IMMIGRANT HAWK-MOTH

A large convolvulus hawk-moth was a big surprise in the Firs Chase garden moth trap during the night of Saturday 20th. This is the first garden record of this scarce summer immigrant, the last one on Mersea was three years ago.

The convolvulus hawk-moth was found inside the trap resting underneath the bulb. It's one of the biggest moths that occurs in the UK. The moth often spends the day resting on wooden structures or tree trunks where it's markings blend in with the background. 

Willow warblers continue to be seen in the Firs Chase garden feeding in the silver birch tree with two seen on Saturday. At least one has been present every day, bar one day, for the last fortnight.

Long-tailed tits have become daily visitors to the Firs Chase garden in recent days, after making only rare appearances through the spring and early summer.

Along the Maydays seawall on Saturday 20th birds seen were a wheatear, 150 swallows over the fields, three house martins, marsh harrier, two greenshank, 65 grey plover, three golden plover, 12 shelduck and 15 little egrets. 

Butterflies by the seawall were six common blues, two brown argus and two small heaths.

On Friday 19th in East Mersea between Shop Lane and the Golfhouse were a hobby, sparrowhawk, marsh harrier, 100 swallows, four bar-tailed godwits by Ivy Dock, 20 black-tailed godwits, five grey plover, two great crested grebes in the Colne and 18 yellow wagtails - eight at Reeveshall and ten at the Golfhouse paddock.

In Firs Chase two willow warblers and two red squirrels were seen in the garden.

Andy Field visited Feldy View on Friday morning and saw a willow warbler there and later on the Strood seawall saw two wheatears, buzzard, sparrowhawk, 36 golden plover, 30 grey plover and 100 black-tailed godwits.

A reed warbler was seen in a bush beside the Strood borrowdyke on Thursday 18th, also in this area were a sedge warbler, three willow warblers and a couple of whitethroats. Two stonechats were feeding beside one of the hedges, yellow wagtail, three buzzards and a sparrowhawk seen over the fields.

A flock of thirty swallows was feeding over the fields as did three sand martins and a couple of house martins.

Skies darkened over the Strood on Thursday 18th as rain clouds passed over. Along the channel were 28 golden plover, 30 grey plover, ringed plover, greenshank and 150 black-tailed godwits.

In the Firs Chase garden two willow warblers and a hummingbird hawk-moth were seen on Thursday.

A peregrine was seen by Paul Rowe from Old Hall Marshes flying over the Mersea and Old Hall recharge beaches keeping the 300 or so ringed plover flock busy on Thursday afternoon.

A female yellow wagtail perched on a post beside the Strood seawall on Wednesday 17th carrying what appears to be a grasshopper for its youngster waiting nearby.

The young yellow wagtail was waiting to be fed the grasshopper by its mum beside the Strood seawall.

Other birds seen were 300 black-tailed godwits, 250 redshank, greenshank, 27 golden plover, 29 grey plover, two whimbrel, knot and a common tern. A buzzard, two kestrels were over the fields as were five sand martins and 70 swallows. A whinchat was near the ploughed area at the bottom of the Strood Hill field, four yellow wagtails and 30 linnets were noted too.

In Feldy View a spotted flycatcher perched briefly in the birches on Wednesday morning but not seen again, also six willow warblers still in the trees here too.

A willow warbler and a two swifts overhead were noted in the Firs Chase garden.

Surprised to see a Chinese water deer feeding in the Strood fields beside the central ditch, as I've not seen one in this part of the Island before.

The Chinese water deer crossed over the central ditch and began grazing in an overgrown area of the  stubble field late morning on Wednesday.

Steve Entwistle watched six little grebes beside the East Mersea boating lake and nine black-tailed godwits flying over on Wednesday morning.

Several light emerald moths have been coming to the moth trap recently.

A few orange swifts like this female, have also been seen at the moth trap in the Firs Chase garden.

Andy Field photographed this Dark-bordered Pearl moth in his bathroom on Wednesday 17th, a micro moth that appears to be spreading in Essex.