READY TO LEAVE

The young swifts appeared to be ready to leave the nestbox on Andy Field's house in High St North on Monday 17th, pictured by Andy.

In East Mersea three painted lady butterflies were seen near the boating lake on Monday 17th. 

Also near the boating lake was a peacock butterfly, as well as several meadow browns, gatekeepers, small / Essex skippers, brown argus, while on a game cover strip were 100+ small whites fluttering about.

Walking west from the East Mersea church on Monday a sparrowhawk, buzzard, 40 swifts flying west and three yellow wagtails were seen. By the Rewsalls marshes a common tern, little egret, little grebe, a pair of oystercatcher and a Mediterranean gull were seen. Five sand martins were flying west with twenty swallows.

A small colony of bee-wolves was busy with activity at the beach in front of the boating lake with this individual seen digging out sand in various places before uncovering a second bee-wolf buried beneath.

At Maydays Steve Entwistle walked the seawall on Monday evening and noted two greenshank, sand martin, eight house martins, two grey plover, buzzard and marsh harrier. Also eight Essex skippers, pair of ruddy darters and six migrant hawkers.

A skylark was enjoying having a dust bath on the path on the Strood seawall on Sunday 16th. The only birds of note seen during the high tide walk were a Mediterranean gull, kestrel, little egret, yellow wagtail, two broods of mallard ducklings in the dyke and ten swifts over the houses.

A common sandpiper perched on the seawall sluice beside the Maydays creek on Saturday 15th. Later it was seen flying low along the saltmarsh and calling as it headed up the Pyefleet. 

At least four common terns were fishing along the Pyefleet on Saturday, also seen were a great crested grebe, whimbrel, five little egrets, two shelduck, marsh harrier, thirty swifts, two house martins, yellow wagtail and two reed warblers. Two brown argus were seen along the seawall along with lots of meadow browns and gatekeepers. Three adult common seals were resting on the saltmarsh with at least two pups seen.

A very small and young oystercatcher chick was trying to hide along the Strood seawall during the high tide period as I walked past on Friday 14th.

The oystercatcher parents were looking on as I walked quickly past where the chick was hiding. There have been at least two pairs of oystercatchers that have tried to nest in the nearby Strood fields this spring / summer.

Along the Strood channel at high tide were two black-tailed godwits, three common terns, lapwing, two yellow wagtails, two sand martins flying west, ten swifts, two reed warblers and a flock of 30 house sparrows feeding on the ripening wheat.

At Cudmore Grove on Friday 14th, Michael Thorley photographed this skylark, one of three seen, also two muntjac deer in the grazing field and a green woodpecker with a juvenile in Bromans Lane.

Earlier on Friday Martin Cock visited the Golfhouse area and reported two golden plover, four dunlin, two Sandwich terns, 100+ black-tailed godwits. Also a grey squirrel dead by the roadside near Mersea Barns.

Rusty Marshall photographed this hummingbird hawkmoth in his Firs Chase garden on Thursday 13th.