STROOD ON XMAS DAY

Seasons greetings to everyone.

There were thirty black-tailed godwits feeding along the edge of the incoming tide in the Strood Channel on Xmas Day morning. Other flocks of note were 30 avocets, 400 golden plover, 200 dunlin, 200 brent geese, two little egrets and 30 shelduck, while in the muddy field was a roost of 60 ringed plovers.

From the Strood seawall small birds seen were two stonechats, 50 skylarks, 12 linnets and a Cetti's warbler singing from the back of the fields. A male marsh harrier was seen flying along the Peldon seawall. A mistle thrush was in the poplar trees with mistletoe clumps by the Firs Caravan park on Xmas Day.

A female blackcap was in some ivy in the Firs Chase garden on Xmas Day and two sightings of a red squirrel including one doing the high-wire act by running along an electricity cable high over Firs Chase.

The male snow bunting was still in its usual place along the Reeveshall seawall on Saturday 24th, seen here standing on the edge of the narrow strip of saltmarsh. It then flew off for some distance calling as it went, before returning to the same section a minute later.

Twelve red-breasted mergansers were in the Pyefleet off Maydays on Saturday, two of the males here.

The red-breasted mergansers were swimming down channel against the incoming tide, a male here with a couple of females. Also in the Pyefleet were ten pintail, 80 shelduck and 100 avocets.

On Langenhoe a short-eared owl was seen perched on a fencepost, two buzzards and a marsh harrier there too. 

A flock of 300 brent geese was feeding on Reeveshall, also 100 lapwing in the field too.

One juvenile brent goose was standing by itself close to the seawall but was able to fly away when I got closer.

Other birds of note at Maydays were stonechat, Cetti's warbler, two corn buntings, sparrowhawk, fieldfare, two rock pipits and a mixed bird flock in Haycocks Lane included 30 chaffinch, yellowhammer and ten reed buntings while a buzzard perched near a game cover crop.

A grey seal was stretched out on the mud in the Pyefleet channel mid morning on Saturday, with a second one appearing close-by.

Michael Thorley also walked the Reeveshall seawall on Saturday afternoon and saw the snow bunting, 60+ carrion crows, a few lapwing, turnstone and dunlin, grey heron, curlew, redshank, 50 avocets, 500+ knot, little grebe, great crested grebe, two pairs of red-breasted mergansers, three meadow pipits, three cormorants and ten marsh harriers heading to the Langenhoe roost.

On Friday 23rd a male wigeon seen in the Golfhouse dyke at East Mersea, was one of 200 seen in the area of the park fields and saltmarsh. At high tide in the middle of the day there were 30 teal, 200 dunlin, four avocets, snipe and twelve shoveler seen, with several flocks of roughly 1500 in total of knot flying up river. Eight sanderling were at the Point as was a stonechat.

At least four marsh harriers were seen passing over the fields or flying over the Colne - from or to Colne Point. A sparrowhawk was by the Golfhouse paddock, also nearby forty redwing and two mistle thrushes. The park pond was almost empty of duck compared with recent visits, only two gadwall and ten mallard seen. A pair of muntjac deer was feeding just in front of the bird hide before running off.

After a morning of rain on Friday, a sea fog then came in briefly restricting the view from the country park seawall.

The mistletoe clumps are laden with white berries near the Golfhouse - not surprising the mistle thrushes are always seen nearby.

At Rewsalls marshes on Thursday 22nd, there were several species of wader and ducks roosting such as these dunlin, some of 200 seen, also 50 black-tailed godwits, 30 turnstones, 50 redshank, 15 grey plover, 25 ringed plover, eight shelduck, 24 little grebes and 80 teal. The birds were flushed off a couple of times by two different marsh harriers flying slowly over the marshes.

A kingfisher perched in a bush near the boating lake, also 3 meadow pipits, two reed buntings, 12 linnets and a rock pipit. Eight sanderling were on the beach and six great crested grebes were offshore.

In the wheat field west of the East Mersea church were 500 brent geese feeding on Thursday, also 70 curlew feeding in some of the fields and ten skylarks.

Martin Cock visited Maydays on Thursday and reported six marsh harriers, buzzard, short-eared owl, four red-breasted mergansers, five pintail, a few fieldfares, redwing, song thrush and a yellowhammer.