Friday, 8 September 2017

FORAGING FLOCK

This blue tit and long-tailed tit posed briefly on a plant stalk in front of the bird hide at the park. The various tits are foraging around the park bushes and trees in a big flock with one or two warblers with them too.

Bird highlight of Thursday 7th was an osprey first seen mid morning over Brightlingsea before heading up the Colne hovering and flying around the Geedons. Later in the afternoon it was seen by Martin Cock flying over the fields at Maydays farm and then into the Pyefleet.

Birds noted at the East Mersea Point on Thursday were 2 sandwich tern, 3 little tern, 25+ common terns, 50 linnets, Mediterranean gull and 70 avocets. Seventy little egrets and a marsh harrier were reported by the pond, where 20 goldfinches were also noted.
A whinchat, 2 wheatears and two sandwich terns were seen at Reeveshall by Andy Field on Thursday.

On Wednesday 6th, two swifts passed over the park with fifty swallows and house martins, also a hobby flew west. Twenty goldfinches and a goldcrest near the car park, with a greenshank on the mudflats.

A swift flew west with some swallows near the park on Tuesday 5th, also fifty house martins, 50 little egrets at the pond roost, two teal on the pond and fifty curlew in the fields.

A male redstart found by Jonathan Norgate near the Shop Lane seawall on Sunday 3rd, was still present on Monday and Tuesday, although quite mobile at times as it moved along the hedgeline beside Fishponds Wood.

At the park on Sunday 3rd, a sparrowhawk, 2 kestrels, 36 little egrets, lesser whitethroat, 3 blackcaps, 12 goldfinches were noted along with 15 common terns in the Colne.

A cockatiel flew noisily east over the car park on Saturday 2nd, also 7 mistle thrushes in the car park. A marsh harrier was quartering the fields at Weir Farm in the morning.


Birds seen by Andy Field on a walk from Shop Lane to Maydays on Saturday 2nd included a curlew sandpiper, leucistic redshank, common sandpiper, greenshank, 80 avocets, 2 hobbies, 3 marsh harriers, 2 common buzzards, 2 little terns, 5 wheatears, whinchat and 12 yellow wagtails including a "blue-headed" type seen briefly.


Two wheatears were by the seawall at the park on Friday 1st.
A little gull was seen in the Pyefleet on Sunday 3rd by Martin Cock while on 28th August a black-necked grebe was seen in the Pyefleet by Martin.

The clump of yellow flowered clematis tangutica is in full colourful bloom at East Mersea Point.

The sea aster mining bees were still swarming among the edge of the saltmarsh at the Point on Thursday 7th.
Butterflies noted at the park included 10 small whites, 4 small heaths, common blue, 3 red admiral, 2 speckled woods. An adder was seen on Thursday morning basking in the sun.

A red squirrel showed briefly in trees by the buildings in the country park early on Thursday 7th. The first one I've seen here myself since last autumn.

The red squirrel looked on anxiously, making loud tutting noises and flicking its tail, before scampering away through the trees beside the overflow car park.

Other recent red squirrel sightings include one on the East Mersea road just west of the pub on Wednesday 6th, also two seen by Paul Harrison at the west end of the footpath between Waldegraves and Rewsalls on Tuesday 5th and one seen at Fishponds Wood on Sunday 3rd by Andy Field. Also one seen recently by Matthew Cock on East Road near Cross Lane.

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