COLNE OSPREY

The osprey that has spent the last few days in the Colne Estuary was photographed by Andrew Neal on Monday 8th. It's favourite perch has been this tall wooden post in the middle of the Geedon marsh, with Andrew managing this photo on a hazy day taken from South Green at Fingringhoe.

The bird has been seen a few times from Mersea but it appears as a distant speck on top of this post.



An attempt to see the osprey on Sunday 7th perched on the distant post proved futile although there was the compensation of seeing the sun setting down behind the Pyefleet Channel.

In the tranquil setting of the north side of the Island, 30 common terns, 4 little terns, 50 avocets, 300+ black-tailed godwits and a bar-tailed godwit were of note along the channel. Heading north over the Pyefleet as the sun set were 25+ little egrets heading to the Fingringhoe roost.

In bushes near the Oyster Fishery were a Cetti's warbler, willow warbler and a yellowhammer while overhead 20 swallows and 3 sand martins were noted.

The ringed plover was still sitting on the beach near the corner of the park seawall on Monday 8th. The bird can be seen sitting, from the nearby path on the seawall.

A green sandpiper was feeding on the main pool in the park fields on Monday 8th, where the water level is receding rapidly providing a nice muddy margin. A common sandpiper was feeding along the muddy margin on Saturday.

Also on the muddy pool on Saturday were 100 redshank, 50 black-tailed godwits while a good count of 56 little egrets roosting by the pond was an impressive sight. On the mudflats 10 golden plover, 12 turnstone and 200+ black-tailed godwits were feeding.
A little grebe seemed to be sitting on a nest on the park dyke while by the park clifftop bushes 12 long-tailed tits were counted on Saturday.

A painted lady, 3 peacocks, 2 commas, 4 red admirals were some of the butterflies of interest at the park on Saturday, along with lots of meadow browns and gatekeepers.

At Maydays farm a merlin was seen by Martin Cock to catch a house martin on Saturday.

A mothing session on the night of the 5th provided 50 species of macro moth with this canary-shouldered thorn always catching the eye with its bright yellow furry head.

This colourful micro-moth the rosy striped knot-horn was a new addition to the park's moth list. It seems to be slowly spreading in the county especially near the coast where it's foodplant is birds-foot trefoil and clover.

The dark swordgrass is regarded as an immigrant from the continent, the first one noted here this year.