PEACEFUL PYEFLEET

Made the most of a fine end to Tuesday 21st, by spending the last hour alongside the Pyefleet Channel. This might be the last opportunity for several months to enjoy an after-work stroll before the clocks are brought forward this coming weekend.

It was one of those memorable visits, taking in about a mile of the Pyefleet, as the sun set below a clear sky. For once there was little wind, the water was calm, no-one else around as far as the eye could see other than the sheep, cows, of course the birds and at least one brown hare. The high tide meant there were no wader activity on the mudflats, so the whole area was unusually quiet and peaceful. It was so still the sound of a squealing and calling water rail could be heard being uttered from across the water on the mainland at Langenhoe.

Despite the water being flat and calm along the Pyefleet, the only birds noted were 3 great crestede grebes. At various points along the saltmarsh were small groups of birds, ten brent geese with 50 oystercatchers at Langenhoe Pt while curlew, redshank, grey plover, lapwing and 50 shelduck gathered on Pewit Island. A greenshank flew up the channel calling loudly and there was also a fly past by a mixed wader flock of dunlin, grey plover and 25 knot.

The Reeveshall pool had 200 teal on it along with a few wigeon, 5 black-tailed godwits, heron, mute swan family and little grebe. The peace of the area disappeared when several groups of noisy greylag geese totalling 150 birds, arrived for their night-time graze amongst the sheep. Overhead small numbers of little egrets headed east along the Channel to their roost.

One barn owl was out hunting along the fields and ditches, while a male and later a female marsh harrier flew over Reeveshall on their way to the Langenhoe roost. Two other marsh harriers were already flying around the reedbed on the Langenhoe Point.

The moth trap was put out on Tuesday night because it wasn't raining and it wasn't windy. However the clear sky dropped the temperature, so the moth haul was low. This mallow pictured above has been noted on a few occasions in the last fortnight and is quite a common moth. Only ten moths of 6 species noted including green-brindled crescent, red-green carpet, yellow-line quaker, barred sallow and November sps.