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.