WASP SPIDER SEASON

Wasp spiders were easily seen in the field of long grass west of Shop Lane on Thursday 17th.

The underside of the wasp spider has bright yellow markings.

A male southern migrant hawker was resting along the field edge west of Shop Lane on Thursday.

This field is a new location for the southern migrant hawker on the Island. Thirty migrant hawkers were also hawking after insects beside the trees and hedges between Shop Lane and Meeting Lane.

As well as this male ruddy darter seen between Shop Lane and Meeting Lane, at least 30 common darters were also seen on Thursday.

At least twenty common blues were seen, most of them over a crop of lucerne west of Shop Lane.

Butterflies were mainly keeping out of the moderate breeze on Thursday with 15 gatekeepers, 5 meadow browns, 2 speckled woods, 5 red admiral, 2 comma, 2 large white, 20 small white, 5 holly blue and 10 brown argus.

Five small heaths were in the grass field west of Shop Lane.

Three lesser whitethroats were feeding along a hedge near Meeting Lane on Thursday. Other birds seen between Shop Lane and Meeting Lane were buzzard, sparrowhawk, two green woodpeckers, 20 swallows, house martin, 4 chiffchaff, 2 blackcap, 3 whitethroats and 2 yellow wagtails.

Two willow warblers were feeding in a birch tree in the Firs Chase garden on Thursday.

Andy Field visited Feldy View on Thursday and reported a willow warbler there, also a young marsh harrier and sparrowhawk over the adjacent field. Later at Cudmore Grove Andy reported a few willow warblers and chiffchaffs were feeding with a tit flock, 31 little egrets at the park pond, 12 common terns up the river Colne and also a grey squirrel seen near the park horse-ride.

A grey squirrel was photographed by Barry Rodwell on his garden fence in Lea Side near the bottom of Oakwood Avenue on Thursday morning - shortly after a red squirrel had also been seen here.

A red squirrel was also seen in Adrian Amos's garden near the top of Oakwood Avenue, as was a speckled wood butterfly.

On Wednesday 16th Jon Ward photographed this willow warbler in Feldy View, one of six there also two along the Strood channel. Also along the Strood seawall were seen sedge warbler, reed warbler, greenshank, grey plover, common tern, a few swallows, lots of redshank but no whinchat.

Jon photographed this wasp spider during his walk from the Strood to Feldy View on Wednesday.

A migrant hawker photographed by Jon along the Strood dyke.

A greenshank feeding along the Strood channel, photographed by Jon on Wednesday.

Late Wednesday afternoon a partridge - presumably a red-legged partridge, flew fast over the Strood Hill road.

At Coopers Beach on Wednesday 150 black-headed gulls, ten Mediterranean gulls, 3 common gulls were roosting on the Rewsalls marsh, also twenty redshank here. A chiffchaff, two whitethroats, yellow wagtail and four linnets also noted.

A big buddleia bush near the East Mersea church had 15 red admirals, 8 commas and a hummingbird hawkmoth feeding on the masses of flowers on Wednesday morning.

On Tuesday 15th at Rewsalls marshes, there was a wader roost of 130 redshank, 28 turnstone, common sandpiper, 2 dunlin and 15 little egrets. 

A flock of 80 ringed plovers roosted on the side lake at Rewsalls on Tuesday. Two common gulls and at least five Mediterranean gulls were seen in the area, also 2 sand martins, 20 swallows and a house martin flew over. Two willow warblers were feeding in the alders at the East Mersea vineyard.

A male kestrel was on a tree at Cross Lane on Tuesday, a sparrowhawk flashed past, two willow warblers were in Waldegraves, 20 swallows and 10 Mediterranean gulls seen here on Tuesday too.

Four swifts were still circling high over houses in the Reymead / Upland Road area on Tuesday morning.

Jonathan Norgate photographed this whinchat along the Strood seawall on Monday 14th - the bird first being found in the morning by Andy Field. Jonathan also reported two whimbrel, three bar-tailed godwits, male marsh harrier and a kestrel.

A wasp spider was photographed along the Strood seawall by Andy Field on Monday - two were seen.

The wasp spider photographed by Andy, looks like it has wrapped up an insect that it has just caught in its web.

Birds seen by Andy along the Strood included a hobby, two sparrowhawks, buzzard, two willow warblers, whinchat, wheatear, house martin, 46 grey plover, 20 black-tailed godwits and five ringed plovers.

As the breeding season draws to a close, the No Landing signs on Cobmarsh and Packing Shed islands were taken down - here by Kieren Alexander, RSPB site manager Old Hall Marshes. Thanks to Jim Pullen for taking us out in his boat, to bring the signs, posts and rope back.

Four bar-tailed godwits were roosting on Packing Shed island - three of them pictured here with a curlew. Also noted at high tide on the islands were ten ringed plovers with a flock of thirty dunlin, black-tailed godwit, ten common terns, five little egrets, six oystercatchers and two linnets.

An earlier walk on Monday morning to Feldy View and to the Dabchicks revealed two willow warblers and two reed warblers in Feldy View, while in the Strood channel were 30 black-tailed godwits, Mediterranean gulls, common tern, also thirty turnstones resting on boats.

Jack Hoy photographed this speckled wood butterfly.

Along the Strood seawall on Sunday 13th, a whimbrel, 50 black-tailed godwits, ten turnstones, Mediterranean gull and four little egrets were the birds of note during the high tide walk. Over the fields and the dyke were a buzzard, sparrowhawk, three kestrels, sedge warbler, whitethroat, yellow wagtail, forty linnets and also four swifts over the houses.

Steve Entwistle and Jon Ward saw a willow warbler on Sunday in Feldy View and whitethroat, sparrowhawk, chaffinch, two willow/chiffs near the Firs Caravan park.