FIRS FOX

The foxes in Firs Chase have been getting more brazen in recent months, usually sitting at the side of the road to watch the traffic go past - or in the case of this individual, sit in the middle of the road!

The Firs Chase garden feeder is still getting several red squirrel visits each day with this dark female with tufts a regular each day. 

One of the teats is just noticeable on this same female red squirrel.

Twenty minutes after watching the female in the early evening on Monday 3rd, this male red squirrel appeared and began tucking into the peanuts.

A red squirrel was also reported at the country park being seen on the grassy island in the middle of the car park at the end of June.

A surprise first thing on Sunday 9th was this grey partridge feeding in the middle of the car park at Cudmore Grove before the first cars arrived.

Forty swifts flew west over the park during the day on Wednesday 12th and 25 swifts were circling over West Mersea houses in the evening of Monday 10th.

The little egret roost is starting to build up again at the park pond with 24 counted on Thursday 13th. Also at the pond a sparrowhawk came out of the trees while nearby four kestrels were flying about. The distinctive call of a nightingale was heard in bushes near the car park on the 13th - a bird on passage heading south.

At Maydays farm a hobby, greenshank, common buzzard and 2 grey partridge were seen by Martin Cock on Wednesday 12th. A sandwich tern and the Strood yellow legged gull have also been noted in recent days too.

A barn owl was hovering alongside the East Mersea road at Bocking Hall at dusk on Sunday 9th. Various little owls have been on show recently too with one near Meeting Lane and Chapmans Lane on 4th, another near Meeting Lane on the 5th while a different individual was by the country park entrance on 10th.

The six-spot burnet moths are having a much better season than last summer, with these two locked together on a field scabious flower at the park. A dozen six-spot burnets were on the wing on Thursday 13th, and also in the long grass were 4 common blues, 20+ gatekeepers, 20+ meadow browns, ringlet, small copper and a number of both skipper species.

A black-tailed skimmer was flying along the park dyke on the 13th.

Four adders were noted at the park on Thursday 13th.