ELEPHANT HAWK HAUL

Eight elephant hawkmoths were noted in the garden moth trap in Firs Chase during the night of Monday 1st. 

A pair of goldfinch was feeding on the sea purslane beside the Strood seawall on Monday. Other birds noted included a hobby racing low north-east over the fields, two red kites slowly circling over the Strood causeway with one bird spending more time over the paramotor fields, four marsh harriers were noted including one flying over Feldy View and a buzzard also flew over Feldy View being mobbed by gulls.

Fifteen curlew and nine redshank were seen, two common terns, ten lapwings on the Peldon side, three shelduck, two sedge warblers singing, yellow wagtail, ten linnets, while fifty swifts over the houses and fields were also noted.

A pair of meadow brown butterflies was seen on a yarrow flower in Feldy View on Monday - ten others were seen on the wing here, also small heath, Essex Skipper, holly blue, speckled wood and small white. A handful of ruddy darters were seen here too.

A crab spider was lying in wait on a yarrow flower in Feldy View.

In East Mersea on Monday morning Martin Cock visited the Oyster Fishery seawall and saw two marsh harriers, two sand martins, four common terns, four Essex Skippers and a gatekeeper.

One of the micro-moths noted in the Firs Chase garden on Monday night was the nicely marked Orange Pine Tortrix.

A cinnabar moth was photographed by Caroline White on Friday 28th at Cudmore Grove.

A cinnabar caterpillar was photographed by Caroline at Cudmore Grove feeding on ragwort.

At least eight Essex Skippers were seen at Cudmore Grove by Caroline on Friday. Also noted during her visit were the barn owls active, chiffchaff, blackcap, Cetti's warbler, dunnock, green woodpecker, little egret roosting at the pond, 12 swallows and kestrel over the fields, five linnets and eight reed buntings along the dyke, pair of tufted ducks, two pairs of mallard and two little grebes.

Martin Cock walked the Shop Lane /Reeveshall seawall on Friday morning and reported three teal, brent goose, 26 black-tailed godwits, six lapwing, pair of corn buntings and a probable osprey on the distant post on the Geedons.

A short-eared owl was seen over the Feldy seawall by Rob Lee on Wednesday 26th.

On Monday 24th at Maydays, four common seals, four stonechats, sedge warbler and three Essex/Small skippers were seen by Martin Cock.

At East Mersea Point the ringed plover was seen by Mollie Kirk still sitting on its nest with a parent close-by, while the other pair still had their chick wandering around the Point.

On Tuesday 18th the barn owl was seen showing well at the country park by Daniel Woollard, also a grey heron roosting at the park pond. Two pairs of ringed plovers were seen at the Point by Lea Merclova -one pair sitting on three eggs and the other pair still looking after a chick. The previous day on Monday two ringed plover chicks were seen by Andy Field at the Point.

A ruddy darter was photographed at the country park by Andy Field on Monday 17th.

A new ringed plover nest was found at East Mersea Point on Saturday 15th by Mollie Kirk.

On Friday 14th a barn owl was seen by Jack Hoy hunting the Cudmore Grove fields during the morning. In the evening a pair of barn owls was seen taking food into the box by Caroline White. Also seen were a grey heron, chiffchaff, blackcap, Cetti's warbler, Green woodpecker, sparrowhawk and also two common terns by the Golfhouse pools.

In Empress Drive on Friday, Steve Entwistle reported the first song thrush in his garden for a few years, also a cuckoo heard calling for the second morning running and six swifts overhead.

At Maydays farm on Thursday 13th Martin Cock reported a male stonechat, yellowhammer, marsh harrier, 20 stock doves, 12 Canada geese, ten curlews, sedge warbler, reed warbler, and Cetti's warbler.

Andy Field reported that the swift eggs had been ejected from the nestbox by the parent birds. A closer inspection of the egg found below the box revealed no chick forming inside. The swift pair was still about so it's hoped they will have a second attempt at nesting.

A barn owl was photographed by Andy Field at Cudmore Grove on Wednesday 12th after the bird had been hunting the grazing fields. Other birds seen during his Cudmore Grove circuit were two plump black-headed gull chicks on the Golfhouse pools, common tern still sitting with another six common terns in the Colne. Two ringed plover chicks and parent were at the Point while a marsh harrier over the fields was mobbed by a common tern.

Daniel Woollard saw the barn owl perch on his garden fence of the bungalow in the park on Wednesday. A grey squirrel was dead on the East Mersea road on Wednesday.