BLUE SKIES

After all the rain of the last few days, it was great to see the sun and the blue sky for virtually the whole day. The parts of the park that had standing water on it yesterday had all soaked away. The wind had dropped and there was even some warmth in the sun. No sign of any adders out from their hibernation yet - but they should be out in the next few days.

A walk to the Point at the end of the day was worthwhile as 3 snow buntings were discovered crouching low down on the beach. Two adult males looking very white and a female blended well with the colouring of the surrounding shingle. These are the first to be seen here for almost a month and a half.

Other birds of note were 1000 brent geese flying over the Colne from fields near Moverons at Brightlingsea, while in the outer part of the river 4 red-breasted mergansers were seen. Fifteen bar-tailed godwits flew up-river and 800 golden plover roosted on the nearby mud.

The blue colour of the sky was really noticeable today after so much greyness recently. This scene pictured above caught my eye as it is taken inside a thick hedge at the park. The camera is pointing down at the normally dark and stagnant water in the ditch providing this unexpected bright and colourful reflection of the trees branches and the blue sky above.

This is the old oak tree whose reflection is shown in the earlier photo, standing over the ditch full of water.


The fields still have water pouring onto it from the overflowing pond at the western end, while elsewhere water from the flooded field overflows into the borrowdyke.
During the midday high tide 200 black-tailed godwits and 100 redshank were the main wader flocks standing in the flooded field. Not so many wigeon with about 400 noted along with lots of teal, shoveler, gadwall, curlew and lapwing. About 10 snipe were also seen hiding in the stand of rushes.

There was an obliging close fly-past by a barn owl over the rough grass field on the west side of the car park, just before the sun was about to set. The owl flew around the field for about five minutes in its hunt for mice and voles, before it disappeared over to the caravan site. Thirty-five fieldfares flew over the car park just as the sun was setting. A fox had been seen crossing a field near the pond, also as the sun-set.