SPRING SQUALLS

This common seal was basking on the mud along the Pyefleet Channel near Maydays Farm on a day of squally showers on Monday 3rd. The photo is a digiscoped one with the seal about 250 metres away, so even at that distance it was keeping its muddy eyes on me. The wind was blowing strongly from the north, making it difficult to keep the tripod and telescope still to take some pictures. The picture seems to show the seal half-way through moulting its light brown coat.

Close-by to this seal was a second smaller seal, which was a little bit more active, flopping back into the water for a short swim before shuffling itself across the mud. These two seals were presumably a mother and its young pup born last year.

The strong wind made it difficult to birdwatch and at one point had to seek shelter behind the seawall as a hail squall blew through. The Pyefleet was at its emptiest for many months for its waders. Apart from 30 or so oystercatchers, a grey plover and a curlew, there were just lots of gulls and a few groups of shelduck. Feeding in the deep creeks and rills of the Maydays saltings were 2 greenshank, a very dark spotted redshank, 2 whimbrel, 10 redshank and 2 little egrets. A flock of 30 brent geese were seen flying over Langenhoe Marsh.

Whilst lying down waiting for another squall to blow through, a male sparrowhawk got blown across the Pyefleet and landed in a nearby tree for 10 minutes. The male and female marsh harriers were seen over Reeveshall as were a further two males over Maydays that crossed to Langenhoe.

Also on Reeveshall were 12 lapwings, 3 whimbrel, 24 greylag geese, pair of gadwall, yellow wagtail, grey heron, reed bunting and a swift passing over. Four brown hares were seen in one wheat field.

Richard Hull and Andy Field had braved the morning squalls and wind on Langenhoe and noted 2 spotted redshank, common buzzard, 2 Cetti's warblers, several marsh harriers and lots of common whitethroats but little else in the strong wind.

The saltmarshes in many places around the Island at the moment are dotted white with the little flowers of the scurvy grass. There were many scattered clumps across the Maydays saltmarsh and also on the saltmarsh near the Strood pictured above.

An evening walk along the Strood seawall on Monday provided views of two sparrowhawks, 2 whimbrel, 10 grey plover, 10 turnstone, little tern, 2 linnets, yellow wagtail and a male marsh harrier along the Feldy seawall on the mainland.