MERSEA WILDLIFE: GARDEN PREDATOR

A male sparrowhawk made a sudden appearance in the Firs Chase garden clutching a blue tit, on Tuesday 7th.

The sparrowhawk quickly started to pluck the blue tit on top of a pergola in the back garden before flying off after about five minutes.

Amongst the various young birds in the Firs Chase garden was this young robin which seemed to insist it wanted to sit in the middle of the driveway. This meant it had to be carried off the driveway a couple of times so it didn't get run-over. It appeared to have left the nest before it's flight feathers were properly developed.

A ringed plover was still sitting on the nest at East Mersea Point on Tuesday 7th - a relief it is still sitting considering how busy the beach has been over the previous week..

There were three pairs of redshank on the Golfhouse pools, with this bird here keeping a close watch over two small chicks on the pools.

A lapwing on the Golfhouse pools was keeping a close eye on a large chick hiding in the saltmarsh.

Nine avocets were on the pools with at least one bird sitting and another pair seen mating. Two shelduck were on the nearby mud, three common terns and two great crested grebes were in the river.

On the park pond were four pochard, two tufted duck, a cuckoo perched nearby, sedge warbler, reed warbler and Cetti's warbler singing. Earlier in the morning the barn owl was seen by the park pond by Andy Field. Five sand martins, two kestrels, two lesser whitethroats, three whitethroats were noted at the park while three buzzards together and two Mediterranean gulls were seen to the north of the park.

The first meadow brown of the summer at the park was seen on Tuesday, also a green hairstreak along the track by the Golfhouse. An emperor dragonfly was flying over the park pond and another three hunting over the sea-blite bushes at the Point.

Steve Entwistle walked the Maydays seawall on Tuesday afternoon and reported a hobby, two displaying cuckoos, two yellow wagtails, yellowhammer, reed warbler, five reed buntings, meadow pipit, two chiffchaffs, Cetti's warbler, three marsh harriers and five house martins by the farmhouse.

Two pairs of yellow wagtails were along the Strood seawall on Monday 6th.

There was a continuous steady flow of swifts during the morning with at least 300 seen heading west over the houses and fields and over to the mainland. Two male marsh harriers were also seen heading west off the island, while along the Strood channel were ten avocets, eight curlew and a great crested grebe. Along the seawall were seen two sedge warblers, two reed warblers, four linnets, a meadow pipit displaying, kestrel and a little grebe in the dyke.

In East Mersea Michael Thorley also noted a movement of swifts on Monday morning with forty flying west over his garden near Meeting Lane.

Martin Cock walked the Cudmore Grove circuit on Monday morning and saw three avocets, black-tailed godwit, ringed plover still sitting on eggs at the Point, two cuckoos and four pochard.