Thursday, 25 May 2017

LITTLE TERNS ALONG STROOD

A pair of little terns was feeding along the Strood channel on Monday 22nd. The female seemed to pause on the mudflats for a few minutes while the male went off to find a fish to bring back for her.

The little terns were hawking up and down the main channel just after high tide, as well as hawking the borrowdyke inside the seawall too. At one point the common tern and the little terns were hunting the dyke together.

These two little egrets did a bit of balletic jousting with each other in the Strood field.

Also noted during the seawall walk was a cuckoo seen flying from Ray Island towards Strood Hill, male marsh harrier carrying prey as it flew down channel to Old Hall, one lapwing and also a pair of oystercatcher nesting in the bare field.

A male yellow wagtail was singing from the top of a branch over a path alongside the Firs Chase caravan site. A second bird was noted at the other end of the seawall.

The green algae covered mud exposed by the receding tide on the Strood.
Along the nearby dyke on Monday were 2 sedge warblers, 4 reed warblers, 3 reed buntings and 3 whitethroats with four swifts passing overhead.

A male starling was showing off on Sunday 21st as it flapped its wings and sang from a branch in Cross Lane.
Also noted was the Cetti's warbler singing near the sewage works, 3 lesser whitethroats and two common terns offshore.

During the sunny walk a hairy dragonfly hunted along the hedgerow while butterflies noted were holly blue, speckled wood and red admiral.

A cluster of three common spotted orchid plants were found in the long grass of Willoughby car park on Sunday 21st, probably ready to flower in a fortnight's time.

A male marsh harrier flew low over the nearby houses being mobbed by several noisy crows. The hot weather also saw a common buzzard flying over Martin Cock's West Mersea house while in East Mersea a red kite was reported flying over Shop Lane by Jack Hoy.

The pair of turtle doves has been reported by the Walls family being back at their garden backing onto Willoughby car park the previous weekend.

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