MID JUNE HIGHLIGHTS

A chiffchaff was photographed by Andy Field in the Shop Lane area on Saturday 24th June. Also a yellow wagtail, a few whitethroats and a very distant osprey seen through the heat haze as it perched on a post on the Geedon Marshes.

Andy also photographed this meadow brown butterfly - one of hundreds seen in the Shop Lane area.

An Essex Skipper also photographed by Andy.

 Essex Skipper another shot by Andy.

A lesser stag beetle was seen by Caroline White in her West Mersea garden.

On Friday 23rd a barn owl was seen asleep in the kestrel nestbox at Cudmore Grove by Martin Cock.

A newly emerged Southern Migrant Hawker was photographed by Andy in his West Mersea garden on Tuesday 22nd.

A big Horsefly / Cleg was seen by Andy in his kitchen on Wednesday 23rd. 

A hobby was seen by Andy flying over the High St North and Whittaker Way area on Thursday 22nd.

A female broad-bodied chaser was photographed by Michael Thorley at his pond in his East Mersea garden on Thursday.

A blue-tailed damselfly made a brief appearance at Michael's East Mersea garden pond

A chiffchaff was heard singing in Michael's garden on Thursday.

A cinnabar moth caterpillar was seen by Caroline White at Cudmore Grove on Tuesday 20th.

A cuckoo was heard calling early on Tuesday morning in the Empress Drive area by Steve Entwistle and the previous day it was calling a lot in Empress Avenue.

A barn owl was seen having a rest in the kestrel nestbox at Cudmore Grove on Monday 19th, photographed by Andy Field.

A young ringed plover chick on the mud near the East Mersea Point photographed by Andy.

A nest with three oystercatcher eggs in it was found by Andy at East Mersea Point.

A Green-eyed Flower Bee along with a Parasitoid Wasp were also seen at the Point by Andy.

Two young swallows photographed by Andy on the seawall sluice at Cudmore Grove.

A red squirrel at Cudmore Grove photographed by Andy on Monday.

A weevil Liparus coronatus was photographed by Andy at Cudmore Grove.

A male sparrowhawk was photographed by Andy Field having its lunch in his West Mersea garden on Sunday 18th. A probable tawny owl flew over his High St North garden late on Friday night.

A little owl was seen by Steve Entwistle on Friday 16th sitting on a fence in the middle of the day, north-west of Dawes Lane.

On Wednesday 14th a red kite was seen by Steve flying over Seaview Avenue heading towards the Strood.

Near East Mersea Point on Tuesday 13th, a pair of ringed plovers and two chicks were on the beach near the seawall corner, seen by Caroline White.

PLOVER CHICKS

It was pleasing to find a very young ringed plover chick being looked after by its parents near the beach at East Mersea Point on Monday 12th.

After a few minutes, the young ringed plover chick ran over to the mother and huddled underneath.

The presumed male ringed plover was keeping a close eye on anyone walking along the beach.

A second pair of ringed plovers was found with four very young chicks also near the East Mersea Point but in the area of the old blockhouse fort near the seawall corner. This pair had escaped our notice and managed to nest successfully on the beach near here. The four young chicks were hard to locate at first as they were all being brooded by the mother, who herself blended in well with the pebbles on the mud. Three chicks are pictured, the fourth ran off quickly to the right.

Also seen at Cudmore Grove on Monday were 80+ oystercatchers, 16 ringed plovers, ten curlew and a redshank on the mud. Four common terns and a great crested grebe were in the Colne.

A hobby flashed over the Golfhouse and grazing fields which alarmed the small flock of swallows. A kestrel flew with prey to the copse behind the park pond and was greeted by its mate calling. One sand martin was by the cliff and a tufted duck was on the pond, also two broods of mallard ducklings. Two families of pied wagtails were seen, each with three fledged young.

Seven reed warblers were singing at the park on Monday with this one showing by the dyke. Two lesser whitethroats and a Cetti's warbler were heard.

Two male marsh harriers were quartering the Strood fields at the same time on Sunday 11th, with a female also noted later. Three buzzards also seen flying about.

A cuckoo flew over from Ray Island calling, also Mediterranean gull, two common terns, one curlew and a great crested grebe in the channel.

A skylark seemed to be panting in the heat of Sunday along the Strood seawall. One yellow wagtail, mallard with six ducklings, two sedge warblers and four reed buntings were noted while ten swifts were over the houses.

Insects of note included a common blue, small heath, holly blue, meadow brown butterflies and an emperor dragonfly.

A cream-spot tiger moth was photographed by Caroline White on Saturday during her walk on the Island. Two great spotted woodpeckers and a Cetti's warbler were noted from Cross Lane, while a yellowhammer was seen nesting between Coopers Beach and Rewsalls Lane.

Walking from Reeveshall to Maydays, there were two Mediterranean gulls, common tern, marsh harrier, four corn buntings, Cetti's warbler and reed warbler calling. A speckled wood and 15 small heaths were also noted.

A male yellowhammer was singing near the Maydays seawall on Saturday 11th.

A hobby provided a great view as it flew low overhead, three marsh harriers, three buzzards, four Mediterranean gulls, great crested grebe, four curlew, five little egrets and a singing meadow pipit also noted. Two lapwings were seen with one bird still sitting on her nest in the field.

Four hairy dragonflies, three meadow browns, three common blues and four small heaths were seen along the Maydays seawall on Saturday.

This Mother Shipton moth was disturbed in the grass along the Maydays seawall on Saturday.

Andy Field walked the Shop Lane / Dairy Lane area in East Mersea on Saturday and noted the willow warbler still singing in the same area of birches after a month, chiffchaff, whitethroat, lesser whitethroat, blackcap and a buzzard,

Michael Thorley photographed this four-spotted chaser in his East Mersea garden on Saturday.

RECENT GARDEN MOTHS

After a very poor spring for moths because of the constant flow of cold north-easterly winds, things have begun to pick up in early June. The most productive night was the humid night of the 11th with over 50 species recorded. One of the most colourful visitors to the garden moth trap in Firs Chase was the Elephant Hawkmoth on the 9th.

The large Privet Hawkmoth, minus a wing-tip, was seen on 11th.

Pine Hawkmoth on the 9th.

Poplar Hawkmoth on the 9th.

Finally found a Dewick's Plusia in the garden trap on 7th - the first record for the Island.

Toadflax Brocade on the 8th, has become regular in recent years.

Three Buttoned Snouts were noted on 11th - the second time this once scarce moth has been recorded in the garden.

A colourful Barred Yellow on the 11th.

There appears to have been a huge irruption of Green Oak Tortrix moths across Essex over the last few nights with 130 counted at the trap on the 11th.

Swallow Prominent on several nights.

Light Emerald on several nights.

Poplar Grey on 11th.

This Lesser Stag Beetle was found in the moth trap on the 11th - along with two Cockchafers.

REED SONGSTERS

Three male reed buntings were singing along the Strood dyke on a sunny Friday 9th, also a whitethroat and two sedge warblers seen here too. Two house martins flew over the seawall, ten swifts were over the houses and a cuckoo was calling from Ray Island.

A family of four recently fledged young swallows were perched on wires above the Company Shed on Friday.

A brood of mallard ducklings was hiding amongst the club-rushes along the Strood dyke on Friday

In the Strood channel two avocets, two curlew, lapwing, Mediterranean gull and a great crested grebe were noted, a pair of buzzards called to each other high over the fields and another was being mobbed by gulls at the Hard.

Five brown hares were chasing each other about at the top of the Strood Hill field on Friday, pictured distantly through the heat haze.

Also seen on the walk was a hairy dragonfly, common blue and brown argus butterflies. At Firs Chase a speckled wood, small white and five holly blues were seen in the garden on Friday.

A red kite was seen by Martin Cock flying over West Mersea heading towards East Mersea on Friday.

Caroline White visited Cudmore Grove on Friday evening and had a brief view of the barn owl, cuckoo calling by the hide and a pair of ringed plovers at East Mersea Point.

At Coopers Beach on Friday evening, Steve Entwistle saw 70 herring gulls, 11 common terns, single curlew, 45 black-headed gulls, lesser black-backed gull, two Mediterranean gulls and eight mallard all flying. Also a Cetti's warbler at the football pitch, two linnets and a green woodpecker.

Simon Patient on Thursday 8th was lucky enough to see a fulmar fly past Coopers Beach and catch it on film on his phone - a screen-grab pictured here. The bird was first seen flying close inshore heading west before returning and flying eastwards. Fulmars have been a rare bird to see from Mersea over the last twenty years or so.

At East Mersea Point on Thursday a little tern was seen a few times by Steve Entwistle flying about and fishing in the river Colne near Sandy Point close to Point Clear.

A pair of avocets was on the Rewsalls side-lake on Thursday at high tide but not much else seen on the Rewsalls marshes other than a pair of oystercatchers, four shelduck, cormorant, four mallard, 20+ black-headed gulls and a little egret. A cuckoo flew past, red-legged partridge was calling, reed warbler heard, while in nearby hedges were four whitethroats, blackcap and two yellow wagtails in the fields.

A large skipper was resting out of the wind near the East Mersea boating lake on Thursday.

A holly blue was on a sheltered bramble bush near the Youth Camp.

A female blue-tailed damselfly was seen egg-laying at a pond by the East Mersea boating lake on Thursday. Nearby a hairy dragonfly was hawking back and forth behind a hedge out of the wind.

A meadow brown butterfly was in the Firs Chase garden on Thursday, also a red admiral, five holly blues and a large red damselfly. A cuckoo was heard calling over the garden very early on Thursday morning.

A common blue butterfly was seen in Feldy View on Wednesday 7th, also there was a brown argus.

A Swollen-thighed beetle Oedemera nobilis was seen on an ox-eye daisy in Feldy View on Wednesday.

Birds seen along the Strood seawall on Wednesday morning included two cuckoos, five avocets, two curlew, three Mediterranean gulls, great crested grebe, two common terns, male marsh harrier, two buzzards, two distant red kites over Langenhoe farm while a sparrowhawk and 18 swifts were flying about over the houses. 

Three sedge warblers, two reed warblers, whitethroat, two yellow wagtails were beside the seawall while Cetti's warblers were singing on Ray Island and the Strood reservoirs.

Three emperor dragonflies were hawking along the Strood dyke.

At Cudmore Grove on Wednesday Oli Cottis watched two little terns from Stone Point, also two Mediterranean gulls and a marsh harrier. 

Later in the day Steve Entwistle watched two black terns flying out of the Colne from the Fingringhoe direction - its been a few years since this species has been seen from the Island. Other birds seen at the park were lesser whitethroat, blackcap, chiffchaff, five long-tailed tits, cuckoo at the pond, barn owl hunting field behind pond, Mediterranean gull, six lesser black-backed gulls, sparrowhawk, seven great crested grebes, buzzard, ten common terns and six sand martins - four over grazing fields and two at the park pond.

On Wednesday evening ten swifts were flying over Steve's house in Empress Drive.

The nesting oystercatcher stood over its nest that's in the dinghy behind the Dabchicks sailing club on Tuesday 6th. A brief visit to the Strood seawall revealed three avocets, two common terns, marsh harrier, two cuckoos, green woodpecker, two sedge warblers, two reed warblers and a whitethroat.

Andy Field found it very quiet at Cudmore Grove on Tuesday during his walk of the circuit there. Of note there were whitethroats and reed warblers the most numerous, cuckoo, sparrowhawk, Cetti's warbler by the pond, young blackcaps being fed by adults, two probable little terns on far side of the Colne, common tern, Mediterranean gull, Cetti's warbler by Golfhouse and a lesser whitethroat by paddocks.

A little owl was seen on a street light at 9.30pm along the Coopers Beach seafront by Simon Patient. It was then seen flying off west towards the clubhouse there.

On Monday 5th at St Peters area of West Mersea birds noted included a brent goose, four shelduck, great crested grebe, great black-backed gull, five common terns, little egret, two marsh harriers at the mouth of Salcott channel, reed warbler by the Monkey steps reedbed, 150 starlings, two yellow wagtails and two linnets.

A common broomrape growing on a front lawn in Strood Close on Sunday 4th was a surprise. The plant apparently has been recorded previously in West Mersea somewhere.

A brief visit to the Strood seawall on Sunday saw a great crested grebe, two buzzards, five swifts, three shelduck, kestrel, two sedge warblers, reed warbler and a whitethroat.

On Saturday 3rd there was the unusual sight of a muntjac deer seen from the Maydays seawall walking across the mud and then swimming the Langenhoehall channel as if trying to come over to the Island. It walked off the mainland in front of the Langenhoe solar farm and waded across the soft mudflats without too much problem.

 

It then swam across the channel without too much problem with its head sticking above the water.

The muntjac deer then walked onto the mud on the other side of the Langenhoehall channel, then walked across the nearby saltmarsh and into the next channel of water of the Pyefleet, where it swam for a short distance before turning back. It then walked west across the saltmarsh and disappeared off in the direction of the Strood causeway.

Three little terns flew quickly east along the Pyefleet on Saturday, also four common terns, two great crested grebes, five curlews seen along the channel from Maydays. Five marsh harriers were seen hunting over Reeveshall and Langenhoe, all of them males, house martin and four swifts flew north to Langenhoe where a cuckoo and a Cetti's warbler were heard. 

Also at Maydays on Saturday a Cetti's warbler sang, two whitethroats, three reed warblers, two yellow wagtails were noted, singing meadow pipit, four redshank on the saltmarsh, pair of lapwing with one bird still sitting, while two corn buntings were beside the Reeveshall seawall. A brown argus and common blue butterflies were seen by the seawall.