STILL SPINNING

The grey phalarope was still spinning relentlessly on the pools in the grazing fields at the country park throughout Friday 20th. Both these pictures here were taken a few days ago by Alan Reynolds. The bird has now been present for its 8th day and has hardly stopped spinning since it arrived. Occasionally it flies to another part of the pool and promptly restarts spinning again. The Howard Vaughan and his birding group saw the bird briefly on a saltmarsh pool before it returned to the fields.
Andy Field noted a green sandpiper on the pools in the fields on Friday afternoon.


The glossy ibis have not been seen since Tuesday but Richard Brown managed to photograph them last Sunday at the park pond, see http://dickie-b-birdography.blogspot.com/search/label/Glossy%20ibis;

A juvenile Arctic tern was seen fishing in the river Colne this morning by the Point for the second day running. The bird showing its very distinctive white secondary feathers and thin black line along the primary tips was happily flying back and forwards and regularly diving into the water close to the Point. This is the first record for the country park.

The tide was going out during the morning with a good variety of waders and brent geese on show. The main waders of interest were the 150+ avocets and the recent influx of dunlin with 1000 birds feeding. The first shelduck appear to have come back recently from their moulting grounds in Germany with 18 birds near the Point. Ten little egrets were noted in the area too as were 2 rock pipits in the saltmarsh. A common seal swam out of the river in the morning.

Amongst a few of the small migrants that passed were 10 siskin and 4 lesser redpolls, while 4 fieldfares and 10 blackbirds were seen at the back of the grazing fields. A sparrowhawk was mobbed by crows near the Golfhouse while the previous day a male sparrowhawk presumably on passage crossed over from Brightlingsea heading west. A marsh harrier was also on the move along the coast yesterday. A little owl flew beside Bromans Lane near the park at night-fall.

The sunshine during the day brought out 3 red admirals and a common darter at the park. Last night a November moth was resting on a lit window at the park.