CALLING WAGTAIL

 A yellow wagtail was calling loudly beside the Strood seawall on Tuesday 13th, four others were also seen. Also seen were two reed buntings, four reed warblers singing, eight linnets, buzzard, ten swifts over the houses, while along the channel were an avocet, whimbrel, eight black-tailed godwits, 75 redshank, common tern and a Mediterranean gull.

Large patches of sea lavender are adding a splash of colour to the saltmarsh by the Strood.

Ian Black watched two hobbies chasing swallows in The Lane on Tuesday.

It was a surprise to see a muntjac deer in my driveway in Firs Chase in mid morning on Tuesday.

A male gatekeeper seen in Feldy View on Tuesday was the first one of the summer I've seen. Also noted were small heath, meadow browns, ringlet, red admiral, small white and large white.

A small skipper was one of several skippers seen in Feldy View on Tuesday.

A clump of purple toadflax flowering in Feldy View on Tuesday had a dozen caterpillars of the toadflax brocade moth feeding on the leaves. This once nationally rare moth has been increasing in recent years and was first noticed on the Island a couple of years ago.

In East Mersea Martin Cock made a great discovery of seeing a white-letter hairstreak at Gyants Marsh along the path between Shop Lane and Meeting Lane on Tuesday. The last sighting was ten years ago in West Mersea and prior to that back in 1984 in West Mersea. Also seen on Tuesday along the path were three purple hairstreaks, gatekeeper and six ringlets.

On Monday 12th a hobby flew fast near a group of ten swallows by the Strood seawall before heading over to Feldy marsh. Two marsh harriers were seen, three little egrets, three common terns, two black-tailed godwits, a dunlin, fifty redshank, two corn buntings, three yellow wagtails, two reed buntings, three reed warblers while ten swifts were over the houses.

At East Mersea on Monday, a sandwich tern was seen flying over the bus turning circle by Steve Entwistle, while earlier in the day Martin Cock reported eleven turnstones by the East Mersea Point.

Andy Field photographed this ringed plover still sitting on the beach at East Mersea Point on Sunday 11th. Also seen were 35 black-tailed godwits, 100 oystercatchers, ten curlew and thirty redshank.

The water level at the Reeveshall pool has dropped quite a bit recently but still holding more than the last few summers in mid July. A presumed fledged lapwing chick with an adult nearby were feeding, as was a little egret while a redshank flew over. 

A pair of Sandwich terns flew up the Pyefleet and landed in a small gull roost on Pewit Island, two common terns and two avocets also seen in the Pyefleet. Two pairs of herring gulls with two large chicks each were being raised on the roof of the old Nissen hut on Pewit Island. A male marsh harrier had a brief tussle over Reeveshall with a juvenile marsh harrier and a male yellowhammer was singing near Fishponds Wood.

Martin Cock noted on Saturday during a walk between Maydays and Reeveshall 25 curlew, two greenshank, 12 redshank, shelduck and two young, hobby, buzzard, male marsh harrier and plenty of sedge warblers.

Andy Field noticed this sarcophagid fly in his greenhouse in High Street North garden which had been sitting motionless for some time, until it was apparent the fly had been parasitised itself!