WADER AND WILDFOWL FLOCKS

More rain in recent days brought more waders and wildfowl onto the park's grazing fields, especially for the high tide roosts. The fields are providing perfect feeding conditions for many birds with the saturated ground.
The biggest flocks were noted on Thursday 30th with eleven species of wildfowl on the fields and pond, along with nine species of wader. It was an impressive sight.

Birds of note were a group of 13 pintail that circled over the fields a couple of times before flying over the Colne and also at least two knot feeding on the pasture. Rough numbers of birds included 1000+ wigeon, 1000+ black-tailed godwit, 500+ teal, 500+ dunlin, 200+ redshank, 150+ lapwing, 150+ turnstone, 50+ curlew, 25+ shoveler and ten greylag geese. Two snipe were seen hiding amongst some rushes.

Also on the fields were 10 skylark, 10 pied wagtail, 15 meadow pipit, 200 starlings and 3 little egrets. On the nearby saltmarsh a rock pipit was seen while a sparrowhawk was perched in the hedge overlooking the mass of birds on the fields.

In the car park on Thursday a goldcrest was noted, a song thrush was singing near the overflow car park while a mistle thrush was singing loudly at daybreak from Bromans Lane.

On Wednesday 29th a marsh harrier flew over the fields and a second bird passed over Ivy Farm nearby.

The female pochard has been at the park pond for over a week now, here photographed by Andy Field on Monday 27th.

This snow bunting, pictured above and below, was found by Andy at the Point on Monday - presumably one of the two that had been seen five days earlier.

A sparrowhawk flew low past the pond on Monday morning and a kestrel was noted too.

This sparrowhawk was checking out the various bird feeders and was photographed by David Nicholls at his West Mersea garden on Sunday 26th. Also of interest there was a blackcap on Sunday morning.