SUMMER COLOURS

When the sun shone it felt very warm and summery and at this time of the year the old part of West Mersea along The Lane looks very picturesque. Many of the old cottages have lots of hollyhocks, red valerian and evening primroses in flower with lots of the buddleia bushes starting to attract insects.

A walk out onto the Strood seawall on Monday 2nd provided views of several kinds of butterflies enjoying the sunshine. Peacock, comma, large white, small white, meadow brown and small tortoiseshell were all in evidence although the breeze kept many close to the ground.

As one group of yellow flowers starts to die back, another species takes its place. It is now the turn of the bristly ox-tongue to line the seawall and provide more splashes of yellow. On many parts of the saltmarsh, the colour is the eye-catching purpley-blue of the sea lavender.

One of the notable bird flocks seen was a group of about fifty house sparrows feeding on some ripening wheat. Large flocks of house sparrows are becoming scarce on the Island these days and especially around fields, although there are still house sparrows in many gardens in West Mersea.

The usual reed warblers, sedge warblers, reed buntings, corn buntings, linnets and yellow wagtails were all busy flying about, singing or gathering food for their young along the walk.
A common tern tried his luck at fishing along the borrow-dyke with some success as he swooped down to pluck some small fish fry from the water.

In the distance the large outline of a male marsh harrier could be seen crossing near the Strood causeway as it left the Island, being harassed by some oystercatchers. The incoming tide had nearly covered the mud although one or two little egrets, a few curlews and some redshank did some last minute wading.