SUNSHINE SONGSTER

A male yellowhammer was seen in the sunshine singing its "little-bit-of-bread-and no-cheese" song beside the path just west from Shop Lane on a warm Wednesday 26th. 

Two buzzards were seen circling above the Gyants Marsh area and there also seemed to be a young bird calling from some trees nearby. A young sparrowhawk was heard calling from the different part of the wooded area too on Wednesday.

The first returning willow warblers of the autumn passing back through Mersea were four birds heard calling and actively feeding in the oak and willow bushes at Gyants Marsh on Wednesday.

A Cetti's warbler sang briefly, three green woodpeckers, two chiffchaffs, two whitethroats, two linnets and three lesser whitethroats were also noted during the walk.

There was a good display of butterflies on the wing enjoying the sunshine and warmth on Wednesday morning such as this white-letter hairstreak on its favoured bramble bush beside the path near Fishponds Wood. The first purple hairstreaks this summer on the Island were seen on Wednesday with five flitting around some of the oak trees at Gyants Marsh.

It seems to be a good summer on the Island for brown argus and in the Gyants Marsh area there were up to fifty individuals seen on Wednesday morning. Also up to twenty common blues were seen in the grassland areas.

It was great seeing lots of the brown butterflies around with 150+ meadow browns on Wednesday.

A similar amount of 150+ gatekeepers were on the wing too, or nectaring such as on the fleabane flowers. Other butterflies were a painted lady, 30 peacocks, 10 red admirals, comma, ringlet, five small whites, five skipper sps, holly blue and five small heaths.

An immature male migrant hawker rested beside a bush just west of Shop Lane on Wednesday, also a few ruddy darters on the wing too.

This strikingly marked Spotted Longhorn Beetle was feeding on some burdock flowers beside Fishponds Wood on Wednesday.

Interesting to find half a dozen red bartsia plants along the path to the west of Shop Lane on Wednesday. I don't recall seeing it here before and I don't believe its been recorded on the Island before.

At Cudmore Grove on Wednesday Michael Thorley noted a whitethroat and two ringed plovers calling, plus two young running along the strandline near the Point.

Andy Field photographed this Sandwich tern on a post off Cudmore Grove on Tuesday 25th, one of two birds seen, also six common terns, 8 Mediterranean gulls, 200 black-tailed godwits including the colour-ringed birds Y8-WG and YGY-RNR. The latter bird was ringed at the Harty Marshes on the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent either in Oct 2015 or Sept 2017, a bit of uncertainty as the same ring combination was accidentally used twice!

A barn owl was photographed by Andy at Cudmore Grove, asleep in the old kestrel box, also two young still in the main nestbox behind the park pond.

Also seen at Cudmore by Andy on Tuesday were four whitethroats - one above, two lesser whitethroats, chiffchaff and eight sand martins.

On Tuesday afternoon Martin Cock visited the East Mersea Oyster Fishery area and noted 12 turnstones, ten common terns, two Sandwich terns and two marsh harriers.

There were dark rain-bearing clouds over the Strood channel on Tuesday 25th which resulted in me getting wet twice during my walk along the seawall. Along the channel were a greenshank, thirty black-tailed godwits, two common terns, grey plover, while overhead were a buzzard heading off island and 30 swifts.

A great spotted woodpecker, green woodpecker, two kestrels, house martin, sedge warbler, four reed warblers and four yellow wagtails were the other highlights.

A painted lady was nectaring on the yellow flowers of the golden samphire on the seawall.

Two brown argus were resting on the same plant-head in Feldy View on Tuesday.

On Monday 24th at East Mersea, two ospreys could be seen over on the Geedons in the distance, from the Shop Lane seawall, with one bird perched on a post and the other one flying beside it. Four marsh harriers were also seen over Langenhoe and twenty black-tailed godwits dropping down there too.

In the Pyefleet were three great crested grebes, three common terns and a common seal on a pontoon by the Oyster Fishery, while on Reeveshall were fifty stock doves, singing corn bunting with a second bird nearby, reed warbler singing, four linnets and ten swallows.

At Maydays on Monday Martin Cock also saw the two ospreys on the Geedons, as well as a different singing corn bunting, two sand martins and a yellow wagtail.

 From Fingringhoe and south Green, three ospreys have been seen on the Geedons perched on posts on Monday, also Sunday 23rd and Saturday 22nd.

In the Firs Chase garden a hummingbird hawk-moth was feeding at salvia flowers in light drizzle on Monday.

SEAWALL STROLL

A lapwing was seen feeding on the mud along the Strood channel, during a stroll along the seawall on Sunday 23rd.

As well as the lapwing on the mud, the only other waders of note other than 50+ redshank and a few oystercatchers and curlew, were six black-tailed godwits. A male marsh harrier was quartering the Strood fields, also two kestrels seen, three yellow wagtails, grey heron, four little egrets and ten swifts over the houses. Two brown hares were in one of the grass fields.

At Cudmore Grove on Saturday 22nd, Andy Field and Steve Entwistle managed to add the black-winged kite that was flying about in the distance at Colne Point, onto their list -and onto the Island list! With the assistance of a running commentary over the phone from the Colne Point area, the bird was located as it hovered and flew about, at a range of about three miles!

Martin Cock saw little tern, Sandwich tern in the Colne near East Mersea Point, also two young marsh harriers on Langenhoe Point on Saturday.

A whitethroat was foraging in the ripe wheat field beside the Firs caravan park on Saturday 22nd. Also two yellow wagtails, ten swallows were seen over the field.

A kestrel perched above the footpath beside the Firs caravan park on Saturday and a green woodpecker was seen in Feldy View.

As the weather deteriorated on Saturday afternoon with the strong wind blowing from the west with periods of rain, a flock of 200 swifts were swirling back and forth over the Firs Chase area. By early evening the flock had grown to 500 swifts flying around, it seemed they didn't want to continue their journey westwards off the island in the rough weather. Earlier in the afternoon Andy Field watched 20 swifts flying south down High Street North.

A grey squirrel was photographed by Mark Halladay on Saturday morning in Fishponds Wood.

On Friday 21st a spoonbill seen flying down the Strood channel was an unexpected sight, as it headed in the direction of the Hard. Three avocets and  28 black-tailed godwits were noted - twenty of the latter opposite the Hard. Also seen from the seawall were five little egrets and four yellow wagtails.

A rose chafer was on thistles beside the Firs Caravan park on Friday 21st - the same spot where one was seen a couple of years back.

Also on the same clump of thistles beside the Firs Caravan park was this hornet hoverfly.

Andy Field reported the two swift chicks had fledged and flown from his nestbox on the High St North house on Friday morning.

Michael Thorley photographed a crab spider in his East Mersea garden on Friday.

A marbled white was photographed by Steve Entwistle at Maydays after accidentally flushing it on the seawall on Thursday 20th - only the second sighting on the island. Three brown argus and lots of meadow browns and gatekeepers seen too. A common sandpiper was seen in the Maydays creek.

Earlier in the day Steve reported seeing a song thrush in his Empress Drive garden, the first for a few years, also a hornet hoverfly.

Jonathan Norgate visited East Mersea Stone Point on Thursday and saw two Sandwich terns, two little terns and a common tern.

On Wednesday 19th at East Mersea Stone Point, Steve Entwistle watched six little terns feeding in the Colne with two common terns, also Sandwich tern flying west, 70 black-tailed godwits, two Mediterranean gulls and an avocet on the saltings. The ringed plover was still sitting on the roped off nest on the beach.

In the evening on Wednesday Steve reported three greenshank, a partridge species and ruddy darter.

Along the Strood seawall on Wednesday 19th a sedge warbler was seen among the reeds, also two reed warblers, four whitethroats, five yellow wagtails, 30 house sparrows and six linnets. A male marsh harrier and kestrel were over the fields, while fifty swifts were seen in the air.

In the Strood channel were two whimbrel, dunlin, three lapwing, three common terns and two Mediterranean gulls.

A red squirrel was feeding on the nuts on the hazel bush beside the path at the top of the Firs Caravan park on Wednesday 19th.

The red squirrel paused for a moment before scampering away through the branches.

 A brimstone butterfly was seen in the Firs Chase garden on Wednesday late afternoon.

At Cudmore Grove on Tuesday 18th during a walk of the circuit with Norfolk birder Steve Joyner, we saw at least one barn owl chick in the nestbox with an adult in the kestrel nestbox and a water rail called from the pond. On the mudflats 300 black-tailed godwits were noted as the tide came in, also a leucistic redshank, greenshank, five dunlin, Mediterranean gull and 20 little egrets on the mudflats. 

Two Sandwich terns and three little terns were feeding in the shallow waters just in behind the Point, also three common terns seen, while five ringed plovers were by the beach. Twenty sand martins and thirty swallows were seen, earlier a hobby had got the swallows anxious as it flew near them over the bus turning circle. Two lesser whitethroats, yellow wagtail and a sparrowhawk also noted.

A painted lady, two brown argus and ten bee-wolves at the Point were the main insects of note.

Martin Cock visited Maydays on Tuesday and noted common sandpiper, greenshank, marsh harrier, yellowhammer, shelduck with four young and a brown argus butterfly.

MID-JULY GARDEN MOTHS

The garden moth trap in Firs Chase operated on six nights during the two weeks from the 7th to the 21st July - when the weather was dry enough. A nice variety of moths were recorded with some nights more productive than others with a few of the highlights pictured below.

The most notable moth was this micro-moth pictured above, New Poplar Knot-horn Sciota rhenella on the 18th, which appears to be the first record for Essex! It's a rare immigrant from the continent and although its been recorded several times in Kent and Suffolk, its not been seen previously in this county.

White Satin

Festoon

Lunar-spotted Pinion

Plumed Fan-foot - fourth summer since first seen in the garden

Marbled Green - on the 13th, first for the Island

Swallow-tailed Moth

Cream-bordered Green Pea

Small Elephant Hawk-moth - on the 8th along with four Elephant Hawk-moths, Pine Hawk-moth and a Privet Hawk-moth.

Leopard Moth

Rosy-striped Knot-horn Oncocera semirubella - pleased to finally add this to the garden list after first being recorded at Cudmore Grove in 2016.

Scarce Silver-lines

Orange Moth

Clancy's Rustic

Magpie Moth

Broad-barred White

Tree-lichen Beauty

Orange Pine Tortrix  Lozotaeniodes formosana

Dark-bordered Pearl  Evergestis limbata

Several Toadflax Brocade caterpillars are feeding on the Purple Toadflax plants in the garden.