MARBLED WHITES

A Marbled White butterfly was seen resting on the stem of an ox-eye daisy in Feldy View cemetery on Wednesday 17th. The first island sighting was only seven years ago - also in Feldy View, but no further sightings here until now, although elsewhere there have been singles seen in recent years in the Strood fields and at Maydays.

Pleasing to hear that another Marbled White was also seen on the island, photographed here by Carrie Horwood at the East Mersea Water Park the previous day on Tuesday 16th.

Other butterflies seen at Feldy View on Wednesday were 3 Small White, 2 Skipper sps, 2 Holly Blue, Painted Lady, 10 Meadow Brown, 5 Small Heath and a Comma.

A Rose Chafer was feeding on a cotoneaster bush in Feldy View on Wednesday.

Birds noted on Wednesday on the Feldy View to Dabchicks circuit included 20 swifts over the houses, a pair of oystercatchers in the field below Feldy View calling out anxiously as their chick wandered among the young maize shoots, two sand martins flew north west off the island, a female cuckoo called beside the Firs caravan park, buzzard and marsh harrier over the Feldy Marsh seawall.

Steve Entwistle visited Feldy View on Wednesday and saw green woodpecker, 3 Holly Blues, 8 Meadow Browns, 5 Large Whites, 5 Small Skippers.

Later in Shop Lane a Southern Migrant Hawker, Brown Hawker and 2 White-letter Hairstreak in their usual location near Fishponds Wood. In another walk Steve reported that from the East Mersea Golfhouse to the seawall corner, there were 12 ringed plovers including one youngster, 4 sedge warblers, Painted Lady and a female Ruddy Darter seen. 

Andy Field saw two White-letter Hairstreaks in Shop Lane near Fishponds Wood on Wednesday morning, also a pair of avocets on the Reeveshall pool.

A Wool Carder Bee was photographed by Carrie Horwood in her Fairhaven Avenue garden on her Lambs Ear plant on Wednesday.

A Wool Carder Bee was photographed in the Firs Chase garden feeding on salvia.

A second Striped Hawkmoth of the year for the West Mersea garden - and island, dropped into the Firs Chase moth trap in the early hours of 1.30am on Wednesday. This seemed a smaller individual than the one recorded two weeks earlier. I believe this is the eighth Striped Hawkmoth of the year for Essex, so a good year so far for this scarce immigrant moth from southern Europe.

On Tuesday 16th two Egyptian geese flew down the Strood channel, a hobby was watched circling over the Peldon seawall hawking insects, 3 common terns, 6 shelduck, great crested grebe and a lapwing were along the channel. Inside the Strood seawall were a pair of mute swans, buzzard, singing birds included 3 sedge warblers, 4 reed warblers, 3 whitethroats and 4 reed buntings, also 12 linnets present.

Also seen on the walk were a Painted Lady and a Small Tortoiseshell.

A great crested grebe in the Strood channel on Tuesday.

Sedge warbler singing along the Strood borrowdyke on Tuesday.

Two Large Red Damselflies were in the Firs Chase garden on Tuesday.

Michael Thorley photographed this Lasioglossum sps of Sweat Bee on his corn marigolds in his East Mersea garden on Tuesday.

Carrie Horwood reported 15 swifts over her house in Fairhaven Avenue but sadly no interest yet in her new swift box on the house.

The regular female hedgehog is still visiting Carrie Horwood's garden in Fairhaven Avenue. It had been visiting her feeding station several times a night up until a week ago, then no sign of her, but for the last three nights she's been spending thirty minutes devouring everything. Maybe she has some hungry hoglets to feed!

A Meadow Brown photographed by Carrie in her Fairhaven Avenue garden on Monday 15th.

Swollen-thighed Beetle photographed by Carrie in her garden on Monday.

A Long Hoverfly photographed by Michael Thorley in his East Mersea garden.

A Marmalade Hoverfly photographed by Michael in his garden.

A young great spotted woodpecker with the red crown was photographed by Chris Conway on his bird feeders on Monday.

Birds noted during a circuit of Feldy View and the Dabchicks Sailing club on Monday morning included a marsh harrier, two kestrels, 2 common terns, 2 great crested grebes, Canada goose, reed warbler, two whitethroats, also ten swifts over the houses.

In the Firs Chase garden a Hummingbird Hawkmoth made a fleeting visit, Holly Blue and Meadow Brown butterflies also noted.

A colourful male linnet perched beside the Firs Caravan park on Sunday 14th. A marsh harrier was over the Strood fields, three kestrels noted, four common terns and three little egrets in the Strood channel, while 18 swifts were over the houses.

A whitethroat family of five, with recently fledged youngsters, was feeding in Feldy View on Sunday. 

Three Meadow Browns were in Feldy View, also 3 Small Heaths, Comma, 2 Small Whites, Common Blue and a Small Skipper. 

Half a dozen Rosemary Beetles were on a lavender bush in Feldy View.

A Spotted Longhorn beetle was feeding on feverfew flowers in the Firs Chase garden. Two Holly Blues and a Meadow Brown also noted here on Sunday.

Several caterpillars of the Toadflax Brocade moth are feeding on the Purple Toadflax in the Firs Chase garden.

At Barrow Hill on Sunday, Rob Lee watched a barn owl flying over just after 8am, and then again at the end of the afternoon a barn owl seen heading towards the Strood Hill fishing lake area.

 

A ringed plover chick was photographed by Andy Field at East Mersea near the old blockhouse fort on Saturday. 

Andy photographed this common tern - one of two on an island on the Golfhouse saltmarsh pools on Saturday. Also 2 avocets on the pools, an agitated redshank presumably with a chick nearby, 2 turnstones, red kite over, barn owl hunting the grazing field near the country park, plenty of reed warblers and two sedge warblers.

Red-tailed Bumblebee photographed by Carrie Horwood in her garden on Saturday.

White-tailed Bumblebee photographed by Carrie in her garden.

On Friday 12th at Maydays farm, Martin Cock reported yellow wagtails flying over, four yellowhammers, buzzard, marsh harrier, common tern, three common seals and a Chinese Water Deer.

Over the Strood fields on Thursday 11th was a hobby seen chasing a small bird which managed to escape by diving into the hedge by the central ditch. Also three common terns and two great crested grebes in the Strood channel, and ten swifts over the houses.

A few moths noted over the last week in the Firs Chase garden moth trap included this first Swallow-tailed moth of the summer.

Barred Yellow.

Delicate moth.

Poplar Grey.


 

OYSTERCATCHER CHICKS

At least two oystercatcher chicks could be seen in the dinghy near the Dabchicks sailing club, being looked after by their parents on Wednesday 10th. An anxious time for the parent birds with people and dogs so close to the dinghy.

Another oystercatcher was looking concerned on the Strood seawall on Wednesday, although no sign of any youngsters nearby. In the Strood channel were two great crested grebes, three common terns, a curlew and a lapwing. Two great spotted woodpeckers flew from the Firs Caravan park, then over the Strood channel towards Ray Island. A large flock of 150 swifts was circling high over the Peldon fields, feeding as they flew about. 

A red kite flew over the Strood fields and two buzzards were also seen in the air. A sedge warbler and two whitethroats were along the Strood dyke, also eight swallows seen during the walk.

An unexpected sight in Feldy View on Wednesday was this family gathering of five recently fledged goldcrest youngsters, huddled together in a pine tree waiting for their parents to come back to feed them. There's been no sign of any goldcrests in the area all spring, so maybe this family has come from The Lane area. A cuckoo was seen flying towards Feldy View.

Butterflies in Feldy View included 3 Small Heaths, 3 Meadow Browns, 2 Holly Blues, Red Admiral and a Comma.

A young goldfinch with the brown head was following a parent about in Feldy View as it fed on the flower seed-heads on Wednesday.

At East Mersea on Wednesday morning, Martin Cock reported black-headed gulls on nests on the saltmarsh pools near the Golfhouse, also a pair of common terns and avocet possibly nesting. A redshank chick also seen.

Martin heard a goldcrest singing in conifers opposite his house in The Coverts on Wednesday.

Andy Field photographed these two swallows at Cudmore Grove by the park pond, with one of the birds briefly joining him in the bird-hide on Wednesday morning.

Andy also photographed a cuckoo perched in the alders by the country park pond on Wednesday.

At the end of Wednesday afternoon as the clouds thickened and conditions turned blustery, a flock of 90 swifts headed north and low over the Firs Chase house in a ten minute spell.

Michael Thorley photographed this Tachina fera fly on his garden corn marigolds in his East Mersea on Wednesday.

On Tuesday 9th a family of blackcaps was seen in the bushes beside the Firs Chase caravan park, with two of the recently fledged birds seen here waiting to be fed.

Another of the recently fledged blackcap chicks seen by the Firs Chase caravan park on Tuesday.

Butterflies seen in Feldy View included this tatty Painted Lady resting on a bench.

Three Meadow Browns were seen in Feldy View, also three Small Heaths and two Holly Blues.

Half a dozen Bryony Bees were feeding on the white bryony flowers beside the path down the side of the Firs Caravan park on Tuesday.

Looking north over the Strood channel, the sky behind Ray Island was as black as night-time on Tuesday late morning, as the western side of Colchester got hammered with rain.

Birds seen along the channel included a great crested grebe, three common terns, while over the fields were two marsh harriers, two buzzards and two kestrels. A peregrine was seen flying north over the Firs Chase caravans as it headed over the channel towards Peldon.

In the Strood dyke were three singing sedge warblers, two reed warblers, whitethroat, two reed buntings and also six linnets seen. Ten swifts were flying over the West Mersea houses.

A fox was checking out the Firs Chase garden on Tuesday evening.

Michael Thorley alerted the Bird Aware Essex coast team about this oystercatcher nest with eggs that he found on the beach on Tuesday near the East Mersea blockhouse.

On a brief visit to the Strood channel on Monday 8th a pair of Canada geese was seen with three half-grown goslings feeding on the saltmarsh in front of Feldy Marsh. Six shelduck and two common terns were the only other birds of note in the channel, while two reed warblers and four whitethroats were seen by the seawall.

Birds noted on Sunday 7th during a brief Strood visit included a red kite over the fields, Canada goose flying down channel, five shelduck and a whitethroat. Three oystercatcher chicks were seen in the dinghy near the Dabchicks sailing club.

David Bullock in East Mersea was pleased to find this female Stag Beetle in his garden along East Mersea road near the turning for North Farm on Sunday 7th.

David has been fortunate to have seen in his East Mersea garden both the female Stag Beetle this year and a male two years ago. Possible signs there's a small breeding population nearby maybe.

David also photographed a redshank standing on a fencepost at the Cudmore Grove grazing fields on Sunday.

A barn owl was seen by Jack Hoy on Sunday, as it flew towards him on the bird hide path with something in its talons heading towards the Cudmore Grove pond, maybe to the nestbox there.

A Common Broomrape was flowering again in a front garden in Strood Close on Sunday. It was seen two years ago here and seems the only location on the island for it.

Andy Field's trail camera saw this fox cub visit his garden and go inside the hedgehog feeding station on Saturday 6th.

Thirty swifts were seen on Saturday flying over the West Mersea houses seen from the Strood seawall. Two kestrels, two reed warblers, two whitethroats and a reed bunting were seen, while two curlew were on the saltmarsh on Ray Island.

On Friday 5th a barn owl was seen in the evening at 8pm, hunting the seawall near the bottom of the Strood Hill.

A green woodpecker was seen feeding amongst the long grass in Feldy View on Wednesday 3rd. A lesser whitethroat was heard singing in Feldy View.

Recent moths seen included this Yellow Shell during the day in Feldy View.

Broad-barred White in the Firs Chase garden moth trap.

Lychnis.

Miller above, and a very dark Large Yellow Underwing pictured below.