DAY OF BLUE SKIES

A day of blue skies and light wind for most of Saturday 7th, helped make the morning walk around the park more enjoyable. Recent days have been a bit unsettled, blustery and wet, so it made a change to have clear and calm conditions.

Martin Cock was also out making the most of the fine start to the day and we began by checking some alder trees near the park pond for finches. A handful of goldfinches were found but the only group of siskins noted was a small flock of 10 which flew past the pond.

There was a good selection of ducks on the park pond and on the nearby pools in the field. Unfortunately the noise of the guns from a local pheasant shoot about 1 km away, was loud enough to put all the wildfowl into the air. It provided a good idea of the large numbers of ducks on these two stretches of water with about 200 teal, 100 wigeon, 15 shoveler, 50 mallard, 2 tufted duck and 6 gadwall. Most of the wigeon and teal headed off to feed on the saltmarsh near the Point, or sought the peace out in the river Colne. A water rail squealed from the back of the pond in the afternoon. An unusually large group of stock doves appeared over the fields as about 30 birds flew around with one main group very wary about coming down to land.

On the way to the Point, 2 stonechat, rock pipit were noted along with a few skylarks, reed buntings, meadow pipits and a small flock of 10 linnets. The tide was well out during the morning and waders dotted about into the distance. The river Colne was quiet with only a handful of great crested grebes and one red-breasted merganser noted. A group of five mergansers were reported later in the day in the river. Two common seals were also noted in the river.

The clear sunny conditions provided clear views along the length of the Colne with several hundreds of both avocets and shelduck on both sides of the river standing out in the bright sunshine. On the nearer mud by the East Mersea Hard there were 106 avocets roosting in a long line. A handful of bar-tailed godwits were also noted flying into the Colne.

There were the usual flocks of brent geese feeding or flying around the entrance to the river on both sides. A small group fed on the saltmarsh by the Golfhouse along with 50 wigeon several teal and a snipe.

Earlier in the week a big flock of 500 golden plover flew high over the car park on Thursday 5th with another flock of about 400 birds resting on mud by the Strood on Friday. On Tuesday 3rd a green sandpiper flew low over the pond as it headed west, 6 siskins fed on alders nearby, while 200 wood pigeons headed south-west high over the park early on the same morning, presumably new arrivals from the continent. A late painted lady butterfly was also seen in the car park.

The moth trap put out at the park during a still but clear Tuesday night providing five species with feathered thorn, mallow, November, black rustic and a yellow-line quaker.