RED SKY IN THE MORNING.....

Another stunning sky at dawn n Thursday 17th, between 7.30am and 7.45am when all the clouds to the south-east of Mersea seemed on fire. It certainly made a change to waking up to the dark rain clouds that we've had in recent mornings.
By 8am the bright colours had just about faded, although there was still a reddish glow to the mudflats in front of the country park, as the picture below shows.


It stayed dull for most of the day with the occasional spell of drizzle and a fresh breeze blowing.
At the park pond there had been an influx of tufted ducks with 14 being a good count for here. Also the usual 14 gadwall, 4 shoveler and 20 mallard were on the water while a handful of wigeon grazed the grass nearby.

Around the park there were 3 different sightings during the day of sparrowhawk of which the best view was of a colourful male perched on my back garden fence. The only other birds noted were 9 long-tailed tits foraging through some young trees at a speed as fast as I could walk to keep up with them.

The rains in recent days has left lots of pools and flashes of water around in the park grazing fields. As a result there was a good mix of wildfowl feeding in the fields. The most numerous were the 500+ wigeon in several large grazing groups, unfortunately most of them at the rear of the fields. Mixed in with them were about 100 teal while 200 brent geese grazed in their own flock in one corner.

Of the waders seen, 100 black-tailed godwits probed for worms in the wet soil, while 50 golden plover and 100 lapwing were gathered in the middle of the fields. A little egret stood beside one little pool all hunched up, while feeding amongst the grass were the regular charm of 20 goldfinches.

As always it doesn't take long before something frightens all the birds into the air and for a minute or two there was complete panic as flocks headed off in different directions, before most of them settled back down.

It was worth trudging along the beach to the Point as I unexpectedly came across 4 snow buntings flying around and calling. They settled down on the shingle in front of me and immediately blended in very well with their surroundings. They soon flew off and a few minutes later while trying to relocate them, found myself almost standing on them from just five metres away. These are the first snow buntings for the Point for over a month or more.

In the Colne a male red-breasted merganser took off from the water after a common seal surfaced right beside it.

The only bird of note seen in recent days was a close view of a barn owl on Tuesday 15th "ghosting" over the car along the East Mersea road near Weir Farm. In the dark gloom at dawn in the early morning drizzle, the white apparition crossed over the road, maybe heading back to the Rewsalls Farm area to its daytime roost.

Also on owls, Hugh Owen saw 4 short-eared owls mobbing a marsh harrier on Langenhoehall Marshes to the north of the Island on Wednesday 16th.