MERSEA WILDLIFE: STROOD PINTAIL

A male pintail in the Strood channel was an unusual sight on Friday 16th. It was keeping company with a small flock of wigeon and seemed quite settled. Also along the channel were 70 shelduck, 100 teal, 20 avocets, 30 golden plover, 44 curlew, 20 knot and two black-tailed godwits.

Three buzzards drifted slowly over the Strood channel from Ray Island heading east over the fields.

Four marsh harriers were also on the wing, making the most of the sunshine and warmth in the air. A sparrowhawk was seen near the Firs Caravan park.

Two stonechats were along the Strood seawall, although at opposite ends to each other.

At East Mersea a water vole was seen in a ditch near the Golfhouse on Friday by Caroline White.

A flock of 600 brent geese was feeding in one of the park's grazing fields on Thursday 15th. Also in the park fields were 200 wigeon, black-tailed godwit, some of the 15 shoveler in the area, 20 teal, pochard and 6 tufted ducks in the dyke, Cetti's warbler and sparrowhawk noted too.

From the Point the immature male eider and velvet scoter were distant in the outer Colne, while nearer were three great crested grebes and 3 red-breasted mergansers. A pair of stonechat was on bushes at the Point saltmarsh, four ringed plovers were on the nearby mud.

A skylark was feeding in the Golfhouse paddock on Thursday, along with 24 meadow pipits.

One of the meadow pipits in the Golfhouse paddock photographed by Andy Field on Thursday. Also in the field was a rock pipit, another one near the Point.

Steve Entwistle watched the Langenhoe harrier roost from Shop Lane on Thursday late afternoon and saw a male hen harrier circle over the reed-bed a handful of times before dropping down just after 5pm, also eight marsh harriers roosted, and seven Mediterranean gulls with 720 black-headed gulls in the Pyefleet.

At West Mersea Hard a pale-bellied brent goose was seen opposite the Hard by Martin Cock.

On Wednesday 14th birds of note seen along the Strood seawall included 31 avocets, ten knot, marsh harrier, buzzard, stonechat and 20 corn buntings. A flock of 800 brent geese was in the Ray Channel / Feldy Marsh area and a female red-breasted merganser seen from the Hard.

Along the Strood channel on Tuesday 13th were 114 shelduck, 10 little grebes, great crested grebe, 30 avocets, 400 brent geese, Canada goose, 50 golden plover, ten knot and a black-tailed godwit. Along the path on the top side of the Firs Caravan park were a mistle thrush and a red squirrel in the bushes.

A mixed flock of waders was feeding on the mud in the Pyefleet channel near the Shop Lane seawall late on Monday 12th. Watching the harrier roost with Martin Cock in the late afternoon sunshine, a male hen harrier provided a fleeting glimpse before it dropped down onto Langenhoe Point as the light faded at 5.25pm. Fourteen marsh harriers and a buzzard were seen on Langenhoe, also a muntjac deer on the seawall.

A barn owl was hunting fields west of the Oyster Fishery on Monday late afternoon and a second bird was seen distantly hunting the Maydays seawall. Along the Pyefleet two pairs of red-breasted merganser flew down channel, two great crested grebes, six avocets, ten black-tailed godwits, and ten knot were seen, while 18 golden plover flew over and 200 cormorants headed back over Langenhoe towards Abberton to their roost. A stonechat was by the seawall and a goldcrest was in Fishponds Wood.

A little owl was seen by the country park entrance at dusk on Monday by Caroline White.

At Maydays on Monday morning there were four pintail, six red-breasted mergansers, three Cetti's warblers, two stonechats, two great white egrets and two brown hares, seen by Martin Cock.

Earlier on Monday, along the Strood were a marsh harrier, buzzard, 30 corn buntings, fifty linnets, two stonechats, Cetti's warbler singing, sparrowhawk and 38 avocets.