Nature walk taking in Stansted Airport lagoons, the Flitch Way and Thremhall Park café

Nature Notes columnist Jono Forgham covers your fortnightly look at nature around Bishop’s Stortford

Following a nine-day stay in St Mark’s, the National Bowel Hospital, in north-west London, five days later my wife, Wendy, appeared most eager to take me for a drive and leave me somewhere – so I could have a brief walk for my article, she stressed. Me being stuck indoors for six days is virtually unheard of and I think Wendy’s huge quantity of patience was beginning to wear thin!

Consequently, I was abandoned in the car park of Takeley’s Holy Trinity Church, ready for a wander around the airport lagoons and then along the Flitch Way to Thremhall Park. Not being permitted to carry heavy objects, I had decided to leave my largest lens at home and, as it happened, it was not required.

I wandered over the field back towards the B1256 and into an open flower meadow. Here, there was a wide range of colours from the knapweeds, wild carrots, bird’s-foot trefoils and thistles.

The wild carrot, rather similar to cow parsley, can be identified by it having a few red petals in the centre of the white flower. Another plant that was in bloom in profusion was ragwort, but a check on several of these failed to show the frequently found caterpillar of the cinnabar moth.

I headed on, having counted 100-plus meadow brown butterflies. I went through a wide gap in the hedgerow and my first view of two of the three lagoons.

Upon the smallest one, a successful brood of tufted duck paddled towards the centre of the water. A few mallards but nothing else, so my attention was drawn to the more northerly and larger lagoon.

A scan around the muddy perimeter showed there to be no waders, just more wildfowl resting, whilst others were upon the water. Mainly mallards, but some coots, moorhen and a pair of little grebes.

I picked up the spit of land that runs between the two largest lagoons. Here, plenty more wildflowers with butterflies in attendance. My flexibility is not too good at present, so I just tried to get as close as possible for snaps of gatekeeper, common blue, peacock and marbled white. The latter were as spectacular as ever and always a joy to see.

A little further away, several small brown butterflies that may have been female common blues or brown argus. These two species are very similar and good views are required to confirm species.

Damselflies wended their way through the grasses and plant stems, mainly azure and common blue damsels, with several blue-tailed as well. It seemed like the whole area was alive with insects as the temperatures increased towards 30C and I was beginning to wilt a little. I thought I would do a check on the largest lagoon and then off to the shade of the Flitch Way.

I arrived at the northern end of Lagoon 1, just in time to watch a green sandpiper fly off from a small expanse of mud. This is a regular bird for this habitat, appearing to be present all year round apart from late April to mid-July, when it heads off to its breeding grounds. These are invariably waterlogged woodland habitats in Scandinavia and northern Russia, where it lays eggs in abandoned nests, frequently those made by thrush species.

I spent a little time at the water’s edge, where a female emperor dragonfly was busy laying small clutches of eggs on the underside of leaves. Also present, many common darter dragonflies and, among these, the very similar ruddy darter.

The first one I noticed was a young one, known as teneral. It had more ornage tones than scarlet red to the abdomen but still showed the diagnostic all-black legs. The common darter boasts a fine yellow stripe down the legs.

On the far side of the lagoon, a solitary mute swan grazed and the constant burbling of little grebes kept me checking the surface for any newly hatched chicks. Little grebes often have a second or even third brood that can mean they still have youngsters in early September. However, today there were just adults and almost fully grown first-year birds.

Overhead, a customary common buzzard as I checked a wilting yellow flower – a recently gone over common toadflax – before I picked up the footpath at the southern end of the site, passed the treatment works (where there was a single grey wagtail) and emerged onto the road by the last building in Takeley Street, a second-hand car establishment.

I crossed the road and headed under the old railway bridge on the lane that leads to Hatfield Forest car park. Immediately after the bridge, there is a path that takes the wanderer onto the old railway line at Stane Street Halt. Good to see the bench here has been replaced with a new one and that new signage tells the history of the station.

I headed east in comfortable dappled shade. Several fallow deer moved away in the forest to my left and both green and great spotted woodpeckers called from tall oaks.

Now out of the direct sunlight, I felt more comfortable, although I was becoming aware that my body was saying enough is enough. Fortunately, I had only a few hundred yards to go before I reached the café at Thremhall Park, where I enjoyed a coffee and a cold drink.

In all, a wander of just under three miles – the most I had done in one walk since the operation.

I had a quick check on the wooded area and moat near the café lawn. A resplendent magpie moth posed well for a photo and several more damselflies, almost all azures, wound their way around my legs.

I phoned Wendy, hoping that she had enjoyed her few hours’ peace and quiet and was therefore amenable to me returning home. Fortunately, she was, and it wasn’t long before I was back home with enough photos and notes for a slightly shorter article than usual.

Finally, I offer my thanks to all readers who have commented upon my recuperation over the last few weeks and those who took time to send me personal wishes (some of them even wishing me well!) as well as the many residents who took up my challenge while I was in St Mark’s to forward me photos of insects from their gardens. It was a great way of passing hospital time. Many thanks.

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