BASKING BUTTERFLIES

A comma butterfly was basking in the sunshine along the path between Shop Lane and Meeting Lane on Sunday 9th.

A small copper was keeping low to the ground whilst enjoying the warmth west of Shop Lane.

Three small white butterflies were noted, also a speckled wood and a red admiral too.

Half a dozen common darters and a couple of migrant hawkers were also seen between Shop Lane and Meeting Lane.

Birds noted included seven swallows hawking over Gyants Marsh, marsh harrier, buzzard, sparrowhawk, three kestrels, green woodpecker, great spotted woodpecker, three different families of long-tailed tits, four chiffchaffs and two blackcaps. In Fishponds Wood a goldcrest was seen and two red squirrels low down on a tree together.

At Maydays there was a wheatear along the seawall on Saturday 8th, also 3 rock pipits and a Cetti's warbler beside the seawall and dyke. On Reeveshall there were 1000 starlings, 20 lapwings and ten stock doves while 30 golden plover flew over.

Not much to see along the Pyefleet with the tide covering the mud, other than 100 grey plover with a knot flying up-channel, five Mediterranean gulls and also three common seals on the saltmarsh. Two house martins and a marsh harrier were on Langenhoe, while three buzzards and three kestrels noted.

At Coopers Beach on Saturday, Andy Field reported seeing during the high tide period on the Rewsalls marshes 27 little egrets, 150 redshank, six golden plover, kingfisher and two buzzards. Later at East Mersea Point there were 150 dunlin, 30 grey plover, 8 brent geese, two Sandwich terns- with an adult feeding a youngster, also there a wheatear and two stonechats. Ten Mediterranean gulls were off the Point and two were in the Golfhouse paddock.

Charlie Coltman visited Feldy View on Friday 7th and saw male and female great spotted woodpecker, green woodpecker, greenfinch, chaffinch and a jay. Later he saw seven linnets near the Oyster Fishery.

A curlew was feeding along the Strood channel just before high tide on Thursday 6th, also there were 200 golden plover, five grey plover and 20 black-tailed godwits. In the Strood fields four stonechats, 100+ skylarks, 20 linnets with six swallows passing over and a rock pipit on the saltmarsh. Two sparrowhawks and a buzzard were noted during the morning walk and four chiffchaffs were mainly down the side of the Firs caravan park. 

A red squirrel was seen crossing Firs Hamlet and disappearing into a laurel hedge.

Steve Entwistle was looking offshore from the St Peters and the Esplanade areas and saw 8 Sandwich terns feeding offshore, four great crested grebes, three Mediterranean gulls, three brent geese in flight and one on Cobmarsh, also 12 meadow pipits flying past.

Charles Coltman, visiting from west London was pleased to draw back his curtains in his holiday house in Fairhaven Avenue first thing on Thursday morning and see two red squirrels having a dispute in the nearby oak tree.

On Wednesday 5th along the Strood seawall there were 30 wigeon, 50 golden plover, ten ringed plovers, four bar-tailed godwits, 100 black-tailed godwits, 30 dunlin, swallow, five house martins, rock pipit and 20 linnets.

The top of the head of a barn owl was photographed by Charlie Coltman on Tuesday 4th at the nestbox at the back of the pond at Cudmore Grove.

A male sparrowhawk was photographed by Charlie at the back of the park pond on Tuesday.

A pied wagtail photographed by Charlie in the Golfhouse paddock during his visit on Tuesday.

A juvenile red-throated diver was photographed by Steve Grimwade as it flew up the river Colne, seen during a Swallow Birding barge trip out from Maldon to the Colne on Tuesday. A second red-throated diver was seen flying out of the river, also seen were a guillemot south of Coopers Beach, 150 each of swallows and house martins, 20+ Mediterranean gulls off Coopers Beach, peregrine and six Sandwich terns.

This black-tailed godwit was one of 100 seen along the Strood channel on Tuesday 4th. Also 70 golden plover, 30 grey plover, 20 ringed plover, bar-tailed godwit, knot, greenshank and 15 dunlin along the channel. In the Strood fields 100 skylarks were seen, two stonechats and forty linnets, while a Cetti's warbler called from the dyke and four chiffchaffs were by the caravan park. House martins continued passing over the island with 150 seen heading north-west along with eight swallows. Five house martins were also seen flying west along Barfield Road.

A red squirrel was seen crossing the top end of The Lane on Tuesday morning.

One of the mothing highlights in the autumn is finding a Merveille du Jour moth in the moth trap, this one in the Firs Chase garden on the night of Thursday 6th - three weeks earlier than the only one I caught last year.