FESTIVE FLOCKS

A Happy Xmas to all followers of Mersea Wildlife.
Local wildlife continues to be watched over the festive period with this oystercatcher and turnstone standing at East Mersea Point on a sunny Boxing Day. The Colne was rather quiet with a common seal the only thing of note.

This pair of oystercatchers are often seen at the Point during high tide if the beach is quiet such as early on Monday 26th.

Thirty sanderling were feeding at the Point with about 25 turnstone - the previous day 40 sanderling were seen on the beach.

After all the waders had flown away from the beach, a peregrine was seen overhead and after it circled round looking down at the Point, it continued flying across the river to Colne Point on Monday morning. Twenty minutes earlier another peregrine was seen flying fast and low west over the grazing fields towards the pond.

A common buzzard was perched in the copse to the side of the pond on Monday.

The flock of 1500 wigeon continued to graze the fields at the park over both days.

Around the pools were 34 greylag geese, 100 teal, 25 shoveler and 3 snipe, black-tailed godwit and 20 redshank.

A grey heron was stalking the edge of the park's dyke on Monday, also 2 little egrets flew over in the afternoon. Two stonechats were seen near the seawall on Sunday 25th.

A curlew was feeding well on the fields beside the pond, this one with a worm dangling from its bill having just plucked it out of the soil.

The water rail has been very obliging recently with one of the birds showing well along the field margin on Sunday and Monday. The Cetti's warbler was seen briefly in flight between clumps of reeds. The female pochard is still at the park pond along with 5 tufted ducks.

A red squirrel was seen in Firs Chase on both Saturday and Sunday with the latter sighting of an individual lacking the ear tufts of one seen here the previous week.