BRAMBLING PAIR ON THE BERRIES

A pair of bramblings was present for the second day at the country park on Thursday 2nd, feeding on rowan berries in the car park. Here the brightly patterned male tucking into the berries, these three photos taken by Andy Field.

The bramblings were very confiding allowing an approach up to just a few metres, before hopping to the back of the tree. The birds were present on and off during the day, sometimes flying to nearby trees and also feeding somewhere nearby.

The female brambling also had some orange on her upper chest and was tucking into the berries on a nearby branch. The berries have lasted well since some mistle thrushes first began eating some of them back in August.

One of my own photos of the female brambling taken earlier in the morning. The pair was also seen yesterday feeding on the berries as well.

Two redwings and two song thrushes were seen in the car park during the morning.

Eight red-legged partridge were in a field by Bromans Lane on Thursday morning.

A group of waders was roosting on the saltmarsh pool by the East Mersea Point on Wednesday 1st. Pictured are mainly dunlin and grey plover with a few knot, also bar-tailed godwit, redshank and turnstone, totalling on the pool about 500 birds.

A group of 15 avocets had been feeding in the pool but flew onto the nearby river Colne and drifted along on the high tide. Ten great crested grebes were on the sea offshore from the park.

This little egret was feeding in a pool by the beach near the Point on Wednesday with another nine birds roosting on the nearby saltmarsh at high tide.
Two fieldfares, 40 linnets, pair of stonechat were near the Golfhouse with a tufted duck in the dyke.
At the park pond a water rail called and three gadwall were present.

Three siskin and 2 redpolls were seen at the park on Wednesday, while on Tuesday a siskin and ten chaffinches were noted, also 100 brent geese in the park grazing field.

Also on Wednesday at the Youth Camp 3 common scoter, stonechat, 15 little grebes and a kingfisher were seen by Andy. Also in the same area a Mediterranean gull and forty blackbirds were reported at Coopers Beach on Wednesday by Richard Allen.

Amongst a flock of 90 greylag geese that landed on the mud off the park on Monday 30th were four barnacle geese - not one of the regularly seen geese here but probably of feral origin.

The greylags and barnacle geese spent several hours on the mud during the middle of the day before flying back up the Colne estuary. Two barnacles can just about be pictured in the middle of the picture.

Also on Monday at the park 2 siskin, redpoll and a brambling heard calling by the car park. A peregrine stooped down on the flock of waders on the mud sending them scattering and then it headed west over the mudflats. The pair of stonechats were in the fields as were two snipe, hunting sparrowhawk at dusk while back in the car park was a redwing.

In West Mersea 1500 wood pigeons flew west off the Island over Coast Road just after dawn on Monday 30th. A fieldfare flew over Upland Road first thing on Monday.

Crossing the East Mersea road near Shop Lane was a red squirrel first thing on Monday.

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Andy found this very arboreal rat at the country park high up in a maple tree feeding on the seeds on the outer branches in broad daylight - definitely not a squirrel!