SLEEPY FOX

A fox enjoyed snoozing near the country park pond in the winter sunshine on Friday 19th. Nestled beside a hedgerow, it was sheltered from the chilly north-westerly breeze by the nearby trees. At times it seemed so tired it could hardly keep its eyes open for long.

The fox was also seen enjoying the sunshine a couple of days earlier in the same spot.

One of the moorhens feeding nearby in the field got a bit startled to see the fox and couldn't work out how safe it was to hang around!

A curlew dropped down onto the field near the pond to feed. In the nearby grazing field 84 curlews roosted during the early afternoon high tide on Friday.
At the pond 9 little egrets roosted in the trees and ten tufted ducks were on the water along with several mallard, gadwall and teal.
The regular group of twenty blackbirds and two song thrushes was feeding in the car park area.

The little owl was in the usual section of hedge along from the park pond on Friday. This picture of the same little owl was taken by Andy Field a week earlier on Friday 12th.


Also on Friday 19th fifty shoveler were on the saltmarsh by the Golfhouse, also 20 meadow pipits near here and 2 rock pipits by the Point.  On the mud were 100 avocets while in the Colne were 8 red-breasted mergansers, 8 great crested grebes and a common seal.
A common buzzard perched on a telegraph post near Bocking Hall as daybroke on Friday while at the end of the day a muntjac deer was seen in Bromans Lane just after dark.


The pair of stonechat was at the Point on Wednesday 17th with 800 wigeon feeding in the grazing fields. The previous day a common buzzard was mobbed by crows as it flew near the pond, also ten tufted ducks and two little egrets here on that Tuesday 16th. Fifty golden plover and 700 wigeon were in the park fields.

After lots of rain during the morning of Monday 15th, it brightened up enough to squelch along the muddy seawall path beside the Strood channel in the afternoon. A nearby passing shower was followed by a rainbow over Bonners Barn.


A kingfisher also added some brightness to the walk, flying from the reed-filled dyke over the seawall. Amongst the usual variety of waders on the mudflats were 25 knot and 3 bar-tailed godwits of note. The brent goose flock on the Peldon side seemed to have increased to 3000 birds. Amongst the moorings were 25 little grebes with four red-breasted mergansers seen from the West Mersea Hard.


On Sunday 14th four great northern divers and nine common scoter were seen offshore from West Mersea by Steve Entwistle.