SMALL FALL

The rain cleared away around the middle of the day to leave a sunny and still afternoon on Friday 12th. Andrew Thompson arrived at the park having seen the red-necked phalarope still present in the dyke by Coopers Beach. The bird has now been present for its seventh day, still swimming back and forwards along a fifty metre section of water.

Andrew also noted 2 Sandwich terns and a small selection of migrant warblers in some elder bushes. These included chiffchaff, willow warbler, blackcap, lesser whitethroat and common whitethroat and appeared to indicate a small "fall" of migrants overnight. The birds had probably been migrating overnight in clear skies, only for them to encounter rain early this morning at about 6am, forcing them to make land-fall.

We didn't have to stray far from the car park to find more evidence of migrants feeding-up in the bushes, photo above. Amongst a large mixed tit flock of about fifty birds were mainly long-tailed tits, great and blue tits as well as common whitethroat, lesser whitethroat, blackcap and willow warbler. There was also a small group of 10 chaffinches sometimes associating with the other birds as they foraged through the bushes and trees.
Overhead a flock of 100 hirundines passed through of mainly house martins but also sand martins and a few swallows too. There was even the unusual sight of a corn bunting passing overhead calling as it went. Further along the park a couple of wheatears were seen later on.

By the park pond there were at least four blackcaps in one bush with lesser whitethroat and common whitethroats present too. A handful of blackbirds feeding on elder and rowan bushes may've been newly arrived migrants too. A little egret perched in a willow tree over the water was certainly not a migrant.

The moth trap was run on both Wednesday and Thursday nights with a typical autumn tally of around 20 species found. One of the most strikingly marked moths is the widespread burnished brass pictured below, with the amazing metallic bronze sheen on the wings. At the right angle, sunshine can reflect brightly off the bronze bands on the wings - a real little dazzler!

Conditions weren't perfect for moth-trapping as the skies were mainly clear and the moon has been quite bright. Some of the moths found included latticed heath, lunar underwing, sallow, white-point, turnip, engrailed, willow beauty, brindled green, frosted orange, angle shades, rosy rustic, oak nycteoline, square-spot rustic, snout and light emerald.

One of the moths with a distinctive wing-profile is the aptly named oak hook-tip, pictured above with the corners of the wings each in the shape of a hooked-tip.

Autumn moths are often the same colours as the autumn leaves, especially members of the sallow family of moths, most of which are various shades of orange. This orange sallow pictured above, is a typical eye-catching one. Strangely it was not recorded last year at the park and yet the year before it was noted throughout the month.

The most notable moth found was this one below, the dusky-lemon sallow. This is a scarce moth now, declining in many areas including Essex in recent decades becuase of the demise of elm trees, the food-plant of the caterpillars. The moth has been previously recorded at the park two years ago in the middle of September.

At the end of the day there were 80 mallard gathered on the pond, as well as a pair of gadwall, wigeon and two tufted ducks. A fox jogged round the near side of the pond as dusk fell and a little owl called from Bromans Farm area. A common sandpiper flew high over the car park calling. The resident Bromans Lane tawny owl was perched on wires over the road as I drove underneath. When I stopped to admire it, the bird soon flew back into the the thick cover of the Lane, giving out the territorial call of the male bird.

At West Mersea the osprey has been reported as being still present around the Mersea Quarters and Salcott Channel, being seen on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. On one occasion it was seen to perch on one of the flimsy withy-markers stuck in the channel.