SPOTTED A FLYCATCHER

Summer returned just in time for the bank holiday weekend with Saturday 25th being the first hot day for two or three weeks here on Mersea. A combination of increasing numbers of visitors and the increasing heat, produced only a few things of interest during a late morning walk along the north side of the country park.

A female yellowhammer which had been calling quietly from bushes on the side of the car park, climbed higher up the bush and into view. Although there has been a male in the park up until a fortnight ago, there hadn't been any sign of a female this summer here to keep him company - until now.

Around some of the big bushes and hedgerows there seemed to be a bit more small bird activity than usual. Near the entrance to the park a spotted flycatcher which perched up on a bare branch caught the eye. This passage migrant has become harder to find each year on the Island as numbers in the south-east of England have declined sharply.

This bird flew out from its perch to catch a fly, then flew straight back to the same bare branch to continue watching. It then flew off to another hedgerow and was later seen from the hide sitting at the top of a big hawthorn bush. Hopefully this won't be the only flycatcher to admire during this autumn passage on the Island.

Up to ten common whitethroats and five lesser whitethroats were busy feeding in the hedgerows of the park, many presumably migrants from further north. A group of ten long-tailed tits were foraging along the bushes with great tits, blue tits and one or two chiffchaffs.

At the park pond a snipe circled over the pond before swooping down onto a little muddy island. This is an early record of snipe for the pond as they're not usually expected here until late autumn.

One group of visitors to the park were spending some time enjoying close views of an adder tucked into the sunny bottom of a hedge.