PATIENCE REWARDED

Put a bit of thought into where I should walk on the Island on Sunday 9th where I might see some different wildlife. I opted for the south side between Coopers Beach and the Youth Camp as the timing of my walk was coinciding with the back of the high tide. This meant that I would have a good close up view of the waders feeding on the newly exposed mud. Those little brown confusing waders that scurry around and blend in well with the muddy background - that's what appealed to me today!

This section of coast is a favoured spot for sanderling and some of the largest counts for the Island over the years have come from the stretch, usually just as the tide is dropping. Sanderling are still arriving back from northern breeding grounds and so far, not many have been seen. Sure enough a small group of 8 sanderling scurried along the beach like wound-up clockwork toys. Some of the birds still had rich brown streaks on the head and back while others were already fading into their silvery winter plumage.

Ten dunlin snoozed while they waited for the tide to drop but it wasn't long before the first flock of other birds arrived. Fifty ringed plovers and 20 other dunlin timed their arrival perfectly and soon blended into the mud. I searched for more sanderling as more waders flew into feed but couldn't find anymore.

Having scanned through 100 ringed plovers, 50 dunlin and 300 golden plover, the patience was rewarded when I recognised two curlew sandpipers - an unexpected bonus. These are usually seen most autumns on Mersea in very small numbers and always along the Pyefleet. It was an unexpected sighting for here but as they're normally always with dunlin, it always pays to first find your dunlin flock. However the dunlin flocks have been rather hard to find so far this autumn.

I was getting close views with the binoculars of these juvenile curlew sandpipers as they fed only 30 metres from the seawall while I looked down on them. I watched them for about ten minutes as they plodded about on the mud and when they took a bath in one of the little pools, they flashed their diagnostic white rumps for me. They also let out an excited "chirrup" call too, just to remind me of their call-note.

Surprisingly there were few other waders seen, such as redshank or grey plovers, except for a few curlews and fifty oystercatchers further to the east on the mudflats.

Almost a mile offshore I strained my eyes watching a large flock of gulls and terns feeding on a shoal of fish at sea. About 200 birds circled round, dropping repeatedly onto and into the water after fish. One of the long shingle islands off Seaview Avenue appeared to have a group of around 100 common terns resting on it with many birds flying over to join the gulls feeding.


The little sandy beach by the Youth Camp has one of the best stands of sea holly on the Island with several hundred plants of varying size. Since my last visit a few months ago, the erosion has taken its toll and quite a few plants have been lost. The plants seem to have quite a long flowering season and one or two of the blue spiky flowers were still attracting insects such as this red-tailed bumble bee.

Whilst waiting for the tide to drop I scanned the grass fields, fence-posts and bushes of the Rewsalls Marshes for other signs of activity. The only wheatear seen was by the Youth Camp just where I decided I had walked far enough. A total of ten pied wagtails were seen on the walk whilst 12 house sparrows is worth noting for the area and four meadow pipits fed along the seaweed on the seawall.

There was a fleeting view of a male marsh harrier flying low over the back of the fields as it looked for prey. A kestrel perched up in a bush also on the look-out and one little egret flew high over the area as it headed off to the north.

The view back up the track alongside the Coopers Beach caravan park, looking towards East Mersea church. This track with its public footpath is quite unusual to walk along as the hedges on either side are still predominantly elm. Several ivy clumps are in flower and red admiral, small white and comma butterflies were noted. In the trees near the church were ten mistle thrushes and a great spotted woodpecker while in bushes at the south end towards the seawall was a tit flock including ten long-tailed tits.


Both Andy Field and Martin Cock had their walks along Reeveshall and had less to report than yesterday, although the whinchat and two wheatears were still present.

Also heard from Ian Black that he had close views of a harbour porpoise whilst he was in a boat in the Blackwater, Lorraine Cope was first to see it with the question - "What seal has a fin along it's back?"As reported earlier, there have been several recent sightings in the local waters of a porpoise, so it sounds like one is hanging around.