NESTING BARN OWLS

The barn owls nesting at Cudmore Grove were watched by Shaun Bater who took these photos on Friday 7th.

One adult barn owl was seen during the evening returning with food, by Shaun.

The barn owl was seen disappearing inside the nestbox in the trees behind the park pond, which is visible from the bird hide.

At least two barn owl chicks were seen looking out of the box

Another picture by Shaun of one of the barn owl chicks.

Darren Tansley at the Essex Wildlife Trust was called out to the Strood causeway on Friday after hearing of a large otter dead by the road near the dog training access. It appeared to be in good condition and without showing any bad signs of being hit by a vehicle. This individual was going to be sent off for more analysis. The last otter to die on the Strood was over fifty years ago back in 1970, when one was "accidentally destroyed" near the Strood - according to an Essex Field Club journal!

A speckled wood butterfly photographed by Shaun Bater.

Gatekeeper photographed by Shaun.

Red admiral photographed by Shaun.

Also on his early morning walk on Friday 7th in West Mersea were three swifts in Empress Drive and two in Estuary Park Road.

In Shop Lane on Friday Steve Entwistle found a white-letter hairstreak, present in the same area near Fishponds Wood for the third year running. Also a peacock, two red admirals and a meadow brown.

Jon Ward photographed one of the barn owls hunting by the park pond at Cudmore Grove on Wednesday 5th. 

 

Two of the three barn owl chicks photographed by Steve Entwistle on Wednesday 5th. The adult was seen feeding them in the evening.

Earlier at Cudmore Grove on Wednesday Martin Cock saw six avocets, 150 black-tailed godwits, a ringed plover sitting on two eggs at the Point, fifty sand martins, tufted duck with six young and ten Mediterranean gulls.

Michael Thorley saw a swift flying over his East Mersea garden on Wednesday.

At the East Mersea boating lake on Tuesday 4th, there were four painted ladies, three gatekeepers, twenty small whites, four small skippers and a Cetti's warbler seen by Steve Entwistle.

On Monday 3rd Martin Cock reported forty Mediterranean gulls with some black-headed gulls on the dried up Golfhouse pools, a ringed plover sitting on eggs at the Point and a meadow pipit feeding young by the Point.

A red kite was seen by Michael Thorley near the Strood and then later at Blue Row on Monday.

The osprey was watched on Wednesday 28th June fishing in the Pyefleet channel for about fifteen minutes by Martin Cock. It was seen from Maydays flying up to the Strood and then returning back down the Pyefleet to Mersea Stone and then up the river Colne.  Also in the Pyefleet were three common seals, two of which had pups.

On Tuesday 27th Steve Entwistle visited Maydays farm and reported seeing a brown phase cuckoo, reed warbler, buzzard, plenty of Essex skippers, three small heaths, three small tortoiseshells and lots of meadow browns. 

Martin Cock walked the area near the East Mersea Golfhouse on Monday 26th and saw five black-tailed godwits - the first returning birds of the autumn, a few sand martins, lesser whitethroat and common whitethroats singing.