AUTUMN TONES OF BRAMBLING

A colourful male brambling was photographed by Andy Field on Monday 2nd, as it fed on the rowan berries in the car park at Cudmore Grove.

The brambling was first seen by David Pallash on Saturday 1st who remarked that "autumn has very much arrived when the bramblings return. Name a bird that better embodies those autumn tones! Beautiful!"

Martin Cock refound the brambling on Monday morning still feeding on the rowan berries and was still around in the afternoon when these photos were taken by Andy. The bird has been very confiding even with people nearby in the car park, sometimes feeding on the ground as well as in the trees.

A close-up shot of some of the brambling's beak after it has been gorging itself on the berries.

The last time brambling was seen feeding on these rowan trees was exactly the same time of year three years earlier, when a pair stayed for a couple of days on 1st and 2nd November 2017.

Also in the rowan tree at Cudmore Grove with the brambling was this fieldfare photographed by Andy on Monday. A closer look at this bird seems to show a nasty wound on the side of the breast as if it has been attacked by a sparrowhawk but managed to escape.

The fieldfare sat still in the rowan tree while being watched- hopefully it will recover from its wound.

Six swallows flew over the Cudmore Grove car park on Monday afternoon heading west.

A merlin was seen chasing a skylark in Chapmans Lane by Martin Cock and there was a flock of 1000 starlings at Bocking Hall.

Along the Strood on a windy Monday there was a peregrine stirring all the birds in the channel, also the wheatear still on the seawall, five Mediterranean gulls and 400 golden plover also noted.

A dull and breezy walk along the seawall at Maydays farm on Sunday 1st produced a female pintail flying up the Pyefleet channel, male marsh harrier, pair of stonechats, two sparrowhawks, five Mediterranean gulls, 30 avocets and four great crested grebes.

The purple sandpiper was watched feeding on the mud at East Mersea Point on Sunday by Steve Entwistle, also two sanderling and four bar-tailed godwits there.

In West Mersea a common buzzard was seen flying south over the High Street by Ian Black on Sunday, while a sparrowhawk was seen flying over Shaun Bater's garden in Estuary Park Road also on Sunday

On Saturday 31st along the Strood during the high tide period was a wheatear, two rock pipits, 12 Mediterranean gulls and 500 golden plover.

David Pallash reported seeing at Cudmore Grove on Saturday the brambling, also fieldfare, 20 siskin, 30 linnets, 30 turnstone, 50 knot, 2 stonechat, 100 brent geese, 25 greylag geese, 60 wigeon, four shoveler, 17 meadow pipits, 13 skylarks, 19 black-tailed godwits, 3 sanderling, 8 avocets and a Cetti's warbler.

A short-eared owl was the highlight of a walk along the Strood seawall on Friday 30th, seen as it flew along the scrub on Ray Island. Also a kingfisher, wheatear, stonechat, Cetti's warbler, two rock pipits, 1500+ golden plover, sparrowhawk, buzzard and two marsh harriers.

The snow bunting showed well again at East Mersea Point on Friday for Michael Thorley to take these two photos. The bird seen stretching its wing here.

The snow bunting hasn't been seen again since Friday, although it can stay still and undetected amongst the shingle.

A marsh harrier was also seen by Michael, flying over whilst at the Point.

Martin Cock reported a swallow, stonechat and a marsh harrier walking from Cudmore to the Oyster Fishery on Friday.

On Thursday 29th two siskins flew over Firs Chase, a lesser redpoll flew over Feldy View, green sandpiper along the Strood seawall and 800 golden plover in the air over Feldy Marshes.

The delicate micro-moth Olive-tree Pearl or Palpita vitrealis with its near translucent wings was a nice surprise in the Firs Chase garden on a mild evening on Friday 30th. It is regarded as a migrant moth, no doubt blown into the country by the recent southerly wind. It has been trapped a few times in the autumn on the Island before, the last garden record was in October 2014.