FEEDING HUNGRY CHICKS

The pair of great tits were very busy fetching food for their hungry chicks at the nest inside the yellow plastic traffic bollard at the country park on Tuesday 13th. The parents could be watched discreetly from the nearby toilet building without disturbing their feeding patterns. Not sure how old the chicks are but there's more noise each day from them.

A pair of oystercatchers have been providing close views feeding in front of the hide for the last week or so. A bit of an unusual spot to see them as it seems quite an enclosed space, compared with the open grazing fields nearby. However there's good food to be had here with plenty of worms to pull out of the waterlogged soil.

The cuckoo has been more obvious at the park in recent days with the bird calling frequently and a few flight views too. Two birds flew over the park in the afternoon, one bird stopping to call repeatedly from various tree tops near the car park and near the pond. A cuckoo flew high over the car park earlier in the day.
The cuckoo was even heard in the middle of the night calling loudly in West Mersea near the bottom of the Lane in the early hours of Wednesday.

The male kestrel has been seen on the tree at the back of the fields, presumably with the female still inside the nestbox. The male has been seen hovering over the areas of long grass on the park. There was a report of a marsh harrier flying low over the pools in the fields in the afternoon.

On the pond two broods of mallard ducklings were busy feeding around the edge with one brood of ten and the other of eight. Ten tufted ducks and three little grebes were on the pond too.

Just small numbers of birds around the pools on the grazing fields with a pair of Canada geese, pair of shoveler, 8 shelduck, pair of redshank, two grey herons, little egret and two black-tailed godwits. Ten swallows were flying over the fields, a house martin and five swifts seen too.
A flock of 200 dunlin were on the edge of the mud as the tide came in near the Point.

At the end of the day a little owl perched at dusk on Tuesday beside Bromans Lane. Another little owl perched beside the Mersea road just off the Island near Bonners Barn at dusk.

Turtle doves have returned to the Wall's garden near Willoughby car park in West Mersea, being seen on several occasions in recent days at ground feeders. Two were seen by Steve Entwistle flying over the car park on Monday evening.
Also five cuckoos were noted at Bower Hall Farm on Sunday.

Two sanderling were with 100 dunlin and 25 ringed plover on mud beside the park on Thursday 8th, a cuckoo flew over the car park and a young badger was in Bromans Lane late on Wednesday 7th.

Sheltering low down on bushes from the northerly breeze on Tuesday 13th were several of these azure damselflies, as well as several blue-tailed damselflies too.
The only butterflies seen were speckled wood and orange-tip.