ELUSIVE REDSTART

An elusive immature male redstart eventually showed itself to Jon Ward beside the path down the side of the Firs Chase caravan park on Thursday 24th. The redstart was first seen very briefly the previous morning but stayed hidden yesterday afternoon when being looked for and again didn't show on Thursday morning despite  being looked for.

The redstart spent some of the time in old hawthorn trees beside the path and other times it dropped down onto the path to feed. 

The redstart appears to be an immature male with the start of a black face, browny-grey wings and back and the orange underparts.

A willow warbler was heard calling from birch trees in Feldy View.

Waders seen along the Strood channel on Thursday included eight lapwing, 72 grey plover, 150 black-tailed godwits, greenshank and 200 redshank.

A small flock of 32 golden plover was resting on the mud in the Strood channel.

Also five Mediterranean gulls, mute swan, common tern on a buoy, 4 shelduck, three grey herons perched on a tree on Ray Island, sparrowhawk, marsh harrier, buzzard and three kestrels. A whinchat and wheatear were in the Strood fields, yellow wagtail and ten linnets also.

On Thursday afternoon at Ivy Dock Martin Cock saw a group of terns resting on the mud including 35 common terns, three little terns and a juvenile Arctic tern.

An unusual visitor to the Firs Chase garden was this whitethroat seen feeding on blackberries on Thursday, also three willow warblers and a goldcrest seen in a big mixed tit flock here too. A hummingbird hawkmoth was seen in the garden too.

Two red squirrels paid a visit to the Firs Chase garden and were checking out various plant pots and flower beds, looking for buried nuts on Thursday.

A cinnamon bug was found by Sarah Thorley in her conservatory near Meeting Lane in East Mersea on Thursday, possibly the first sighting on the Island. 

On Wednesday 23rd two spotted flycatchers were feeding in the scrubby corner down the side of the Firs Caravan park - aptly named in recent years as "flycatcher corner!"

Of greater interest here was a fleeting glimpse of a redstart perched on the side of a hawthorn tree, quivering its orange tail in distinctive fashion. It hopped into the tree and didn't show again that day. Three willow warblers were feeding in Feldy View.

A wheatear was along the side of the Strood seawall on Wednesday, also the whinchat seen alongside the dyke. Two yellow wagtails flew over, 20 linnets were in the fields, two marsh harriers and a sparrowhawk were also noted.

Along the Strood channel on Wednesday all the birds were seen scattering when a peregrine appeared and chased a grey plover up and down the channel several times, before both of them disappeared up to the Strood road. Also along the channel were a single bar-tailed godwit, 300 black-tailed godwits near the Dabchicks sailing club, golden plover, 50 grey plover, 3 ringed plover, 75 curlew and two little grebes.

In East Mersea on Wednesday, Martin Cock found a spotted flycatcher near Meeting Lane, here photographed by Michael Thorley.

A lesser whitethroat photographed by Michael near Meeting Lane on Wednesday.

A juvenile goldfinch in Meeting Lane, photo by Michael.

A long-tailed tit photographed by Michael near Meeting Lane.