RISING SUN

The sun appeared over the horizon to the east of the park just after 5 o'clock on Saturday 10th. The outline of the park pillbox can just be seen on the left, on the above photo.

Flat calm sea at high tide provided a wonderful setting at the park to enjoy the rising sun early in the morning. The sun stayed in view for the rest of the day with hundreds of folk enjoying the warm delights of the park during the day.

The first turtle dove was heard at the park just after dawn, purring from the direction of Bromans Farm. A cuckoo was also heard for the first time this spring from the park.

The moth trap had been running all night at the park and an early start was needed to ensure the birds didn't scoff the moths before they had been identified. The cloudy night, a bit of drizzle, lack of wind and no moonlight all helped to make it a very worthwhile mothing session.
There were about 120 moths of thirty species noted which is quite a good tally for mid May.

As always the most eyecatching moths are the big hawkmoths and this one above is the common poplar hawkmoth and the most frequently recorded.


I've had to study this one above as it has features of two very similiar moths the peacock and the sharp-angled peacock. Both get very confusing when they're faded and worn and this one has some markings that have faded. Although it has a pale grey band across the wings, the very black paw-print mark on each wing point this to the peacock moth.

One of the scarcer moths in parts of Essex is this least black arches, a small moth with distinctive shape and size of wings. One or two have been noted here at the park in the past.

The green carpet, pictured above, shows a delicate shade of green to its wings. It is quite a common moth with several being noted in the traps last year.

After the hawkmoth, this is the next largest moth last night, the male pale tussock with its great furry front legs. One or two were found last year during the spring.

Amongst some of the other moths noted were maidens blush, red twinspot carpet, sandy carpet, waved umber, coxcomb prominent, white ermine, pine beauty, white-pinion spotted, muslin, yellow-barred brindle and cream-bordered green pea.

Evening walk along the Reeveshall seawall beside the Pyefleet. The tide was out and plenty of mud on show but sadly the time of year means that most waders have headed north. Three greenshank flew off the pool but a fourth stayed behind. In the Pyefleet, 10 grey plover, 5 dunlin and 3 knot were feeding together but only one curlew and a pair of redshank, also ten turnstone.
A pair of little terns and a pair of common terns flew along the Channel.

Over Reeveshall, 3 wigeon, 2 gadwall, pochard, pair of shoveler, little egret, 14 sand martins were all noted. Three brown hares were seen, usually sitting low down on the ground.
In the Shop Lane northern end area, a turtle dove was heard as was a cuckoo.

Returning to the park at dusk with my car windows down, I could hear the loud reeling song of a grasshopper warbler coming from the rough weedy field margin near Cosways caravan site. I was able to walk along the track near to where it was singing from the opposite side of a thick hedge. I left with the light gone but the bird still reeling.
In Bromans Lane the tawny owl was seen for the first time for many weeks, this time perched on the owl nestbox over the Lane.

Earlier in the day, a pair of male and female eiders were reported near Packing Shed Island at West Mersea.

On Thursday 3 siskin were seen flying north-east over the car park at Cudmore Grove, which seems quite a late sighting here.
On Friday night a brown hare was followed along Bromans Lane as it trotted along the road in the car headlights.