SUMMER STORMS

The unsettled weather continued on Friday 17th with a mixture of wind, rain and sunshine. The black cloud pictured above, just passed to the north of the island with only a few spots falling on the park. The previous evening the island did get its fair dose of thunder and lightning for the last couple of hours of Thursday.


The various kinds of waterfowl don't seem to mind the rain - its all water off a ducks back to them. This swan was patrolling the central ditch in the grazing fields at the park, along with a small group of mallard.

The pools in one corner of the fields haven't dried up yet and one black-tailed godwit is the only wader feeding here now. Andy Field first noticed this godwit had some coloured rings on its legs several days ago on the 10th. Within a couple of days we had an email reply from Jose Alves in Portugal to say he had ringed this bird last November beside the Tagus estuary near Lisbon. This sighting here at Cudmore Grove was its first international sighting. Most black-tailed godwits seen around Mersea breed in Iceland but this bird appears to be the continental race. The godwit has been seen on and off during this last week, feeding by itself in the muddy pools.

Stopping at the hide on Friday at dusk, a badger was seen trotting down the field past the side of the pond where a fox cub playfully leapt at it as it trundled by. The vixen soon appeared and after a playful greeting, the cub and the mother sat down together. A few minutes later a second badger jogged along the same path towards the waiting foxes. They both playfully leapt at the badger as it passed by, although it didn't look too pleased with them as it turned and gave them a hard stare before disappearing into the hedgeline.

The yellow-legged gull was seen standing on its favourite concrete perch by the Strood on Thursday morning.
Both the barn owl and the little owl were seen on Wednesday evening perched beside the East Mersea road near Weir Farm within 50 metres of each other.