STROOD KESTREL

A female kestrel perched on some of the bushes along the Strood borrowdyke on Tuesday 24th.

The kestrel flew a short distance along the dyke to perch in another bush. After a while it hovered over one of the Strood fields on Tuesday morning. A buzzard perched in a hedgerow tree and a sparrowhawk was seen near Firs Chase and another in the Firs Caravan site.

The female / immature stonechat was on a bramble bush along the Strood seawall on Tuesday. In the fields were 30 skylarks, three meadow pipits, two grey herons and a Cetti's warbler in the dyke.

A redshank was feeding beside the Dabchicks sailing club on Tuesday morning. Along the Strood channel were 50 avocets, 15 ringed plovers, 20 black-tailed godwits and 400 dunlin.

Beside the Firs Caravan park were two male great spotted woodpeckers drumming close to each other, mistle thrush beside the mistletoe, three redwing and there was a goldcrest in the Firs Chase garden. 

A red squirrel was seen gathering strips of lime bark from a tree beside Firs Chase and then carrying it away through the trees for its drey somewhere in a neighbouring garden.

Offshore from the Esplanade on Tuesday morning were an eider and three great northern divers seen by Martin Cock. Later off the East Mersea Youth Camp Martin saw two Slavonian grebes and 80 great crested grebes on the sea.

Steve Entwistle saw five redwings in his Empress Drive back garden on Tuesday also a peregrine on Bradwell power station by its nest box.

A dunlin was watched feeding close into the Reeveshall seawall on Monday 23rd during the monthly WeBS count along the north side of the island by Andy Field and I. It was a bitterly cold walk along the exposed seawall with a cold northerly wind blowing.

Some of the highlights included 36 pintail, 250 avocets, 10 red-breasted mergansers, five marsh harriers, five bar-tailed godwits, water rail flew over the seawall into the reeds in the dyke, 30 stock doves, 3 snipe, four fieldfares, four sanderling, 30 knot and four greylag geese. A distant mixed flock of finches and buntings at Maydays appeared to have 30+ corn buntings and 10+ yellowhammers along with some reed buntings and chaffinches in it. There was no sign of the snow bunting on the Reeveshall seawall.

A fox watched us in fading late afternoon light on Monday at the Cudmore Grove park pond. Most of the pond was still frozen but a big flock of 172 mallard was gathered there along with eight gadwall.

Two Chinese Water Deer were seen running across a winter wheat field beside the East Mersea road near Bocking Hall late on Monday afternoon. Both deer were running parallel to the road as Andy and I headed west in the car, one deer following the other one for a while.

The winter male snow bunting was still along the Reeveshall seawall on Saturday 21st. 

A male hen harrier flew out of the Maydays dyke as I walked along and it then crossed the Pyefleet to Langenhoe. Six marsh harriers were seen on the wing, also four buzzards, as was a short-eared owl on Langenhoe.

In the Pyefleet were 260 shelduck, 12 pintail, three shoveler, nine red-breasted mergansers, and 70 avocets. Three stonechats and 20 stock doves were seen in the Reeveshall and Maydays fields while a mixed bunting and finch flock had 20 corn buntings and ten yellowhammers as well as some chaffinches and reed buntings.

A grey seal was seen swimming along the Pyefleet and then climbing onto this pontoon to have a rest during the high tide. A common seal was also resting on the saltmarsh in the Pyefleet on Saturday.

Steve Entwistle on Saturday visited the Golfhouse area in East Mersea and reported seeing three rock pipits with some meadow pipits in the horse paddock, seven sanderling, six turnstone at the Point, while five snipe, two greylag geese and three black-tailed godwits were on the grazing field.

Lots of waders and gulls were counted on the recharged beaches off West Mersea, Old Hall and Tollesbury Point on Friday 20th, as part of the ongoing monitoring of birds using these areas.

This second bird survey of this winter was organised by the RSPB at Old Hall Marshes and counting the birds on the chilly Friday was Kieren Alexander, Steve Hunting and Tamsin. We were taken out in Stacey Belbin's Lady Grace boat.

Not seen the final totals yet but 200+ herring gulls were on Packing Shed Island here, while on Cobmarsh ten pintail and fifty sanderling, 120 oystercatchers were of note along with 200+ herring gulls too. A purple sandpiper was seen in the dunlin roost at Tollesbury while offshore were an eider and a great northern diver, also six red-breasted mergansers seen during the trip. Waders seen roosting on the beaches included turnstone, dunlin, grey plover, ringed plover, redshank, oystercatcher and sanderling.

At East Mersea on Friday Steve Entwistle saw two Slavonian grebes offshore from Coopers Beach, while a Slavonian grebe was also seen by Andy Field flying from Cudmore Grove towards Coopers Beach. 

Andy walked the Cudmore circuit on Friday and reported two mistle thrushes, redwing, 100+ lapwing, two snipe, three greylag geese, 15 sanderling, forty turnstones, rock pipit while 13 meadow pipits were in the Golfhouse paddock.

A pair of mistle thrushes was seen by Michael Thorley near the East Mersea bus turning circle on Thursday, one photographed by Michael here.

As well as photographing the mistle thrush on Thursday, Michael also saw a jay and two greylag geese.

Michael also walked the Reeveshall seawall on Thursday and reported a Slavonian grebe in the Pyefleet, 900 brent geese, 200 lapwing, 35 avocets as well as lots of dunlin and redshank.

Shaun Bater and Martin Cock walked the Cudmore circuit on Thursday and reported seeing a little owl at Bromans Farm and another at the Golfhouse, also at the park pond were gadwall, teal, mallard, two little grebes, five greylags at the back of the fields, snipe and 250 lapwing in the grazing field. 

Waders seen on the walk were oystercatcher, dunlin, 100 turnstone, ringed plover, 35 knot, two bar-tailed godwits, grey plover, 15 sanderling, also a great crested grebe in the river.

Three great northern divers were seen in and also off the Mersea Quarters on Thursday morning by Colin Mackenzie Grieve from Old Hall.

At the Rewsalls marshes in East Mersea on Thursday, a small flock of brent geese was on the side lake just after the high tide. 

Birds seen on the Rewsalls marshes and side lake at high tide on Thursday were 30 golden plover, ten ringed plover, 120 turnstones, 100 dunlin, 11 shelduck, while offshore were two Slavonian grebes, 20 great crested grebes and a red-throated diver. Seven sanderling were on the beach and a Mediterranean gull flew past. A male marsh harrier flew low over the marshes for several minutes looking for food.

A stonechat, forty linnets, two Cetti's warblers and 25 reed buntings were by the marshes with 38 skylarks flying from the marshes to a wheat field. In a nearby game cover crop were ten yellowhammers, five golfinches, two song thrushes and ten chaffinches. 

A Chinese water deer was disturbed from the game cover crop and ran across the open arable field to the hedge on the far side.

Twenty black-tailed godwits were feeding on the Rewsalls side lake on Thursday - one pictured here.