ARCTIC WIND

The water levels around the park continue to creep up following more rain in recent days. The water in the dyke pictured above, was spilling over onto the path inside the seawall on Friday 28th. It was another cold day with the Arctic wind freshening up in the afternoon bringing with it, horizontal hail showers.

At daybreak there was a very musical start to the day at the park with the sound of the 20+ goldfinches rousing from their roost in some car park bushes. After feeding on alders near the pond, the birds gathered back again at the end of the day, singing noisily from some other car park bushes. Also in the afternoon 8 redwings and 10 blackbirds fed on the grass in the car park.
A woodcock was reported flying south over the car park at dusk earlier in the week.

A very obliging water rail was watched feeding in the grass field near the pond, although the amount of times it cocked its tail, it was obviously very nervous about being out in the open. A fox snoozed late in the day by the pond, while in the trees by the water 30 stock doves gathered for the night. On the pond there was the usual mix of ducks with mallard, gadwall, teal, wigeon, tufted duck and shoveler.

The flooded field held an impressive number of waders and wildfowl again with 800+ wigeon, 200 teal, 80 shoveler, 220 black-tailed godwits, 50 redshank, 50 lapwing, 30 curlew along with gadwall, mallard and a few golden plover, turnstone and 5 snipe.

At the Point there were 90 shelduck, 4 red-breasted mergansers while 4 avocets were seen flying past. A common seal that was about 40 metres away, kept a close eye on me from the safety of the river.

Also seen on Friday was a mixed flock of 100 fieldfare and redwings in fields near Chapmans Lane, West Mersea. Hugh Owen saw the male hen harrier just north of the Island on Langenhoehall marshes.

On Wednesday morning the barn owl provided close views from the car as it hunted alongside Bromans Lane just before 8am, while a fox trotted along the nearby road and a marsh harrier flew passed the East Mersea pub early in the morning.
Andy Field noted offshore from West Mersea, 3 great northern divers, 12 red-breasted mergansers, pair of goldeneye and also 3 Slavonian grebes (one less than the day before).



Despite the freezing temperature at the park early on Friday evening under the bright full moon, this early moth pictured above, was resting on the outside of the information room at the park along with a couple of winter moths.