STUCK ON AN ISLAND

Tried to escape the Monday 5th bank holiday crowds on Mersea by driving onto the mainland. However a bit of bad planning regarding high-tide times, meant we couldn't leave because the water was covering the Strood causeway, making the road impassable to most traffic. The picture above shows some of the traffic waiting to leave the island, with all the neighbouring saltmarshes in the foreground completely submerged by the sea.

An earlier walk along the Strood seawall was made more pleasant by the constant chattering of several reed warblers singing from the nearby reedbeds, photo above. In the sunshine at least 7 reed warblers were singing with one section of reeds having about five different songsters dotted along every ten metres or so. On top of a nearby tree was a sedge warbler singing its harsher song, while a reed bunting chipped in with its rather monotonous tones.

One or two swifts flew over the fields as well as about ten house martins and a few swallows. Three common whitethroats sang from the tops of bushes and there was also a yellow wagtail, a couple of linnets and a corn bunting singing too.

Before all the mud was covered along the Channel, a bar-tailed godwit and a whimbrel were the only waders of note.
There was the very recognisable and distinctive calls of three little terns heard and the birds were seen briefly landing on the mud before flying excitedly up the Channel. Two common terns were also seen hunting up the water as the tide came in.

The male sparrowhawk was making the most of the fine weather by putting on an impressive display over his West Mersea territory. The bird was first seen soaring higher and higher above the Lane area, climbing to a great height where it was just a tiny speck in the sky. It then folded its wings and plunged vertically down to the gardens below in an amazing show of speed.
The bird then climbed back up into the sky disappearing as a tiny speck again but this time about quarter of a mile away over the St Peters road area. Again it tucked its wings in and stooped straight down, scattering wood pigeons out of the gardens below as it made its way low and fast through the gardens back to the Lane area.

More of the same butterflies of recent days were noted such as speckled wood, holly blues, orange-tips, peacocks, small white and green-veined white.

David Nicholls saw a little owl at dusk along the East Mersea road near the parish boundary.