DAWN TO DUSK

Well worth the early rise on Saturday 7th at 4am to check the moth trap. The picture above shows the sun rising into a bright orange sky over Brightlingsea. Confirming what the article said in the Sunday Times magazine published earlier this year that watching the sun rise from Mersea Island was one of the top 100 things to do this summer!
The scene below was the sky just a few moments before the sun came up, producing a wonderful pink tinge to the clouds.
While admiring the sun casting its orange glow across the sky, a huge swift passage was taking place. At least 400 were counted in that first hour of daylight in a continuous stream over the park as they headed west following the coast. Distant black specks of the birds were easy to pick out in the distance against this fiery orange backdrop.

What I wasn't expecting to see was the larger profile of a dashing falcon with the swifts, which passed over the car park at 5am as I headed back into the house. The hobby was in a hurry and must have decided that he needed to find some breakfast. He banked sharply over my back-garden and then raced back to the cliff-top where he no doubt would've hoped to have surprised the sand martins.

The moth trap was worth putting out for the six or so hours of darkness and managed to attract about 80 moths of 34 species which seems like a reasonable return. One of the biggest and chunkiest moths on the park paid the trap a visit which is this oak eggar moth pictured above. One or two came to the trap last summer during July and in some summers you can occasionally catch a brief glimpse of one of these large brown moths flying very fast during the day, maybe fleeing after being disturbed.

The largest moth in the trap was the privet hawk, also poplar hawk and elephant hawk too. A few first records for the year included scalloped oak, brown-line bright-eye (not to be confused with the commoner here, bright-line brown-eye!), common rustic, scarce footman, lunar-spotted pinion, several sharks and this colourful buff arches below with its intricate fine lines.

The weather during Saturday was fine sunshine which brought many of the butterflies out in force. A couple of purple hairstreaks were seen in their usual site high up in the oak trees, flitting between oak leaves. They have been present in the park for about ten years and rarely come down to ground level and their identification is best confirmed with binoculars.

Usual masses of meadow browns everywhere and good numbers of hedge browns too, while amongst the long grasses can be found small skipper and Essex skippers, as well as the small heath. Along the hedges and on the bramble flowers were seen red admiral, small tortoiseshell, some fresh commas, peacocks, speckled woods, several large whites and small whites and large skipper.

Anyone passing through East Mersea will have been struck by the large fields of the blue crop of borage. In recent years it has become more of a familiar sight and a very eye-catching scene making a change from the plain crops of winter wheat.

On such a still evening, a stroll along the Pyefleet Channel beckoned for the last two hours of the day. I passed one family in that time so the place was really busy! One or two yachts were anchored in the Pyefleet for the night but you had to look to the mainland for any signs of human activity anywhere, where the drone and dust could be seen from a couple of combines in the rape fields.

The walk along the seawall was enlivened by the typical coastal grassland chorus of several skylarks, meadow pipits and the jangling of corn buntings. The Reeveshall pool still has plenty of water in it and three non-breeding swans seemed to tower above four tiny shelducklings who looked a little lost with no sign of their parents nearby. A green sandpiper flew along the edge of the pool and three spotted redshank were the first returning birds of the summer to be seen here.

Walking to the halfway point of the Island, there is a good vantage point along the Pyefleet, although the summer evenings are not the best of times because of looking into the sun and the heat haze. However I did manage to spot two large brown cylindrical shapes lounging on the mud in the distance, which were two common seals. They seemed to have been absent from the area this spring which is unusual for them.
Marsh harriers as always catch the eye and at least four were seen on Langenhoe while a male and a female were seen flying over Reeveshall on the Island. Still looks as if there has been a nest here but need more proof from the adults, such as carrying food.

The receding tide had already uncovered lots of mud with a group of ten spotted redshanks in their dusky black plumage the main attraction. Twenty five avocets flew along the Channel with their black and white wings flickering in flight.

Having started the day with the sun-rise, I had to find out what the sunset would be like - and it didn't disappoint. At about 9.10pm the orange beam shone across the water and mud for a few minutes. As I headed home the regular summer roost of sand martins passed overhead with about 200 birds flying about. Four little egrets also headed east to their roost on the mainland and the lonely shelducklings were finally joined by their mum and dad on the pool for the night.