KITE OVER STROOD

A red kite flying over the Strood fields on Monday 6th was a nice surprise as it passed quite close.

The red kite was first seen late morning flying south-west along the back of the Strood fields, before turning north and heading over the Strood channel. It was then seen soaring with a couple of buzzards over Copt Hall Grove and then it drifted north towards Abberton reservoir.

Earlier a male hen harrier was watched for several minutes hunting low down over the saltmarsh near the top end of the Ray Channel. It was last seen dropping down into the long grass on Ray Island. Two sparrowhawks were also noted, one on Ray Island and another flying low near Salcott Creek.

The water in the Strood channel was flat calm on Monday in the bright sunshine with no wind. This brent goose family with the four young still staying close to their two parents. Waders noted as the tide covered the mud were 500 golden plover, 58 avocets and 30 black-tailed godwits, also two mute swans flew over the seawall.

A female reed bunting was feeding with a couple of others along the bottom of the Strood seawall on Monday. The female stonechat was beside the borrowdyke at the eastern end.

Along the top of the Firs Caravan park were a mistle thrush, a blackcap heard calling, also four redwings briefly in Feldy View.

At East Mersea on Monday morning, Martin Cock saw 510 great crested grebes and Slavonian grebe off Coopers Beach, while a merlin was seen flying over the boating lake. A hundred fieldfares were near the entrance to the Youth Camp.

The male snow bunting was still along the Reeveshall seawall on Sunday 5th. A flock of 78 stock doves were of interest on Reeveshall while just one red-breasted merganser was in the Pyefleet. Not much else of note along the back of the Island during the high tide period in the middle of the day.

A small flock of 12 goldfinches and ten reed buntings were seen along the Bower Hall seawall.

In Shop Lane a red squirrel was seen in Fishponds Wood.

A flock of dunlin gathered on the edge of the Strood saltmarsh on Sunday afternoon, waiting for the tide to recede. A stonechat, 20 avocets and a buzzard were noted from the seawall.

A lesser black-backed gull perched obligingly on a post beside the Strood seawall on Sunday.

Two red-legged partridge were seen in Haycocks Lane on Sunday morning by Steve Entwistle, also a great spotted woodpecker seen too.

Two blackcaps were reported near the Cudmore Grove entrance on Sunday by the McDonnoughs.

On Saturday 4th there were five red-legged partridge seen at Maydays farm, with two in Haycocks Lane and another three along the track to the seawall where this individual was seen.

A great white egret was feeding on the saltmarsh in front of Bower Hall farm, then later one was also seen in the distance on the Geedon saltings beside the Fingringhoe nature reserve.

Joining Andy Field on the Reeveshall seawall on Saturday there was a black brant feeding in a flock of 700 brent geese, also 80 stock doves in the field, two Canada geese, 48 greylag geese and the snow bunting still beside the seawall. Seven marsh harriers, three buzzards, male merlin and a sparrowhawk were noted during the walk. In the Pyefleet of interest were four shoveler, 30 avocets and 15 knot.

A distant seal was seen at the top end of the Pyefleet Channel on Saturday and could either be a youngish grey seal, or maybe just a very pale common seal. A second seal was also seen on the saltmarsh earlier before being disturbed by a boat.

A male kestrel perched on a dead branch at the top end of Cross Lane on Friday 3rd.

A dozen Mediterranean gulls were feeding in a field beside Cross Lane on Friday, also forty curlews in the field too. In Waldegraves Holiday park a female yellowhammer, four redwing, 40 mallard and 30 moorhens were noted, while on the beach were 20 sanderling.

A flock of dunlin and turnstone came into land on the island on the Rewsalls marshes on Friday with about 100 of each and ten ringed plover roosting here during the high tide.

Some of the 105 curlew and 38 black-tailed godwits also roosted on the side-lake at the Rewsalls marshes on Friday.

A distant black brant showing its white flank patch was feeding on the Rewsalls marsh at high tide with 200 brent geese on Friday, while offshore were 150 great crested grebes.

On the trees by the entrance to the Youth Camp were 100 fieldfares and at least five redwing, also a Cetti's warbler was heard singing and a muntjac deer seen feeding.

One of the early signs of spring on Friday was some flowers of cherry plum near Cross Lane on Friday. A pipistrelle bat was hunting around the tree tops in the middle of the day near the sewage works in Cross Lane which is unusual being in broad daylight in mid-winter.

At Maydays on Friday the snow bunting, four pintail, three red-breasted mergansers and a marsh harrier were noted by Martin Cock during his walk to Reeveshall.

Michael Thorley reported on Friday visiting Cudmore Grove and seeing eight tufted duck, gadwall pair, four teal, two wigeon and twenty mallard on the park pond. On the shore were 16 ringed plover, two golden plovers, ten oystercatcher, ten dunlin, 18 shelduck and a huge gull roost off Ivy Dock. In the park fields were brent geese, wigeon, curlew and 33 greylag geese flew in, while a song thrush was singing in the park.

Andy Harding reported via eBird seeing a shag at Cudmore Grove on Friday, also four red-breasted mergansers and six great crested grebes in the Colne.