Wednesday 8 March 2017

PLOVERS ON BEACH

Some ringed plovers have started showing an interest in the beach at East Mersea Point with four birds calling and displaying to each other near the old pillbox on Monday 6th. Last year a ringed plover pair nested successfully on the beach, although it was probably their second or third attempt to do so last season.

There was a roost in the park fields of 200+ redshank on Monday with 220 being counted during the previous day's high tide. Also 120 curlew roosted in the fields on Monday. The sight and sound of lapwings displaying over the fields provided a touch of spring with 16 birds present.

Also on Monday in the mid morning sunshine a sparrowhawk soared in thee sky to the north of the park, a marsh harrier tussled with a common buzzard high to the north while a male marsh harrier could be seen as a tiny speck in the distance to the north-west displaying high over Reeveshall.

At the park pond the pair of pochard was back again on Monday after disappearing on Sunday, also present were 12 tufted duck. Two water rails squealed to each other from different parts of the reeds at the pond and the Cetti's warbler was heard singing too.

Three house sparrows were still by the park buildings on Tuesday 7th and 25 wigeon grazed the small pond-field. On the grazing fields the pale-bellied brent goose was with 300 brent geese, also 600+ wigeon, 200+ teal and 40+ shoveler. Three linnets and 2 singing reed buntings were at the Point.

At the Youth Camp a kingfisher, two common buzzards and 25 meadow pipits were seen by Andy Field on Tuesday while Martin Cock reported six Canada geese and a displaying marsh harrier over Reeveshall.

The sunshine on Monday saw a red admiral fly across the park's car park while one adder basked on Monday and two were seen on Tuesday.

The first proper view this spring of a corn bunting back on its song-post along Chapmans Lane first thing on Monday 6th. A month ago a bird also appeared to be a corn bunting sitting on some overhead wires here but the view was too brief to be sure from the moving car.
A Mediterranean gull was in the nearby Chapmans field on Sunday 5th.

There were sunshine and showers during Sunday 5th, with this rainbow seen behind the park pond during the afternoon.
A sparrowhawk flew past the pond, a reed bunting was heard calling nearby, and five tufted ducks and a pair of little grebes were on the pond. A marsh harrier flew north over the Point at the end of the afternoon.
The black brant was seen Sunday morning at the West Mersea Hard by Steve Entwistle.

An immature glaucous gull was seen in the river Colne by Steve Bunn on Saturday afternoon as it followed a boat back to Brightlingsea. The bird was seen to have the pale wings of a possible second winter type bird.
Earlier on Saturday a guillemot was seen in the Colne and two rock pipits were seen at the Point by Andy Field.
At West Mersea the black brant was at the Hard, 4 Mediterranean gulls and a Slavonian grebe were seen offshore from the Esplanade by Andy.

Two red squirrels were seen a minute apart on the cedar tree in the Firs Chase garden first thing on Tuesday 7th. The first squirrel enjoyed a feed of a couple of minutes before scampering away, followed shortly by a second red squirrel which appeared briefly on the tree, sniffed the feeder and then shot off seemingly trying to follow the route of the first squirrel through trees in neighbouring gardens. Not sure if this short video clip will work, showing a squirrel at the feeder on Monday.

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