WALKABOUT WEST

Some more warm weather on Sunday 4th brought the butterflies out, like this suitably named green-veined white with the pronounced venation showing up nicely on the wings. Other butterflies out and about around parts of West Mersea were speckled wood, peacock, large white, small white and holly blue.

The area of St Peters Meadow pictured below, is often a good site where several different kinds of butterfly can be seen. At the moment there is a dense stand of cow parsley at one end, which gives the area a bit of colour. A blackcap and a couple of singing reed warblers were singing, along with some noisy house sparrows.

The real sound of spring in the general area of Coast Road was the distinctive song of the cuckoo. The bird was seen flying from the direction of the church, towards Victory Road, where it perched at the top of a tall poplar tree, cuckoo-ing loudly for a reasonable period in the afternoon. However the bird quickly fell silent after the two lifeboat maroons whizzed into the sky nearby and exploded loudly. Lots of frightened wood pigeons flew around a few times too.

The old fishing boat pictured below, by the Dabchicks sailing club isn't just a favourite for photographers but also some swallows too. Four swallows were flying around the boat, perching on the old ropes and checking the old structure for nesting potential.