REEDBED ROOST

It was still cloudy for most of Friday 24th but the wind dropped, making it more pleasant. An hour on the Reeveshall seawall around mid-day proved worthwhile as always. No sign of anybody else wanting to enjoy the peace and quiet of the north side of the Island. Not that's a complaint about the lack of people here!

On the migrant front 4 whinchats were seen, three perched up in the top of a bush to survey the surroundings together. The bulk of the whinchats pass through Mersea from mid-August to mid-September and in the prievous years there has been the occasional double figure count in some parts of the Island.
Two wheatears also flitted along the seawall ahead of me flashing their white base to the uppertails.

On the pool the cattle were plodding around the margin so there weren't as many birds to be seen. One avocet, green sandpiper and five teal were the only birds to be seen here.
A small flock of a dozen stock doves were seen feeding on a grass field which makes a change from seeing flocks of the commoner wood pigeons.

The only harrier seen was a male marsh harrier sitting on the seawall on Langenhoe. There may have been another bird of prey flying around the edge of the river Colne as something was disturbing the large wader flocks feeding. Up to 100 avocets rose into the air along with a similar number of black-tailed godwits, flying round a few times before settling back down again.

On the pool three small red-eyed damselflies were seen resting on the pondweed, the first time they have been noted on this pool. Also emperor dragonfly and common darter seen here too.

Just when the sun found its way through the clouds for the first time in almost a week, it was a bit too close to sunset to enjoy any warmth or blue skies. The setting sun across the mud near the Dabchicks Sailing Club made for a pleasant end to the day.
The tall lanky silhouette of a grey heron stalked the water's edge as the tide slowly crept in.

No mud was visible along the Strood Channel with the high tide close-by. However three greenshanks noisily called out from the Ray Island for several minutes before taking to the air.
In the distance to the west, above Copt Hall and Old Hall Marshes, the loud honking calls of skeins of greylag geese could be heard as they headed off to their night-time roost.

The most interesting group of birds were the roosting corn buntings and pied wagtails. The long section of reedbed in the dyke by the seawall was attracting lots of pied wagtails, many arriving in small groups overhead to join the roost. Others had a last feed on the edge of the mud and saltmarsh before heading into the reedbed. It was difficult to estimate numbers but at least fifty were present.

Whilst watching the wagtails settle in, around 50 corn buntings flew out of the reeds before dropping back into the reedbed further along. As corn buntings decline across the country it is nice to see flocks of them still present on Mersea. I recall seeing similar flocks in late summer here in previous years, many of the birds feeding on the seeds from the various seawall plants.
At least four reed warblers were also seen in the reeds, some of them rising up to catch flies in the air.

I discovered later that I had missed the opportunity to see a pied flycatcher in the garden of Martin Cock at Broomhills Road. This irregular passage bird is occasionally seen in the autumn here and this one was already continuing its long journey to Africa by the next morning.