NOT SO COMMON BLUE

Common blue butterflies have been far from common this summer. This lone one was seen by the Maydays seawall on Saturday 3rd. 

A pair of Canada geese flew into the Maydays creek on Saturday, three common sandpipers flew out of the creek while other waders included a whimbrel and five black-tailed godwits. A raven was heard calling as it flew east over the Langenhoe marsh. 

Amongst 300+ black-headed gulls roosting and following one of the Maydays tractors cultivating a field, were 30 Mediterranean gulls and ten common gulls. A flock of sixty golden plover with a single dunlin landed in a field, while a stonechat was seen along a ditch-line. Also seen were three marsh harriers, common tern and five house martins. Two common seals were resting up channel on the saltmarsh.

At Firs Chase a willow warbler was in the garden and a buzzard flew low being mobbed by crows on Saturday.

A lesser stag beetle was photographed by Caroline White in her Dawes Lane garden on Saturday.

On Friday 2nd a willow warbler was feeding in the Firs Chase garden, while in the Strood channel were forty black-tailed godwits.

Four willow warblers were noted in Feldy View on Thursday 1st , while birds noted along the Strood seawall included fifty black-tailed godwits, common tern, sparrowhawk, and three stonechats still along the central ditch.

Andy Field managed to snatch a picture of a stoat running along the edge of the Strood borrowdyke on Wednesday 31st. Birds noted were 12 golden plover, 3-4 stonechats, sedge warbler, lots of reed warblers heard and a common tern along the channel.

In the Firs Chase garden the first willow warbler of the autumn was seen on Wednesday. Five swifts were seen over houses and fifty black-tailed godwits in the Strood channel.

Martin Cock visited Maydays on Wednesday and reported seeing 3 stonechats, two golden plover and at least one cattle egret with distant cows on Reeveshall.

Michael Thorley visited Coopers Beach on Wednesday and saw two curlew, two oystercatcher, five redshank, thirteen turnstones and a few black-headed gulls.

The first common blue of the summer was seen in Feldy View on Tuesday 30th - they've been very late appearing this summer.

Twenty swifts were over the West Mersea houses, two kestrels were seen and 30 black-tailed godwits were in the Strood channel. Two brown hares were keeping low in the Strood grass field

No Toadflax Brocade moths have been noted in the moth trap this summer but they have obviously visited the garden at some point to lay eggs on the toadflax plants, as some of the plants have already been eaten by the caterpillars. This caterpillar seems nearly fully grown and ready to pupate.

Five willow warblers were feeding in a mixed tit flock in Feldy View on Monday 29th - the first ones passing through here for the autumn. Along the Strood seawall were seen 76 black-tailed godwits, 80 redshank, 15 turnstones, two yellow wagtails, common tern, whitethroat, two reed warblers and ten swifts over the houses.

On Sunday 28th along the Strood were 12 lapwing, 15 curlew, 60 black-tailed godwits, 100 redshank, greenshank, 8 turnstones, two common terns, 15 Mediterranean gulls, 20 swifts and a whitethroat.

A banded demoiselle was seen by Steve Entwistle in his Empress Drive garden on Sunday - his second sighting on the Island. Also the regular gatekeeper was seen again in his garden too.

Andy Field reported his two young swifts are still in his nest-box and appear to have another three weeks before they fledge.