Thursday, 6 September 2012

SUNSET WALK


There was a colourful end to Thursday 6th as the sun set over the Reeveshall pool in East Mersea. A couple of hours walk along the nearby seawall was perfect for watching the waders arriving to feed in the Pyefleet Channel as the tide went out with sixteen species of wader noted.

On the Reeveshall pool a greenshank, green sandpiper, 20 black-tailed godwit, snipe, pair of swans and 3 little egrets were present while a water rail was heard calling from the back. Three snipe were seen flying over Broad Fleet.


A roosting flock of 270 avocets, some pictured above, were waiting in the small Reeveshall bay in the Pyefleet for the tide to go out. Elsewhere along the Pyefleet were 3 curlew sandpipers, 25 knot, 50+ dunlin, 50 ringed plover, 10 bar-tailed godwit, 200+ black-tailed godwit, 150 grey plover, 5 turnstone, 2 greenshank and three spotted redshank heard calling but not seen.

A hobby hunting dragonflies close to the Langenhoe seawall, kept disturbing some of the waders in the nearby Pyefleet. Four marsh harriers were seen hunting over Langenhoe prior to going to roost. Also noted in the Pyefleet was a great crested grebe, 2 little terns, common tern and a common seal on the mud. A sparrowhawk was seen at the start of the walk, sitting on the ground in Shop Lane.

Earlier in the day there was the bright blue flash of a kingfisher at the country park pond in the morning. The loud distinctive whistling coming from the pond announced the arrival of the first kingfisher to be seen here this year. The bird was seen flying low across the water, the sunshine emphasising the blue back and wings as it flew to land on a branch over the water.

An adder was hiding in its usual spot near the track in the morning. The buddlleia bushes near the hide are still in flower with 10 red admirals, 4 small tortoiseshells and a comma seen. Other butterflies seen included small white, large white, small heath, speckled wood and meadow brown.

Steve Entwistle noted a willow warbler along the path from Meeting Lane along with lesser whitethroat and whitethroat and chiffchaff

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