GODWITS AT THE GROVE

There was a colourful display on the Cudmore Grove mudflats on Thursday 13th with lots of black-tailed godwits still in summer plumage.

The 400+ black-tailed godwits were arriving to feed as the receding tide began to uncover the mud.

This was one of three colour-ringed black-tailed godwits seen in the flock. Hopefully we'll get more details about this bird shortly.

Further along the mudflats were two grown up ringed plover chicks along with an adult.

A ringed plover was still sitting on her two eggs on the beach at the East Mersea Point, inside her roped off area, to stop eggs being accidentally trampled on. The rope and signs were put up by members of the Bird Aware Essex Coast team the previous week.

Other waders seen were 100 redshank, 30 oystercatchers, an avocet, whimbrel and twenty curlew. A Sandwich tern flew past the Point and into the river calling, also three common terns seen feeding and ten Mediterranean gulls on the mud.

At least one barn owl chick was peering out of the nestbox by the park pond on Thursday morning.

An adult barn owl was snoozing in the old kestrel nestbox at the back of the grazing fields.

A little grebe chick was seen in the park dyke on Thursday.

Eight tufted ducklings were along the park dyke with their mum, also a tufted duck flew off the park pond earlier.

Other birds noted at the park were five little egrets roosting at the pond, 20 sand martins passing over, two kestrels, two singing reed warblers and ten linnets.

Three six-spot burnet moths were among the long grass at the park on Thursday.

Two different skipper species posed on the scabious flower showing the differing tips of the antennae with small skipper on the left with orange tips and an Essex skipper on the right showing black tips.

A marbled white was glimpsed very briefly when it appeared up and out of the grass then was lost to view in the area near the park workshop on Thursday 13th. The first record for the park and only the second sighting on the island. Other butterflies seen included good numbers of meadow browns, gatekeepers and a couple of brown argus seen too.

A male black-tailed skimmer was seen on the beach by the park seawall.

At least twenty small red-eyed damselflies were seen at the park, most seen along the dyke.

A common blue damselfly was seen on the park dyke.

Half a dozen bee-wolves were flying about the East Mersea Point.