SUNSET OVER MAYDAYS MARSH

After an afternoon's walk along the Pyefleet seawall on Saturday 22nd, the setting sun poked through the bottom of the clouds to the west of the Maydays saltmarsh. A male hen harrier made another appearance flying east over the marsh, then flew low over the Maydays and Reeveshall fields flushing 24 snipe off the ground in the process. Four marsh harriers were flying over Langenhoe, as was a short-eared owl, while a little owl perched on a fencepost at Maydays.

On Reeveshall were 400 brent, 40 golden plover and 24 greylag geese seen flying over while at Maydays were 30 fieldfares, two redwings, ten corn buntings, yellowhammer, stonechat, Cetti's warbler, three song thrushes and 25 reed buntings. Of note in the Pyefleet channel were six red-breasted mergansers and a bar-tailed godwit.

Earlier on Saturday four buzzards were watched circling above the garden in Firs Chase, the loud mewing calls were first heard whilst inside the house.

On Friday 21st along the Strood seawall, the great white egret was checking out the ditches on three sides of the large grass field. Also seen were 700 brent geese, 48 shelduck, 250 golden plover, marsh harrier and two buzzards.

There have been regular views of the mistle thrush high in the poplar trees beside the Firs caravan park but the views have always been of the underside showing the heavy spotting. Two mistle thrushes were in the trees on Friday beside the clumps of mistletoe.

A little further along the path from the mistle thrushes perched high in the trees was this song thrush perched in the hedgerow enjoying the sunshine.

On Friday morning the male hen harrier was seen at Maydays by Martin Cock, also four marsh harriers, forty fieldfares, greenshank and three bar-tailed godwits.

At the end of Friday Steve Entwistle visited the Shop Lane seawall and watched the male hen harrier flying around the Langenhoe marshes for about five minutes before dropping into roost at about 4.25pm. Driving back home a barn owl flew in front of his car lights at Bocking Hall which was a nice surprise.

The shag spent most of Thursday 20th in the area near the jetty at the West Mersea Hard - here photographed in the middle of the day by Andy Field. It had been watched earlier by Steve Entwistle feeding close to the jetty.

This colour-ringed first winter herring gull was photographed by Andy Field as it perched in front of the Hard car park on Thursday.

A check of the letters on the ring tell us this herring gull was ringed as a chick on the River of Life Church roof in Felixstowe, Suffolk on the 28th June last year.

A walk along the Strood seawall on Thursday 20th revealed two separate sightings of sparrowhawk, two marsh harriers, three buzzards, while along the channel were 62 avocets, 40 golden plover, 12 black-tailed godwits, bar-tailed godwit, 100 wigeon, 100 teal and also two song thrushes near the seawall.

Shaun Bater visited the East Mersea boating lake area on Thursday and reported ten redwing, two fieldfare, mistle thrush, flock of sanderling, turnstones and dunlin, also black-tailed godwit, fifteen little grebes and a great northern diver.

At East Mersea two mistle thrushes and 12 goldfinches were seen by the track to the Golfhouse on Thursday by Steve Entwistle.

A barn owl was reported by Mike Edwards flying over the West Mersea allotments late on Thursday afternoon - apparently it has been seen a few times in this area recently.

There was the nice surprise of watching a great white egret feeding close-by along the borrowdyke by the Strood seawall on Wednesday 19th. Presumably the same bird was also seen earlier in the morning by Martin Cock flying west from Bower Hall marsh towards the Strood.

When the great white egret took off, it soon dropped back down beside the dyke, just a short way further along.

The large yellow bill showed up clearly as the great white egret stalked its way through the reeds. For handy comparison five little egrets were also seen in the area during the walk along the Strood seawall.

A marsh harrier, buzzard, stonechat, 51 avocets and three sparrowhawk sightings were also noted.

The black brant was feeding close into the shore near the Dabchicks sailing club on Wednesday along with a dozen brent geese, with another 200 along the Strood channel. The shag was seen feeding in the channel amongst the boat moorings near the Dabchicks.

Martin Cock reported seeing at Maydays on Wednesday morning 30 fieldfares, 3 redwing, yellowhammer, 40 linnets and 12 corn buntings - along with the great white egret mentioned above.

At the Rewsalls Marshes / Youth Camp area visited by Andy Field on Wednesday were 125 curlew, 150 dunlin, 50 ringed plover, 100 redshank, 30 turnstone, 10 grey plover, black-tailed godwit, 18 little grebes on side-lake, two buzzards and two yellowhammers, while offshore were the black brant, Slavonian grebe, great northern diver and a pair of red-breasted merganser.

Conditions on Tuesday 18th at Cudmore Grove started still and sunny but changed quickly late morning when everywhere was enveloped by fog. This male stonechat perched close enough to the seawall to be seen through the fog.

Visibility on Tuesday along the Cudmore Grove seawall dropped down to less than a hundred metres.

Birds that were seen near the Point and on the saltmarsh pools were 20 avocets, 150 wigeon, 25 shoveler, four sanderling, five knot, bar-tailed godwit, three snipe, 12 skylarks and a buzzard.

A male pintail stood on the ice on the park pond on Wednesday morning, also here were 120 mallard, 50 teal, 12 gadwall and two little egrets. A buzzard perched on nearby trees and a goldcrest was seen in bushes to the north of the park.

At Maydays on Tuesday Martin Cock noted just before the morning fog rolled in - kingfisher, 15 fieldfares, six redwing, 12 corn buntings and a Chinese Water Deer.