WET FOR WILDFOWL

More rain on the last day of March continued the unsettled and wet pattern for the month. The grazing fields at Cudmore Grove on Friday 31st were as wet as they've been all winter providing ideal conditions for those wildfowl and waders still present. A pair of greylag geese was on the park pond, presumably eyeing up suitable nesting spots.

Also present on the park pond were four pochard.

Four tufted ducks were on the pond on Friday and another eight were on the nearby borrowdyke.

A water rail and Cetti's warbler were heard at the pond while four chiffchaffs and a blackcap were singing at the country park. Two chiffchaffs were seen by the Golfhouse track.

The little owl on Friday was gazing out over the grazing fields from the old kestrel nestbox, although when it started raining, the owl dropped back inside and out of view.

On the fields were 100 brent geese, six shelduck, a pair of gadwall, twenty mallard, four teal, twenty wigeon, three lapwing and 12 black-tailed godwits.

Peering through the rain, six sanderling and ten ringed plovers were on the recently uncovered mudflats and six great crested grebes were in the Colne.

On Thursday 30th Shaun Bater walked the Cudmore circuit and photographed this group of black-tailed godwits on the grazing fields - some of the twenty present. Also seen were a song thrush by the park entrance, 3 chiffchaffs and a Cetti's warbler heard, on the pond were two gadwall, two pochard, two shelduck, five tufted duck, two little grebe and two long-tailed tits here. 

The firecrest was seen again by Shaun, present for the second day along the horseride past the bird-hide, feeding with a tit flock. The bird was first found on Wednesday by Andy Field.

On the grazing fields were a shoveler, ten shelduck, ten redshank, 30 curlew and 400 brent geese.

Two wheatears were found on the Cudmore Grove seawall on Thursday afternoon by Caroline White.

Jon Ward photographed this chiffchaff at Cudmore Grove on Thursday from the bird-hide.

One of two redwing at the park was also photographed by Jon.

A song thrush near the park entrance photographed by Jon.

A redshank was feeding close to the Strood seawall on Thursday morning.

A male yellow wagtail flew off the seawall and crossed over to Ray Island where it landed on the edge of the saltings. Two snipe were flushed off the very wet grass field by the Strood by a couple of walkers. In the middle wet field were 80 brent geese, 16 golden plover, three ringed plover,  Mediterranean gull and 200 starlings. A great crested grebe was in the channel.

A blackcap and chiffchaff were seen in Firs Chase.

A kingfisher was seen catching a few tiddlers in the Strood borrowdyke on Wednesday 29th. It then flew low over the saltmarsh towards the Strood reservoirs.

A male marsh harrier hunted low along the dyke and was later flushed from the reedbed carrying a bird like a moorhen which it carried over to the mainland. A buzzard and sparrowhawk were seen, while in the channel were three great crested grebes, four little grebes, six avocets, 15 teal and four wigeon.

 

Some of the 150 brent geese seen from the Strood seawall on Wednesday were feeding in one of the grass fields. A flock of 20 corn buntings was feeding in the Strood Hill field, 16 golden plover and one ringed plover were in the flooded field.

In the Mersea Quarters there were about 300 herring gulls with most of them following a fishing boat towards the Hard. In Firs Chase two male blackcaps were seen together, presumably one of them being the bird that has overwintered and the other being a new migrant just arrived. A chiffchaff heard singing here and song thrush too.

A barn owl was photographed by Andy Field as it slowly made its way through the alder tree towards the owl nestbox on Wednesday 29th at Cudmore Grove. 

Another owl photographed by Andy on Wednesday at Cudmore Grove was the little owl perched in the kestrel nestbox.

A firecrest was a good find for Andy at the park on Wednesday morning. Last year there were no firecrests found on the Island. This one was found just beyond the bird-hide in the ivy covered trees.

The little owl was still perched in the nestbox later on Wednesday morning for Shaun Bater to photograph. As well as seeing the firecrest at the park, other birds seen during a walk of the Cudmore circuit were song thrush at the park entrance, four chiffchaffs heard and two seen, Cetti's warbler, two little grebes, pair of pochard, water rail heard at the pond. 

Shaun also saw the kestrel above the park cliffs, two greylag geese in the fields, also 600 brent geese, 20 curlew, 20 teal and wigeon, six tufted duck in the dyke and also fifty curlew feeding in the field behind Bromans Farm. Four brown hares were seen in a field near Bromans Lane by Martin Cock.

Birds noted along the Strood seawall on Tuesday 28th were five Canada geese flying, 26 shelduck, 12 teal, two great crested grebes, four black-tailed godwits and five avocets in the channel, seventy golden plover and a big flock of 800 starlings feeding in the fields. Two chiffchaffs were beside the caravan site and another in Firs Chase, also two blackcaps in the garden here.