillar.
We then headed towards the lake with the hope of spotting some dragonflies and damsel flies. We were not disappointed as there was an abundance of both the Common Blue Damsel Fly and the Black Tailed Skimmer. Having waited a few minutes we were fortunate to spot to Hawker Dragonflies moving at speed along the edge of the lake, passing by on a couple of occasions before heading off towards the reed beds.

A thoroughly enjoyable afternoon was had by both children and adults.

Paul Clarke

Roman artefacts from The Wick Country Park

31st December 2008

During 2001 several arable fields were landscaped to create the contours of the Park we see today. One of the many diggers on site was assigned to dig out a section of the bank of the stream that runs through the Park. The driver of the digger was asked to create the small pond that now lies in the middle of North Benfleet Brook which runs through the Park. Fortunately the digger driver was keeping his eye on the soil that he dug out of the bank. At one stage he stopped digging and went to have a closer look at something that he had spotted in the soil. He had seen what looked like broken pieces of red pottery. He recalled that on a previous job elsewhere he had found similar pieces of pottery and been told that they were from the Roman period. He decided to put the pieces to one side for further investigation.

I collected the pieces of pottery and took them to show to Sam Weller of the Billericay and District Archaeology Society. He confirmed that they were pieces from the late Roman period. Whilst most were shards of broken pottery, he pointed out one that was part of a roof tile, which suggested that there may have been a dwelling in the area some 1,700 years before.

I was telling fellow Friend Rose Johnson about the above finds and she told me that she was not surprised. She told me that about 20 years ago her sons used to play in the cornfields that are now occupied by the Park. They often came home with bits of broken red pottery that they had found in the fields. Rose knows her pottery and had identified the pieces as being Roman.

Roman material is often found in Essex, but material from The Wick Country Park was a pleasant surprise. But why there? Well, here is one possibility. If you look at a map of south Essex and draw a line from Canvey Island (where there was a Roman port) to Chelmsford (the local Roman garrison), you will find that the line passes close by the site of The Wick Country Park, and Beauchamps School where Roman material was found in a 1960s excavation. So it may just be that some of the pieces were dropped by people travelling between the port and the garrison. Alternatively, there is the fascinating prospect that Romans were once living in the area that we now know as The Wick Country Park!

So if you are walking in the park and see a bit of red pottery in the soil, pick it up – it might be another piece of Roman pottery.

Cliff Thornton

Crickets & Dragonflies

Sunday 10th August 2008

Nature lovers who were unable to get to this walk missed a real treat.

The weather was kind to us once again and the walk started on a bright, dry, if somewhat breezy note. Among our first finds was a wasp spider. You can see from the photograph how remarkably like a wasp the spider is - reputably to deter predators. One speculates how long it will be before predators become aware of this ploy and start to attack wasps to find out if they are wasps or spiders, with regrettable consequences for the wasp!

Our next few finds were meadow and field grasshoppers and new member Cliff suggested a prize for the first person to find a cricket. A few moments later he would have won because he found a Roesel’s bush cricket.

Many other finds followed in quick succession, cone Head cricket (long and short wing), assassin bug, speckled bush cricket, dark bush cricket (male and female) and a suspected common green cricket.

In spite of the moderate breeze that was blowing a number of butterflies were to be seen. Several meadow browns, a speckled wood, and Martin managed to net an excellent specimen of a large white. A common darter dragonfly was also seen.
Altogether an excellent morning which ended too soon with refreshments in the pavilion, courtesy of Christine and Gill.

Eric Dolby
Friend of the Wick Country Park