MERSEA WILDLIFE: FELDY VIEW BUTTERFLIES

Plenty of sunshine on Friday 22nd brought the butterflies out at Feldy View. This brown argus butterfly is the first of the year here.

A small heath was feeding on some French lavender in Feldy View on Friday.

A pair of small whites mating in Feldy View on Friday.

Along the Strood seawall on Friday was this little egret, also 3 ringed plovers, whimbrel, lapwing, common tern, 6 Mediterranean gulls, 2 buzzards and a red kite.

A pair of gadwall starting their summer moult was in the Strood dyke on Friday. Also along the dyke were a male yellow wagtail, male stonechat with one juvenile, singing birds included 4 sedge warblers, 3 reed warblers, 2 whitethroats and a lesser whitethroat. Ten linnets were in the fields while a good count of 45 swifts could be seen over the West Mersea houses.

Swifts were also being reported around West Mersea on Friday - 8 around the water tower by Andy Field, lots at Reymead Close seen by Jack Hoy and 2 swifts over Shears Court seen by Peter Marchington. Caroline White saw two house martins over Dawes Lane on Friday morning.

On Thursday 21st a fox was checking out the bird feeders in the Firs Chase garden.

A brief visit to the Strood seawall revealed a cuckoo, kestrel, great spotted woodpecker, green woodpecker, lesser whitethroat and whitethroat, along with 18 swifts seen over the houses.

Caroline Horwood saw five swifts over Fairhaven Avenue.

A whitethroat seen beside Feldy View on Thursday.

A couple of Rose Chafers were in Feldy View on Thursday.

Several Swollen-thighed Beetles were on lots of the flowerheads in Feldy View.

Wasp Beetle in Feldy View.

Green Shield Bug in Feldy View on Thursday.

A red kite was watched flying low over the Strood fields before crossing over the channel to Feldy Marsh on Wednesday 20th.

Interesting seeing a redshank on the saltmarsh in front of the Firs Chase caravan park during the breeding season on Wednesday. Presumed just a local bird from elsewhere in the Strood channel.

At East Mersea on Wednesday, Andy Field visited Reeveshall and reported 3 marsh harriers, 2 common terns, cuckoo heard, as well as a few whitethroats, blackcaps and chiffchaffs in the Shop Lane area.

One of two common blue butterflies that was photographed by Martin Cock along the path east of Meeting Lane on Wednesday, also seen were a house martin flying west, cuckoo and a buzzard.

On Tuesday 19th Lea Merclova found two sets of ringed plover chicks at the East Mersea Point.

A young blue tit was photographed by Michael Thorley in his East Mersea garden on Monday 18th.

At Maydays farm Martin Cock reported four cuckoos with three birds seen together.

Along the Strood channel on Monday were two Egyptian geese on Ray Island, marsh harrier, two common terns, two calling cuckoos, ringed plover, two sedge warblers, two reed warblers, stonechat and a lesser whitethroat.

A male great spotted woodpecker was seen bringing food back to the nest-hole high up in a tree by the Firs Chase caravan park on Sunday 17th.

The adult great spotted woodpecker just about to fly away from the nest-hole on Sunday. The female was also seen visiting the nest-hole with food.

A cuckoo was seen flying near the Firs Chase caravan park on Sunday.

A pair of Egyptian geese was on Ray Island on Sunday 17th. Also seen from the Strood seawall were ten brent geese, 2 gadwall, buzzard, stonechat, 20 linnets and a lesser whitethroat. Twenty swifts were over the houses, while in Firs Chase a goldcrest was singing again in the garden.

A holly blue butterfly was photographed by Michael Thorley in his East Mersea garden on Sunday.

A bee photographed by Michael Thorley in his garden could be the female hairy-footed flower bee.

Rob Lee photographed this little bunny rabbit with white socks, in his garden at Barrow Hill on Sunday

Carrie Horwood had a walk at East Mersea on Sunday and noted a cuckoo calling loudly near Shop Lane, lapwings and chicks in the park grazing field, reed warblers singing and showing well, linnet, little grebe, kestrel, greylag goose with goslings, a sedge warbler and a few reed buntings at the Point.

Fluffy clouds in a blue sky hung over the flooded Pyefleet Channel at Maydays farm on Saturday 16th.

A couple of hours earlier on Saturday morning the sky turned quite dark when a black cloud passed over the Pyefleet channel looking north to Langenhoe Marsh.

An oystercatcher was having a snooze just before the high tide at Maydays on Saturday. Other birds noted along the seawall included 20 shelduck, 2 great crested grebes, 5 redshank, 6 marsh harriers, hobby over Maydays farm, cuckoo and 8 lapwings on Reeveshall.

A male yellowhammer was singing near the Maydays seawall on Saturday - as were 4 sedge warblers, 5 reed warblers, two whitethroats and a lesser whitethroat. A meadow pipit was heard calling from the nearby saltmarsh.

Ten linnets were seen near the Maydays seawall on Saturday.

A Chinese Water Deer was seen grazing fields on Reeveshall on Saturday.

A distant shot from Maydays of four common seals basking on the saltmarsh in the Pyefleet- just before the high tide began covering the whole area.

Rob Lee reported four whimbrel high over Barrow Hill and three cuckoos there on Saturday.

An Apple Fruit Weevil was seen at Maydays farm on Saturday.

Andy Field visited Cudmore Grove on Saturday and photographed this redshank perched on a new fence-post. At least one redshank chick was seen in the nearby grazing field. At least eight lapwing chicks were seen too. A barn owl was seen flying with a vole out of the park entrance maybe heading to Bromans Farm.

One of the three greylag goslings photographed by Andy in the park's grazing fields on Saturday.

At the Point all three ringed plover nests had a sitting bird on them. A cuckoo was heard at the park and another calling in Andy's garden in High St North.