SLAVONIAN SUNRISE

The best part of Saturday 22nd at the country park, was the beginning of the day when the sun appeared over the sea at 8am. As the tide was close in, there was the colourful sun-beam across the calm water, providing a real picture to savour.

Bringing the scene to life were several hundred brent geese enjoying the deserted beach and mud - until I came to join them! The geese stayed around and it was great just watching them swimming past or flying around in small groups - against the backdrop of the rising sun.

The calm conditions looking out to sea made it easy to pick out any birds on the water. I noticed a group of six small grebes diving some distance out, which looked interesting. Through the telescope I could see they were Slavonian grebes, the sun highlighting their white faces and little black caps. It was very unusual seeing so many Slavonians here as most records in recent years have just involved one or two birds. The largest group of Slavonians that I have seen from the park was only nine birds - 24 years ago!

Also on the calm water were 11 red-breasted mergansers with most of the males in a tight group all frantically displaying to each other.

Around the park three redwings perched up on some bushes and a song thrush was seen feeding with about ten blackbirds. Along the seawall the regular pair of stonechats were perched up amongst some reeds. The only group of birds on the grazing fields in mid afternoon were 120 brent geese.

By mid afternoon the light was fading quite quickly under the dull and grey skies. Across the vast expanse of mudflats there seemed to be huge gatherings of birds along the low tide mark as dusk approached. The frozen ponds and ditches inland may have driven 1000 wigeon and teal to gather onto the mud.

Several large and dense wader flocks flew out of the Colne to feed on the outer mudflats. They appeared to be a mixture of dunlin and knot with about 1500 birds flying around like wisps of smoke, before settling down. The easier birds to spot in the gloomy light were the white ones and 100 shelduck was an interesting count here along with 10 avocets. Also gathering for the night-time roost on the mud were hundreds of gulls - mainly black-headed gulls streaming out of the Colne from their daytime feeding haunts.

Spent the last few minutes of daylight by the park pond where there was a good collection of wildfowl despite half the water being covered by ice. All the bird activity on the ice especially the charging about by coots and moorhens, was leading to regular creaking and cracking of the ice.

Seventy mallard, 10 gadwall, 6 shoveler, 20 teal and one tufted duck were the various ducks noted. A water rail was heard squealing from the reeds and one other was heard calling too.

The regular fox appeared from the hedge behind the pond and twice was thwarted in being able to forage for food because of his wariness. He didn't trust me keeping still in the nearby hide and both times he turned and ran back to a safe distance where he sat down and stared back at me.

Richard Allen and Chris Poole had a very productive visit onto the Island on Saturday. Offshore from West Mersea there was Slavonian grebe, eider, common scoter, red-throated diver, great northern diver, 2 shag, 25 great crested grebes and 2 goldeneye.

Their visit to Reeveshall at East Mersea provided some rich raptor rewards with a ringtail hen harrier, 10 marsh harriers, peregrine, merlin and sparrowhawk. Thirteen twite were seen on the saltmarsh and in the Pyefleet were 5 goldeneye and 20 red-breasted mergansers.

Martin Cock on the Saturday had a good view of the ringtail hen harrier at Maydays Farm, probably the same bird seen by Richard and Chris. Also a green sandpiper and a pair of stonechat noted here.