SEASONAL GREETINGS

A Happy Christmas to everyone.

A song thrush which recently reappeared in our Firs Chase garden after its autumn break, has started singing outside our front of house.

A sunny but chilly walk along the Strood seawall on Christmas Day with the fields getting more waterlogged with each rainy day. A marsh harrier and a peregrine were seen flying together over the top end of the Strood channel for a few minutes before drifting away eastwards up towards Wellhouse farm. The peregrine was making a few stoops on waders on the channel while the female marsh harrier circled above and despite the peregrine seemingly flying faster, the marsh harrier seemed to follow and keep up with it. Over on Ray Island a merlin was seen disturbing a few birds off the saltmarsh, as it flew low and fast before alighting on a post.

The tide was still receding on Friday morning with the main bird flocks of interest being 150 wigeon, 100 teal, 300 golden plover and 25 avocets. The pair of stonechats was at the seawall end near the caravan site, two fieldfares flew off the Island, forty skylarks and four red-legged partridges were feeding in the fields.

A turnstone was feeding around the Strood seawall sluice on Thursday 24th. A bearded tit was heard calling from the main reedbed in the dyke, while feeding in the wet fields were 500 golden plover, 35 ringed plover and 20 dunlin. A marsh harrier flew up channel, where 27 avocets were the only waders of interest seen.

A large female peregrine was seen by Ian Black taking a redshank above the end of Ray Island on Thursday.

On a wet Wednesday 23rd along the Reeveshall seawall near Shop Lane, three marsh harriers, four yellowhammers, a singing corn bunting, 50 fieldfares and a stonechat were seen over the fields. In the Pyefleet nine red-breasted mergansers, 1000 golden plover, 1000 knot, 50 avocets and 200 lapwing were noted. A mistle thrush was seen by Fishponds Wood where two red squirrels were also seen.

On Tuesday 22nd this common buzzard was photographed by Andy Field perched in the alders near the country park pond. Also seen there were 101 greylag geese, 1000 wigeon, 212 black-tailed godwits, 100+ lapwing, 11 snipe feeding in the fields, also two Cetti's warblers heard, water rail called while offshore were two common scoters, 100 great crested grebes and two divers sps.

Offshore from the Esplanade on Tuesday morning Martin Cock reported three great northern divers, three eiders while two pale bellied brent geese were among the brent geese opposite Meeting Lane, also the leucistic starling there. Later at Maydays a pale-bellied brent goose was feeding in the brent flock there, also a kingfisher by the sluice and three common seals and a grey seal in the Pyefleet channel.

Steve Entwistle saw a great northern diver and 75 great crested grebes from the Esplanade on Tuesday afternoon while Michael Thorley reported a possible Slavonian grebe offshore from the Esplanade.

Ian Black watched four bats flying round his Mersea Avenue garden late on Tuesday afternoon.

The regular male stonechat was feeding amongst the reedmace in the dyke at the south-west end of the Strood seawall on Tuesday 22nd.

This pair of stonechat has been around for a couple of months although some days they're not always seen. Also since the autumn the other pair of stonechat has been frequenting the opposite end of the Strood seawall / dyke.

The bearded tit was heard calling from the reeds on Tuesday and also a Cetti's warbler called from a bush by the dyke near the caravan park. Two marsh harriers and a buzzard flew over the Ray, while along the channel were 200 redshank, 27 avocets and 300 golden plover.

The great spotted woodpecker is often seen in Firs Chase, this male seen from the garden on Thursday 24th.

Also seen from the Firs Chase garden was this kestrel perched in the neighbours on the 22nd. A male sparrowhawk swooped low past the bird feeders in the garden on Wednesday 23rd.

Highlights on Monday 21st during a walk along the Strood seawall were two female/ immature merlins having a brief tussle with each other on the Ray Island saltmarsh. One bird had been watched for a few minutes as it sat on a post before it quickly flew off to fly at this other merlin that was flying nearby. One dropped onto the saltmarsh while the other was watched as it flew the length of the Ray Saltings. A marsh harrier, buzzard and a kestrel were also seen during the walk.

The female kingfisher perched on a bush beside the dyke before flying away to perch on the seawall sluice. Three stonechats were seen along the dyke, while 24 skylarks and five red-legged partridges were in the fields. Also feeding in the waterlogged wheat fields were 70 ringed plovers and 40 grey plovers. In the Strood Channel were 1000 dunlin and 30 avocets.