YOUTH CAMP WHEATEAR

A wheatear was seen along the front of the East Mersea Youth Camp on Wednesday 20th. It was quite flighty and didn't stay in the area long, flying off from the beach to a field to the west of the site. There was a mixed passage of 150+ hirundines heading eastwards comprising swallows and house martins as well as a couple of sand martins. Not surprisingly three hobbies were seen above the East Mersea boating lake with one bird carrying a recently caught hirundine. Three yellow wagtails were also noted flying east.

Five common gulls were on the beach by the Youth Camp - the first ones I've noted for the autumn. Also ten Mediterranean gulls, while offshore 70 common terns were on the shingle island near Waldegraves.

Birds roosting at high tide on the side lake beside the boating lake on Wednesday included 200 ringed plovers, 140 redshank, 125 turnstones, 7 dunlin, 2 whimbrel, 13 little grebes, two teal while 70 golden plover roosted in a nearby stubble field.

At Feldy View on Tuesday 19th several butterflies were noted including a couple of common blues.

Half a dozen brown argus were in Feldy View on Tuesday, also gatekeeper and small heath seen.

A southern migrant hawker was resting on some reedmace along the Strood dyke on Tuesday.

Birds of interest were 30 black-tailed godwits, five golden plover, three grey plover, 70 linnets and 3 kestrels in or over the Strood fields.

A ring-necked parakeet was heard squawking in a Firs Chase garden on Tuesday early evening and was seen perched in a tree briefly. This bird was first reported in this same area about a month earlier.

Rob Lee saw a cuckoo flying over Barrow Hill on Tuesday early evening.

Three whimbrel were along the Strood channel on Monday 18th, also 28 grey plover, 25 golden plover, 30 black-tailed godwits, 3 greenshank and two common terns. Fifty Mediterranean gulls were roosting in a stubble field beside the Strood, also stonechat and fifty linnets were in the fields.

At Feldy View a lesser whitethroat was the only bird of note, with brown argus and small heath the butterflies of note here. Migrant hawker and common darters also seen in Feldy View.

On Sunday 17th a greenshank was feeding along the Strood channel at low tide. Other waders seen here were 10 grey plover, 20 golden plover, 40 black-tailed godwits, whimbrel and four ringed plovers. In the weedy fields were 30 linnets, stonechat, three corn buntings and a yellow wagtail flying over. Two sparrowhawks were noted too, one seen crashing into the reedbed after something. Three willow warblers and two lesser whitethroats were in Feldy View.

A yellow wagtail flew over the Firs Chase garden on Sunday afternoon.

A colour-ringed redshank seen by Andy Field along the Strood on Sunday was later discovered to have been ringed as an adult on 25th January 2020 at Welwick Saltmarsh on the Humber estuary. Its only other sighting was on the Ythan estuary in Aberdeenshire. 

A clouded yellow paused briefly along the Strood seawall on Sunday for this picture. The southern migrant hawker was also by the Strood dyke. A small copper was in Feldy View.

Michael Thorley photographed a few birds that visited his East Mersea garden near Meeting Lane on Sunday such as this yellow wagtail.

A juvenile yellow wagtail at Michael's pond.

A young goldfinch and yellow wagtail photographed by Michael.

Two juvenile goldfinches photographed by Michael.

Some linnets and a goldfinch at Michael's garden pond on Sunday.

A linnet photographed by Michael. Also six swallows and a chiffchaff noted in his garden.

On Saturday 16th at Feldy View, Steve Grimwade saw a spotted flycatcher, three lesser whitethroats, willow warbler, sparrowhawk and a corn bunting flying over.

At Maydays on Saturday a common seal pup was accidentally flushed off the seawall, it originally having been resting on the nearby saltmarsh.

The seal pup quickly flapped its way across the mudflats to the safety of the water in the Pyefleet Channel. Later an adult common seal was basking on the saltmarsh further up the channel.

Two days earlier this very small seal pup was photographed by my wife as she kayaked in the Ray Channel on Thursday. It seemed very confiding but no sign of any adult seal nearby to look after it. There was no sign of it the next day, Friday.

Birds noted during the Saturday walk along the Maydays and Reeveshall seawalls included a hobby flying from Reeveshall to Langenhoe over the Pyefleet, a wheatear by the seawall, stonechat, 40 swallows, marsh harrier, two buzzards, sparrowhawk, 30 stock doves, greenshank and 48 grey plover.

Jon Ward photographed this spotted flycatcher in Feldy View on Friday 15th.

There was no sign of the pied flycatcher seen here the day before.

Another picture by Jon of the spotted flycatcher at Feldy View on Friday.

A second spotted flycatcher on the island on Friday was seen by Daniel Woollard, bathing in the garden bird bath at his Cudmore Grove bungalow.

A lesser whitethroat photographed by Jon at Feldy View on Friday. Four willow warblers and a sparrowhawk fly-through were also noted by Jon here.

Along the Strood seawall on Friday morning was this whinchat seen feeding with a second bird in the weedy field. Other birds in the fields were a stonechat, 30 linnets, four corn buntings, buzzard, marsh harrier and three yellow wagtails flying over.

At least two wheatears were along the Strood seawall on Friday - first one was reported earlier by Michael Thorley during his walk along here. Michael also saw 11 linnets, three reed buntings, 45 turnstones and six little egrets.

A little egret fed along the Strood channel near the Dabchicks on Friday. Elsewhere in the channel were 250 redshank, greenshank, 70 curlew, 15 black-tailed godwits, 11 grey plovers, ten golden plovers, seven ringed plovers, six whimbrel, ten Mediterranean gulls, two common terns, five little grebes.

In Feldy View eight willow warblers were seen in the trees with three lesser whitethroats.

A hummingbird hawkmoth was seen near the Firs Chase caravan park, a clouded yellow and southern migrant hawker were by the Strood seawall.

Two willow warblers were seen in the Firs Chase garden on Friday.