Tuesday, 1 August 2017

STROOD YELLOW-LEGGED

This yellow-legged gull was feeding halfway along the Strood channel on Monday 31st. In the sunshine the yellow legs showed up well compared with the pink legs of the commoner herring gulls. Presumably this is the regular individual that has frequented the Strood for the last few years, usually seen sitting on the lump of concrete by the causeway -most recently about ten days ago.

A corn bunting was singing from a bush by the Strood seawall at the north-eastern end.
Six yellow wagtails were also seen in this area too.

Two big flocks of house sparrows totalling 200+ birds have been feeding on the ripening wheat crops inside the seawall in recent days. It's one of the biggest gatherings of sparrows here for some years.
A hawk-type bird flew close to some of the sparrows which caused some alarm amongst them, until it perched up and turned out to be a brown juvenile cuckoo!

A sand martin passed over the fields heading south-west. A marsh harrier and a common buzzard were seen flying over the mainland fields of Feldy.

A skylark was one of a handful seen along the Strood fields, this one feeding on the top of the seawall on Monday 31st.

A late morning walk along the Strood seawall on Sunday 30th produced views of hobby, marsh harrier, kestrel, juvenile sparrowhawk by the Lane, 12 sand martin, 2 yellow wagtail, 70 linnets, 1 red knot, greenshank, 12 golden plover, 2 whimbrel, 6 black-tailed godwit, 3 corn buntings, 6 common terns and 2 Mediterranean gulls.

Similar birds were noted along the Strood on Friday 28th with marsh harrier, common buzzard, juvenile sparrowhawk, 4 common terns, 4 Mediterranean gulls, whimbrel, 7 black-tailed godwits, 2 yellow wagtails, 14 swifts and 200 house sparrows.

A change of scene on Saturday 29th with a walk along the Maydays seawall produced 4 common sandpipers, 3 marsh harriers, 4 common terns, great crested grebe, 7 shelduck, yellowhammer and 20 house martins of note here.

Three spoonbills were seen on Rat Island in the Colne by Martin Cock on Friday 28th looking from Ivy Dock area at East Mersea.
Two common sandpipers were seen in Maydays Creek on Sunday 30th by Steve Entwistle who later saw a kingfisher by the Oyster Fishery.

Two painted ladies were on Strood seawall on Sunday 30th and a single one at Maydays seawall on Saturday 29th.

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