Monday, 17 July 2017

STROOD POCHARD BROOD

Discovering a brood of pochard ducklings was the noteworthy sighting of the walk along the Strood seawall on a very sunny Monday 17th. The family was feeding along the dyke in the same place where a pochard brood was seen last year.

All five pochard ducklings sticking together as they follow the mother along the dyke.
Two other young pochard broods were seen on the country park pond at East Mersea towards the end of June but were not seen again.

Yellow wagtails from the pairs at either end of the Strood seawall were seen on Monday, this female feeding just below the seawall.

Two sedge warblers were seen, one singing, also four singing reed warblers, two singing corn buntings, 100+ house sparrows in bushes near the dyke and a meadow pipit singing from the saltmarsh.
This male reed bunting was making the most of the hot weather by having a sunbathe and puffing its feathers out. Two male reed buntings were heard singing.

Ten little egrets were seen along the Strood channel, this one doing a spot of fishing near the sluice outflow.
Not much variety of waders on the mud at low tide although 3 greenshank, 5 whimbrel, 75+ curlew and 150 redshank were the main ones noted.
Three common buzzards circled over the Peldon side of the channel while a fourth bird flew south-west down-channel. A hobby mobbed one of the buzzards high over Sampsons Creek.

High over the West Mersea houses 40+ swifts were in the air while in the early evening a hobby chased after a flock of 200+ starlings over Victory Road.

Along the Strood seawall on Sunday 16th a greenshank, 2 whimbrel, one black-tailed godwit, four common terns, 3 common buzzards, sedge warbler, 4 reed warblers, yellow wagtail and 30 swifts were the main highlights.

A brown argus butterfly was seen on the Strood seawall on Monday 17th.


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