FIRST SPECKLED OF SPRING

The warm weather on Friday 25th enticed almost a handful of butterflies out to enjoy the sunshine. This speckled wood pictured above was seen tussling with a second one along a path in the park. No sooner have they emerged in the spring, than they suddenly get very territorial.
Also seen during the morning were 2 peacocks and a green-veined white.

Birds of prey were out enjoying the sunshine too with two sparrowhawks seen soaring together over the park, on a couple of different occasions. A kestrel was out hovering over the neighbouring weed field. Appearing as tiny dots high in the sky were a pair of marsh harriers to the north of the park, with a smaller male mobbing a larger female.
Later in the day a male marsh harrier was seen flying low over a yellow oil-seed rape field beside the East Mersea shop. A siskin was seen flying over the shop here too.

The only new migrant noted near the park today was a house martin circling around a house just to the north of the park. Five sand martins were also seen by the cliff and a couple of swallows hunted over the park. Ian Black reported a second singing nightingale singing close to the resident one by the entrance. However the clifftop nightingale was less vocal during the day but then he had been up all night singing!

The pochards returned back to the pond today after a day missing, with 12 males and 2 females being a rather uneven sex ratio. Three pairs of tufted ducks were still around and the female mute swan is still sitting tight on her nest.

This delicate pink flower found growing along the bottom of the park cliff is the common storksbill - the first of several clumps to flower around the park.

Around the park on Thursday morning were 8 sand martins beside the cliff, singing lesser whitethroat, 3 singing common whitethroats, 2 nightingales, blackcap and the first two reed warblers along the dyke.

On the saltmarsh pools near the Point were still the three pairs of avocets, which is a good sign for the forthcoming season. On the grazing fields were a couple of pairs of redshank, one male getting so excited with the onset of spring, rapidly flapping his wings and calling loudly before jumping onto the back of the female to mate. At least 3 pairs of lapwing are still present on the fields.

There was the familiar tell-tale sign left in the park toilets in the morning of tiny droppings from the regular long-eared bat, which rests up overnight in the building in-between hunting forays.

In Firs Chase a hedgehog was seen trying to decide if it was safe to cross the road in the late evening.

David Nicholls saw and heard his first cuckoo on the Island on Thursday at Bower Farm near West Mersea. Martin Cock saw the short-eared owl flying between fields at Rewsalls Marshes on Wednesday, also three whitethroats heard.

The moth trap has not been used much this spring because of the poor weather. This small moth is the relatively widespread streamer, which was resting on the outside of the house in the morning. The only moths found in the trap this week have been several hebrew characters, powdered quakers, early thorn and dotted border.