SWIFT PASSAGE

Met up with Steve Entwhistle, his wife Kate and their four retrievers in Meeting Lane, East Mersea for an evening walk on Saturday 12th, along the footpath towards Shop Lane. Some late evening sunshine after a light shower, lit up one of the wheat fields, pictured above, with a very faint rainbow set against the dark sky.

Swifts were everywhere you looked in the sky with at least a thousand heading west over the Island. The passage was continuous whilst we were out for the two hour walk and no doubt continued afterwards. Some birds raced low over the fields, most kept high while others occasionally circled back for a short way before heading west again. A few swallows and sand martins were also seen.

Despite being a good two fields inland from the Pyefleet Channel and not seeing any mud, a few interesting waders were still noted. Three avocets flew over the Reeveshall pool, a spotted redshank and a greenshank were heard calling nearby. A little egret perched on a post to preen and, on some fence-wires close-by were 200 starlings all lined up. Near North Farm two whimbrel fed in a grass field along with the larger curlew. A common tern carying a fish, crossed over the Island as it headed back from West Mersea towards Rat Island in the Colne.

A barn owl provided distant but prolonged views as it hunted over the large grass field of Reeveshall. A male sparrowhawk flashed overhead and headed down a hedgerow. A couple of kestrels were seen together near Shop Lane with another one hunting over the Reeveshall Marshes. Surprisingly there no marsh harriers seen during the walk.

Along the various thick field hedgerows were seen 4 great spotted woodpeckers, 3 singing yellowhammers, singing chiffchaff, turtle dove and stock dove, jay and a family of long-tailed tits.

A few butterflies enjoyed the early evening sunshine with comma and red admiral seen, while lots of meadow browns were seen in the long grass-field pictured above.