SNOW BUNTING ON BEACH

The first snow bunting of the winter dropped briefly onto the East Mersea beach near the Point on Sunday 27th. It was found and photographed by Andy Field feeding close-by along the strandline, although dodging the many walkers enjoying the sunshine.

Earlier on Sunday three black redstarts were discovered by Jonathan Norgate beside the beach huts on the West Mersea Esplanade. Andy managed to catch up with them and took these two photos of a nicely marked male.

As well as this male black redstart, two other female/ immature birds were watched feeding sometimes on the beach and also between the beach huts. By mid morning they had disappeared as more people were out walking and also as the tide pushed up the beach too.
Two swallows were seen flying west along the beach at Seaview.

These two white-cheeked pintail were photographed beside the park dyke by Andy on Sunday morning.

Later on Sunday morning two black redstarts were seen in front of the East Mersea Youth Camp. Both were female / immature birds and were feeding on top of the frontage perching on the post and rail fence, before flying back into the camp.

Keeping company with the two black redstarts for a short while was a pair of stonechats, this male perching on the fence above the beach.

The female stonechat was also nearby, moving along the fence as I walked along.

Offshore an immature gannet was watched early afternoon flying towards the mouth of the Blackwater, doing one or two dives into the water. A flock of 150 gulls fed offshore from the Youth Camp on a shoal of fish, including a couple of Mediterranean gulls.

A poor phone-photo of the proposed boating lake beside the Youth Camp, already filled with some water and birds too. A roost of 85 ringed plovers, 10 redshank and 200 gulls including 8 Mediterranean gulls.

The gulls and waders were enjoying a work-site on a Sunday without any of the usual working disturbance.

A neighbouring marsh is also filled with water too, holding 10 redshank, 30 curlew and 10 little egrets. A common buzzard perched at the back of the Rewsalls marsh, earlier three common buzzards drifted high and west along the beach above Waldegraves. A muntjac deer was seen feeding along the edge of the marshes.

On Friday 25th at East Mersea Point, the purple sandpiper was seen flying across the Point just after high tide, although it couldn't be found anywhere subsequently. Also present here were 300 brent geese, some feeding on the mudflats and others feeding in the grazing field, 75 turnstone on the mud too, 200 golden plover overhead and the 2 white-cheeked pintail back again along the borrowdyke. At the Point were stonechat, 2 rock pipit, 20 linnets while 3 swallows also seen passing over.

Beside the Strood on Thursday 24th, the stonechat was still present, also 5 reed buntings and 25 linnets, with 20 blackbirds around Feldy View cemetery.
Martin Cock reported 5 rock pipits and a redwing in the drizzle between Coopers Beach and Fen Farm On Thursday, also a swallow passing over West Mersea.

David Nicholls reported seeing a long-eared owl while he was walking through the scrub on Ray Island on Saturday 19th.