FALCON FRENZY

I was able to enjoy the Maydays area on the north side of Mersea on Sunday 17th thanks to the farmer giving me permission (saving me a much longer walk otherwise). The clouds parted in the middle of the day and it felt like a summer's day. The photo shows the Maydays saltmarsh at high-tide. I walked along the seawall to meet up with Andy Field who had walked from the eastern end. It was a good time to look out for birds of prey as several were out hunting, perched or enjoying the thermals.

There were the usual handful of marsh harriers that could be seen on Langenhoe Marsh but our interest was in the female over Reeveshall. She has been seen recently favouring one section of the reedbed which is promising for a potential breeding attempt. The male is already paired up with a female on Langenhoe, as he has been seen flying regularly across the Pyefleet.

Whilst scanning the distant Langenhoe, we could see two or three kestrels hovering and flying about. One falcon appeared dark grey and with thin rakish wings, beating deeply as it flew, this was a hobby. Shortly after a large pale falcon could be seen in the distance stooping several times onto a flock of waders, the pale buff wings showing up in the bright sunshine.

About ten minutes later Andy shouted out that there was a large bird of prey directly opposite us, hurtling along the Pyefleet low over the water in hot pursuit of a grey plover. The plover looked exhausted and several times flopped onto the water to escape. Each time the falcon came back and at the near moment of contact, the plover dropped again with the falcon surprisingly not willing to pluck it from the surface. In the end the plover made his very lucky escape and hurriedly disappeared west along the channel.

What was puzzling about this big falcon was that it had the size, shape and flight of a peregrine but was otherwise a very pale buff bird that had us thinking of some type of escaped falconers' bird like a lanner. However it seemed to stocky for a lanner falcon. The forehead of this bird was cream, the wings brown with lightly streaked underparts and the face was a buff colour with dark brown moustachial stripes. We decided to leave the identification as a pale brown peregrine although this may be the same mystery falcon seen in this area a couple of times last summer.

We continued to watch the bird as it headed back along the Pyefleet, then turn onto Reeveshall closing its wings tight for a low level, high speed surprise attack along the reedbed. To our surprise the one bird that got the fright of its life and desperately needed to take evasive action was another hobby! The big falcon soon realised he had met an equally fast flying raptor and they both spiralled on a thermal high into the air, where they soon vanished as tiny specks in the sky.

Other birds of note seen were a pair of Mediterranean gulls, cuckoo, pair of grey partridge, 4 singing corn buntings, 3 singing yellowhammers, little and common terns, 10 grey plover, dunlin, knot, 5 turnstone, turtle dove and a dabchick chick on the farm pond.

Striding along the seawall lots of butterflies and bees wafted into the air as I passed and there was the lovely warm honey-like smell coming from the numerous sea beet flowers. The pink common mallow flowers added the splash of colour to the walk and the meadow brown butterflies were busy with lots of the bees visiting the flowers.

Butterflies such as this small skipper were out feeding along the seawall, this one feeding in a clump of ox-eye daisies. The orange tips to the antennae help separate this species from the black ones of Essex skipper but as in this photo, you have to get close-up and personal to sort them out. Several large skippers were also seen on the walk, as were red admiral, painted lady, small tortoiseshell small heath, common blue, holly blue and the small white pictured below.

Keeping low to the path were three or four Mother Shipton moths, pictured below - a day flying moth over meadows and grasslands. With a bit of imagination you can just about make out the facial markings of the old lady on its wings!
The sunshine brought out a few dragonflies with the first ruddy darter of the year and also a black-tailed skimmer and an emperor were seen.

The tide filled all the creeks and channels at high tide and a glance to the Strood causeway in the distance showed the water covering the road making Mersea an Island again. (I would've loved to have seen the look of horror on the face of the driver in a red open-top car as he approached a fast moving white van sending a 6 foot wall of water up in front of him!)

Lots of black-headed gulls, a few mallard and several little egrets scanned the incoming water as it crept along narrow creeks and rills, hoping to pick up some of the small fish fry that appeared to make the water bubble near the surface in some parts.
Appearing in lots of areas of the saltmarsh are pockets of sea lavender. Sometime next month all the saltings come alive with the carpets of lavender buzzing with the sound of insects visiting the flowers.
Red stalks of glasswort provide a nice contrast with the sea lavender.