ARCTIC WIND

Met up with Andy Field along the Reeveshall seawall on Friday 6th on a day when the wind appeared to get fresher and colder during the day. Instead of the snow that fell in many other parts of the country during the night, there was just more rain fell on Mersea, lying on top of ground already waterlogged.

There appeared to be plenty of bird activity on the Reeveshall and Maydays fields, maybe this was due to fields being wet. Andy braved the biting cold wind and spent the whole afternoon along the seawall here. The highlight being a ringtail hen harrier flying over the fields and disturbing the thousands of birds. A second view of a ringtail later on Langenhoe could've been the same bird, or maybe a second individual. At least 2 marsh harriers a male and a female, were also flying over the fields.

The fields had the highest number of birds on them for several years with the most noticeable being the 1100 brent geese grazing in 2 flocks. One field held most of the waders with 2000 golden plover, 1000 dunlin, 500 lapwing, 250 black-tailed godwits as well as smaller numbers of curlew, redshank, ringed plover and a grey plover. A couple of hundred starlings mixed in with the waders and in another field 11 stock doves were noted as were the usual big flock of rooks and jackdaws. A pair of greylag geese flew onto Reeveshall during the afternoon.

On the Reeveshall pool there was a female pintail with 50 teal, 2 mute swans and 3 little egrets with 12 linnets on the saltings nearby. On the Pyefleet 2 goldeneye were seen along with a few red-breasted mergansers and little grebes.
As dusk approached Andy saw the barn owl and 8 yellowhammers near the Shop Lane wood.