WARM SPELL CONTINUES

The recent warm weather has seen the water level slowly recede on the main pool in the park's grazing fields. Here a little egret with three lapwings were present on Monday 25th.

The little egret high tide roost at the park pond comprised 28 birds perched in the trees on Monday.

Two yellow wagtails, a house martin, 2 green woodpeckers were seen during the day. At dusk an angry blackbird mobbed a little owl all the way across the park and both then perched at either end of a park bench with the blackie continuing to berate the owl.

At the park on Saturday 23nd a flock of 70 swallows flew high over the park at daybreak and a yellow wagtail flew over later in the day. The little egret roost was 36 birds at the park pond, 5 tufted ducklings were on the dyke and the swans still have 7 cygnets. Twelve golden plover and 3 dunlin flew off the mudflats as the tide came in.

Butterflies at the park included speckled wood, ringlet, meadow brown, gatekeeper, comma, red admiral, peacock, small / Essex skipper, large white and small white.

Dragonflies noted along the park dyke on Saturday were emperor, black-tailed skimmer, ruddy darter along with several small red-eyed damselflies, blue-tailed damselflies and azure damselflies.

There was a surprise sight of a kingfisher making a brief appearance on Friday 22nd at the park pond, staying only for a minute or so. Thirty-five little egrets were at the pond, while on the main pool in the fields were 90 redshank and 15 black-tailed godwits.

A grass-snake was seen crossing one of the paths in the park - the first report this year at the park of a grass-snake.

Alongside the East Mersea road near Bocking Hall two barn owls were glimpsed in the fading light hunting the fields just as night fell on Sunday 24th.

A sizeable flock of 100+ swifts were seen by Andy Field flying over High St North in West Mersea on Thursday 21st. The previous day 30 swifts were seen over the Queen Ann area.

An evening walk on Thursday 21st past Fishponds Wood in Shop Lane, provided the surprise view of a couple of sparrowhawk chicks on their nest. One of the nearly fledged youngsters can just about be seen in the picture with its head facing right partly obscured by a cross-branch. The youngsters showed the barring on the chests while around the head were a few tufts of down still present.

On the Reeveshall pool was a good gathering of 15 green sandpipers, 3 grey heron, 5 avocets, black-tailed godwit and a passing pair of common tern. Also noted on Reeveshall were 42 greylag geese, common buzzard, 20 swallows while in the Pyefleet was a greenshank, little tern, 20 avocets, 4 common tern and three broods of shelducklings.

On Langenhoe a juvenile marsh harrier was flying around and the chorus of several marsh frogs could be heard carrying across the Pyefleet.

The following day at Reeveshall a greenshank, 9 green sandpipers and two common buzzards were seen by Andy Field. On Sunday 24th ten green sandpipers, sparrowhawk chick and 7 ruddy darters were seen by Steve Entwistle here.

At the park pond on Wednesday 20th a hobby passed over the hide a couple of times in the early evening. A small group of swallows were flying over the fields including a couple of sand martins.

A hummingbird hawkmoth was seen in the park on Tuesday 19th by Andy, the first report this summer on the Island so far. A hornet hoverfly was seen at the park by Annie Gordon.

A Sandwich tern flew west past the park offshore on Sunday 17th, also two common terns seen offshore. A wigeon and a couple of teal were on the main pool in the grazing fields.

A red squirrel was noted at the feeder in Firs Chase on 18th pm, 20th am, 22nd pm while on the 24th early in the morning the regular squirrel was briefly joined by a second scruffy one.
On Monday 18th a red squirrel was reported by Sheila Rayner in Cross Lane.