SEARCHING FOR SNOWIES

Walked to East Mersea Point, pictured above, on a blustery Friday 20th with a few spits of rain in the wind. It was worth the walk as the small group of 8 snow buntings were still on the beach, having been seen four days ago on theTuesday. On that occasion there was also a ninth bird that flew off separately from the flock of eight. The small flock scuttled over the shingle along the tideline, searching for seeds as they went. They blended in well with colours of the beach except when they took to the wing and then you noticed the white wings flickering in flight.

The incoming tide brought masses of waders onto the mud close to the shore with 1000 dunlin feeding along with 500 knot and 1000 roosting golden plover. All the waders took to the air in several large flocks and headed off in different directions into the river Colne. Other waders noted were 20 distant avocets and a single bar-tailed godwit. Also on the mud were 15 shelduck and 5 little egrets.
In the river Colne a common seal briefly stuck its head out of the water before submerging back under again.

The water levels in the grazing fields are still rising with recent rains and the pools are filled with lots of wigeon and teal totalling about 500 birds. Also present were a few gadwall and shoveler while some of the waders enjoyed it too with 20 redshank, 3 black-tailed godwits and a snipe.

There seemed to be a few more small birds in the park feeding in bushes still with some berries. The first flock of fieldfares to stop off at the park this autumn were seen near the pond with 16 birds landing at the top of a tree. A few chaffinches, greenfinches, blue and great tits, blackbirds and a great spotted woodpecker were all in bushes beside this path pictured above. A flock of 25 goldfinches were feeding in the alder trees in a hedge near the pond.

The brent geese have been enjoying the taste of winter wheat in fields near the park either side of Bromans Lane Having started to feed in the fields a week ago, the big flock which totalled 1000 birds on Tuesday, has already taken its toll on the crop. Today there were about 300 birds in one of the fields early in the day, while in the other one about 100 lapwings were present.

A weasel out on the hunt for food made a few of the small birds anxious with robin, wren and great tit all making lots of scolding noises. The moth trap put out over Tuesday night managed to attract only 3 moths on a windy but partially clear evening with 2 Decembers and yellow-line quaker moth.

DUSK BY THE STROOD

It was better weather on Sunday 15th than the wind and rain of the previous two days. Alongside the Strood Channel pictured above at dusk, all sorts of waders and wildfowl could be heard in the still conditions.

Amongst the flock of 400 brent geese feeding in a field by the Strood Hill, was a black brant. A slow scan through the flock with the binoculars revealed this race of brent goose with a very white flank patch, as opposed to the greyish flank patches of the other geese beside it. The rest of the body appeared blacker above and below than the other brent too. The bird stood out quite easily too, as it was easy to relocate in the flock again if you took your eyes off it. All the geese took off just after the sun set all of them calling loudly as they passed overhead, on their way to roost either in the Strood Channel or further over towards Salcott Channel.

Black brants are the North American race / Eastern Siberian race of the brent goose and are rare visitors to the Essex coast in winter. In recent years sightings have been almost annual here on the Island with the last one being seen earlier this year here by the Strood.

The low tide meant there was a good mix of the usual waders with 50 knot being the most interesting and dunlin and redshank being the most numerous and widespread. Other waders seen included curlew, black-tailed godwit, oystercatcher, lapwing, golden plover and grey plover. Small groups of wigeon and teal were gathered at various points along the Channel and there seemed to be more shelduck around too. A marsh harrier flew over the Ray Island saltings scattering other birds as it went.

As the light faded 4 corn buntings flew along the seawall calling and then headed west over to Copt Hall. Small flocks of pied wagtails totalling about 30 birds were noted as they headed off to their evening roost. Two water rails called from adjacent clumps of reeds in the borrowdyke with one bird glimpsed very briefly as it flew into the reedbed. The large dark profile of a grey heron in the fading light, slowly flapped its way over the seawall and into the Channel.

WET, WILD AND WINDY

This was the best place to be on Friday 13th, pictured above is the view from inside the hide at the park while sheltering from another torrential downpour. This was about the only place where some wildlife watching was possible while it rained cats and dogs outside.

Andy Field and I both had the day off so we sat in the hide and counted all the various wildfowl on the pond to pass the time. For the ducks, all this water seemed to be the ideal weather, although the really heavy bursts of rain brought most of the ducks out of the reeds and into the open water.

Only four species of duck were present initially with 50 mallard, 12 gadwall, 2 teal and 4 tufted ducks noted. Ten coots and a little grebe were the other birds present while a pair of wigeon dropped in briefly but no sign of any shoveler. Two snipe flew over and a few moorhens were seen in the field beside the pond.

A flock of a dozen long-tailed tits flew north from a hedge near the pond, ten stock doves flew around the back of the copse and 3 goldfinches flew away from some alder trees.


Two visits to the Reeveshall seawall were done dodging the rain on both Friday and again on Saturday. On Friday some of the 9 marsh harriers appeared to be waiting on Langenhoe Point for the late afternoon roost even although there was still about 3 hours to go. Two other marsh harriers were seen perched on a bush and a fencepost on Reeveshall.

The tide was out and plenty of the usual waders on show along the Pyefleet Channel but nothing of any note. In the Channel were a couple of great crested grebes while a flock of 12 cormorants flew past.

On the short walk along the seawall a flock of 25 linnets fed in the saltmarsh, 10 skylarks and 20 meadow pipits were also seen. The water level in the pool has risen a lot recently but only pied wagtail and 3 mallard were present.
It was a windy walk along the Reeveshall seawall on Saturday 14th early afternoon with one eye always on the clouds, trying to gauge if they'd rain on the "Pyefleet-parade". Except for one 5-minute stop while it rained, at least an hour's brisk walk was spent on the seawall being buffeted by the wind.

There seemed good numbers of waders with 1000 dunlin the most numerous while redshank and grey plovers were also scattered in good numbers and 100 knot were also present. One sanderling amongst the dunlin was unusual for the Pyefleet while a bar-tailed godwit flying past also noted. In the Channel 2 red-breasted mergansers were seen bobbing up and down in the choppy waters.

Striding back in the wind I noticed some crows mobbing a harrier and when I lifted the binoculars I noticed the white rump of a ringtail hen harrier. The bird flew swiftly along the Reeveshall reedbed and within a minute it had reached the neighbouring fields of Maydays farm, being harried by some other crows. Hen harrier sightings have become much scarcer in recent winters so seeing a bird like this on a wet and windy day, made the walk worthwhile.

AVOCET FLOCK

This distant group of avocets were waiting for the tide to recede from the East Mersea Point on a sunny Thursday 12th morning. When the flock of 106 birds took to the air, there was the eye-catching sight of lots of wings flickering black and white as the birds flew around. More kinds of wader arrived on the scene as the first mud became exposed such as dunlin, knot, black-tailed godwit, oystercatcher, turnstone, grey plover, redshank, lapwing, curlew and also 3 sanderling.

The usual small birds at the Point included reed bunting, meadow pipit, skylark, rock pipit, pair of stonechats, a handful of linnets and the resident dunnocks. A kestrel was seen flying east off the Island heading over to do a bit of hunting by Point Clear.

Two foxes were out enjoying the morning sunshine by the pond and in the fields. The latter crossing over the middle of the field, spooking all the hundreds of wigeon and teal on the pools. It headed towards a grey heron which stood by the edge of the field watching it get closer. The fox seemed to make a half-hearted sprint after the heron which had to fly off to avoid being caught for breakfast.


Another attempt at moth trapping on a blustery Wednesday night had to be abandoned at 1am when it started to rain. By that time only three moths had been noted, a red-green carpet, November moth and this December moth pictured above. As with last year, this December moth actually turned up during the month of November!

END OF CRICKET SEASON

It was sunny enough on Monday 9th for this dark bush cricket pictured above, to be basking on a wooden post at the country park. Although it is a common bush cricket around the park in the summer, it would seem to be quite late in the year to still see bush crickets. This is the female with the long curved ovipositor protruding from its abdomen, which it uses to help it lay its eggs in rotten wood or bark crevices.

The central ditch in the grazing fields pictured above is slowly filling up with water following the recent autumnal rains. However the very dry summer saw water levels drop very low and there is still a lot more water needed to top this ditch back up to last winter's level.

The pools at the west end of the fields is where most of the ducks are gathered with 250 teal, 200 wigeon and a few shoveler enjoying the area. Also around this water have been a handful of black-tailed godwits, a few redshank and snipe too. Three little egrets roosted in an oak tree overlooking the pools during the high-tide.

Two siskins flew west without stopping over the park, calling as they went. The pair of stonechats were still present along the side of the seawall.

Martin Cock had an impressive count of 21 marsh harriers flying into the Langenhoe roost on Monday afternoon from the Shop Lane seawall. Sixteen birds were seen in the air together.

This yellow-line quaker moth was the only moth found in the trap on the Monday morning. This moth is a reglar visitor to the trap in the autumn in small numbers. However it's harder finding a suitable night for mothing at the moment when it isn't raining, windy or chilly.

FLASH OF BLUE

There were no blue skies on Sunday 8th and it stayed grey all day. The only bit of blue that Andy Field and I found on our walk around the park was the flash of blue of a kingfisher along the dyke near the Golfhouse. The bird was seen flying into a bush over the water where it perched in a spot that is a favourite location for the kingfisher in the winter-time.

A walk around the Point pictured above, was quiet with small numbers of the usual birds such as reed buntings, rock pipit, linnet, skylark, dunnock and meadow pipits. The Colne was quiet too with only one or two great crested grebes noted but no mergansers. One common seal in the middle of the Colne soon made itself scarce when a bright yellow hovercraft noisily drifted into the river to Brightlingsea from the offshore windfarm.

On the mudflats offshore distant wader flocks could be seen with 200 knot, 50 black-tailed godwits and 25 avocets the most recognisable.

The park pond has become very autumnal in the last 2 or 3 weeks as the reedmace loses its colour and the trees lose their leaves. Duck numbers vary throughout the day with the birds often swopping the pond for the nearby pools in the fields. A few gadwall and shoveler mingled on the pond with the mallard, wigeon and teal, as did a tufted duck.

On the fields 200 teal, 100 wigeon and a few brent geese were gathered by the pools with a couple of black-tailed godwits and a snipe. A fox made a brief appearance in the morning which spooked most of the birds away. There were 3 sightings of sparrowhawk during the morning, firstly at the Point, later by the pond and then over the car park.

Martin Cock was lucky enough to see and hear 2 Bewick swans fly over his garden in West Mersea as they headed west on Sunday morning.

DAY OF BLUE SKIES

A day of blue skies and light wind for most of Saturday 7th, helped make the morning walk around the park more enjoyable. Recent days have been a bit unsettled, blustery and wet, so it made a change to have clear and calm conditions.

Martin Cock was also out making the most of the fine start to the day and we began by checking some alder trees near the park pond for finches. A handful of goldfinches were found but the only group of siskins noted was a small flock of 10 which flew past the pond.

There was a good selection of ducks on the park pond and on the nearby pools in the field. Unfortunately the noise of the guns from a local pheasant shoot about 1 km away, was loud enough to put all the wildfowl into the air. It provided a good idea of the large numbers of ducks on these two stretches of water with about 200 teal, 100 wigeon, 15 shoveler, 50 mallard, 2 tufted duck and 6 gadwall. Most of the wigeon and teal headed off to feed on the saltmarsh near the Point, or sought the peace out in the river Colne. A water rail squealed from the back of the pond in the afternoon. An unusually large group of stock doves appeared over the fields as about 30 birds flew around with one main group very wary about coming down to land.

On the way to the Point, 2 stonechat, rock pipit were noted along with a few skylarks, reed buntings, meadow pipits and a small flock of 10 linnets. The tide was well out during the morning and waders dotted about into the distance. The river Colne was quiet with only a handful of great crested grebes and one red-breasted merganser noted. A group of five mergansers were reported later in the day in the river. Two common seals were also noted in the river.

The clear sunny conditions provided clear views along the length of the Colne with several hundreds of both avocets and shelduck on both sides of the river standing out in the bright sunshine. On the nearer mud by the East Mersea Hard there were 106 avocets roosting in a long line. A handful of bar-tailed godwits were also noted flying into the Colne.

There were the usual flocks of brent geese feeding or flying around the entrance to the river on both sides. A small group fed on the saltmarsh by the Golfhouse along with 50 wigeon several teal and a snipe.

Earlier in the week a big flock of 500 golden plover flew high over the car park on Thursday 5th with another flock of about 400 birds resting on mud by the Strood on Friday. On Tuesday 3rd a green sandpiper flew low over the pond as it headed west, 6 siskins fed on alders nearby, while 200 wood pigeons headed south-west high over the park early on the same morning, presumably new arrivals from the continent. A late painted lady butterfly was also seen in the car park.

The moth trap put out at the park during a still but clear Tuesday night providing five species with feathered thorn, mallow, November, black rustic and a yellow-line quaker.