CLOUDED YELLOWS

 

Along the Strood seawall on Monday 5th there were three clouded yellows seen in the morning, one flying fast and nearly crossed over the Strood channel before turning back and two seen together low over the flowering bristly ox-tongue plants.

A small copper was seen in Feldy View on Monday.

A willow warbler was feeding in the birch trees in Feldy View along with a tit flock.

Four brown argus butterflies, red admiral, small white and a common blue were also in Feldy View on Monday.

Along the Strood channel on Monday were 200 black-tailed godwits including this moulting bird, a greenshank heard, 30 golden plover, ringed plover, common tern and six little grebes around the boat moorings.

In the fields were a wheatear, three stonechats, nine linnets, yellow wagtail flying over and a buzzard.

Martin Cock also visited the Strood seawall on Monday morning and noted reed warbler, whitethroat, two chiffchaff, yellow wagtail, 12 corn buntings, two buzzards and a greenshank.

Andy Field photographed this wheatear on the seawall by the East Mersea boating lake on Monday morning. Also seen in the Coopers Beach / Rewsalls / Youth Camp area were common sandpiper, bar-tailed godwit, black-tailed godwit, four turnstone, 100 redshank, 20 little grebes, ten little egrets, 20 house martins over, 30 common terns flying west offshore, two lesser whitethroats and a whitethroat.

A male willow emerald damselfly was resting along the sheltered footpath between Firs Chase and The Lane on Sunday 4th.

On Saturday 3rd a grey wagtail was calling as it flew west over Firs Chase heading towards the Hard.

An immature lapwing was feeding along the Strood channel on Friday 2nd. Other birds noted were fifty golden plover, 25 grey plover, ringed plover, 250 black-tailed godwits, five little grebes, two mute swans and ten Mediterranean gulls. In the fields were two wheatears, whinchat, five distant chats on a far hedge that were either stonechat or whinchat, also seen were a corn bunting, 30 house sparrows and five reed buntings while in flight were two marsh harriers, a buzzard and a sparrowhawk.

A migrant hawker was enjoying the sun away from the breeze in Feldy View on Friday. Three willow warblers were feeding in the birch and oak trees here.

Steve Entwistle visited the Strood channel late on Friday afternoon and saw two wheatears, two whinchats, a green sandpiper flying out of the saltmarsh, four common terns, eight turnstone, common sandpiper, three black-tailed godwits and six lapwings, also three chiffchaffs by the fishing lakes including a colour ringed bird with double white leg rings on its right leg.

On Friday morning Martin Cock reported at Maydays a peregrine, buzzard, marsh harrier, whimbrel, five grey plover, kingfisher, chiffchaff, lesser whitethroat, also four clouded yellow, brown argus and a common blue butterfly.

A latticed heath moth was seen in the lucerne crop west of Shop Lane by Michael and Madelaine Thorley on Friday.

On Thursday 1st there was a wigeon on the Golfhouse dyke - the first one of this autumn on the island. A teal and a female tufted duck were also seen nearby while in the bushes were a lesser whitethroat and two calling Cetti's warblers.

A wheatear was dodging all the walkers at the East Mersea Point on Thursday, having to hide behind clumps of grass and bushes. A flock of 30 linnets was flying about and five yellow wagtails were noted from the seawall.

On the mud beside East Mersea Point in Thursday were twenty golden plover including this individual, also 200 oystercatchers, six ringed plovers, five grey plovers, eight dunlin and two Mediterranean gulls. Near the Oyster Fishery were fifty black-tailed godwits, whimbrel, while a sandwich tern and 15 common terns were in the Colne and three marsh harriers were flying over Langenhoe marshes.

Andy Field also walked the Cudmore Grove circuit via the seawall on Thursday morning and noted two yellow wagtails, Cetti's warbler, lesser whitethroat and a stoat in the Golfhouse paddock, 250 black-tailed godwits, six bar-tailed godwits, 50 grey plover, ten golden plover, common tern, also two blackcaps, Cetti's warbler and whitethroat from the hide.

On Thursday evening Steve Entwistle reported a willow warbler near the hide at Cudmore Grove, 176 golden plover at Rewsalls marshes and 45 black-tailed godwits at the West Mersea Hard.

A hobby was seen on Thursday morning by Simon Patient as it flew over the East Mersea Road, while at Coopers Beach there was a peregrine putting all the waders off the mud, also a whitethroat seen and a yellow wagtail seen flying east.

A small ranunculus moth in the Firs Chase garden moth trap was the second record for the Island after the first one in 2019.

The first dusky thorn for the island was found in the Firs Chase garden moth trap on the night of Sunday 4th. It seems to have increased in numbers in the last couple of years in Essex.

An oak hook-tip is a surprisingly scarce moth in the Firs Chase moth trap, this being the first one since 2020.