A pied flycatcher was a surprise visitor to the Firs Chase garden on Wednesday 31st. It was seen feeding in a silver birch tree, doing several short flights inside and around the tree catching flies. After a few minutes inside the birch tree, it flew across the back garden perching briefly in the open when this picture was taken from inside the house. It wasn't seen again after this. The last pied flycatcher in this garden was three years ago on 7th September 2019.
A hurried snap through the glass of a great spotted woodpecker visiting the bird bath in the Firs Chase garden on Wednesday. Six house martins were feeding over nearby houses.
Two wheatears and at least two stonechats were feeding in the Strood Hill field, with a corn bunting, yellow wagtail, six swallows and a house martin also seen nearby. In the channel were 25 grey plover and 25 golden plover while 200 black-tailed godwits were near the Dabchicks. A kingfisher was seen in flight as it flew low along the borrowdyke.
A curlew was feeding in the Strood channel on Tuesday 30th, as were 20 golden plover, 20 grey plover, two ringed plover, ten Mediterranean gulls, two mute swans and an avocet flying down channel.
In the Strood fields five whinchats, two wheatears and three stonechats were of note, with most being in a ploughed area at the bottom of the Strood Hill field. Also ten skylarks, yellow wagtail and a buzzard. Butterflies seen included a common blue, small copper and a small heath.
Most of the 300+ black-tailed godwits were feeding or resting on the mud behind the Dabchicks sailing club on Tuesday.
In the Strood Hill field on Tuesday three stonechats were feeding with a whinchat and two wheatears on a ploughed area. Four other whinchats were in the other fields, as were ten skylarks, 30 house sparrows, ten linnets and a buzzard.
A female yellow wagtail perched on the sluice railings on the Strood seawall on Tuesday.
Michael Thorley counted forty little egrets roosting in the trees at the Cudmore Grove pond on Tuesday afternoon.
A spotted flycatcher was found by Martin Cock on Tuesday, along the footpath to the west of Shop Lane towards Meeting Lane. Also along there were eight blackcaps, reed warbler, whitethroat as well as a clouded yellow, four brown argus and many common blue butterflies in the lucerne field.
Later in the afternoon a juvenile hobby was seen in the area by Steve Entwistle, while waiting for the spotted flycatcher to reappear.
In the early evening of Tuesday Steve watched two little terns fly past the Hard, also three great white egrets flying towards the Strood, eight little egrets, two common terns and nine Canada geese flew to Old Hall.
Adrian Amos reported seeing a willow warbler in his East Road garden near Oakwood Avenue on Tuesday.
A female red squirrel made another appearance at the feeder in the Firs Chase garden on Tuesday, later another different red squirrel was also seen at the feeder for a few minutes.
A pair of stock doves are regular visitors to the Firs Chase garden feeding underneath the bird feeders.
Lot of common blue butterflies were fluttering among a lucerne crop in East Mersea near a path to the west of Shop Lane on Monday 29th. Other butterflies seen on the walk were five small heaths, ten small whites and a speckled wood, also eight migrant hawkers and four common darter dragonflies.
The flowering lucerne crop with its blue flowers has been popular with common blues for the last month. A muntjac deer ran across the field towards some bushes.
A marsh harrier flew over the fields west of Shop Lane on Monday, also a buzzard, two kestrels, great spotted woodpecker, stock dove, a flock of 25 swallows with a sand martin and a house martin, six blackcaps and a chiffchaff calling.
A juvenile cuckoo perched in several of the bushes along the Strood borrowdyke on Sunday 29th. Other birds noted along the seawall were a wheatear, corn bunting, buzzard, sparrowhawk, yellow wagtail, ten golden plover, ten grey plover, 250 black-tailed godwits, common tern and a Mediterranean gull.
A Chinese water deer was seen in the Strood fields for the second morning running on Friday 26th. It was grazing in one of the field corners close to the seawall.
After the Chinese water deer realised it was being watched, it ran off and along the side of the field, only pausing when it had got far enough away.
Half a dozen little egrets were seen along the Strood channel as the tide came in on Friday morning.
A male yellow wagtail was one of two seen on the Strood seawall on Friday, also in the fields were two whinchats, two corn buntings and a buzzard. A house martin was flying with 20 swallows.
An influx of willow warblers was watched in Feldy View on Friday with at least eight birds seen - none had been seen here the previous day.
The willow warblers were busy feeding in the silver birch trees in Feldy View, mostly silent but sometimes calling.
A large thorn was a nice find in the Firs Chase garden moth trap late on Thursday 25th - the second year running its been recorded.
Centre-barred sallow.
Orange sallow.
It's been a few years since a hedge rustic has been seen, this the first time in the Firs Chase garden.
Andy Field walked the Strood seawall on Monday morning and noted four wheatears, three whinchats and three stonechats feeding in the ploughed area of the lower part of the Strood Hill field, also three greenshank flew over.
A hummingbird hawkmoth was seen in the Firs Chase garden.
Steve Entwistle walked from the East Mersea Golfhouse along the seawall to Ivy Dock on Sunday evening and noted two bar-tailed godwits, three black-tailed godwits, 65 swallows, two grey plover, four golden plover, teal, a tufted duck in the dyke and also lots of pipistrelle bats at dusk by the Golfhouse. On the drive home along the East Mersea road a barn owl flew in front of Steve's car just west of Bocking Hall as darkness fell.
On Saturday 27th at Maydays a kingfisher perched on the seawall sluice before flying along the borrowdyke. Also noted a whimbrel, stonechat, two buzzards, common tern, two yellow wagtails, ten swallows and also nine house martins over the buildings. A grey seal and two common seals were in the Pyefleet. Ten small heaths and two common blues were along the seawall.
A blackcap was seen in the Firs Chase garden on Saturday.
Waders of note were ten grey plover, 20 golden plovers, 150 black-tailed godwits and four lapwing.
At Cudmore Grove on Friday Steve Entwistle saw three common terns, shoveler, three gadwall and a clouded yellow.
No comments:
Post a Comment