Very excited to find this rare immigrant
Striped Hawkmoth come crashing into the back garden at 2am on Tuesday 2nd as I was clearing away the moth trap in the drizzle.
There has been a recent influx into mainly southern England of several
Striped Hawkmoths, including half a dozen into Essex. This one is the first record for Mersea Island. After posing for a few photos, it was released and it flew away like a bullet, without any hint of a backward glance!
Other Hawkmoths into the Firs Chase back garden on the night of the 1st were this
Eyed Hawkmoth.
The first
Poplar Hawkmoth of the spring was this late one on the 1st. There were three
Elephant Hawkmoths also in the trap that same night.
A
Pine Hawkmoth was noted two nights earlier on the 29th May.
A young
pied wagtail was begging for food from the male, seen on Tuesday 2nd near Feldy View. A
cuckoo was heard calling, five
swifts were over the houses while a
curlew and six
shelduck were in the Strood channel.
Eighty swifts were seen by Martin Cock drifting west over his West Mersea house in The Coverts on Tuesday morning.
A pair of
red-legged partridge was photographed by Steve Entwistle in the Maydays farmyard on Tuesday late afternoon. Also noted there were 3 male
yellowhammers, whitethroat, four
reed warblers and a male
marsh harrier.
A female
green woodpecker dropped down into the back-garden of the Firs Chase house on Monday 1st.
The
green woodpecker spent a minute having a drink from the half-barrel of water in the garden, before flying off. First time a woodpecker has been seen coming down to drink from here.
A Painted Lady was also seen feeding in the garden.
A trio of recently fledged
swallows waited to be fed at the back of the Dabchicks Sailing Club on Monday.
Other birds noted on the short visit to the Strood included a common tern, two great crested grebes, cuckoo, while a sparrowhawk and yellow wagtail were noted flying over Feldy View.
A
Holly Blue was feeding in Feldy View on Monday, as were three others.
Two
Red Admirals were also feeding on the cherry laurel bush in Feldy View on Monday, and a
Painted Lady too. Also in Feldy View were a
Large Skipper, Common Blue, Small Heath, Small White and an
Emperor Dragonfly.
A
Hummingbird Hawkmoth was photographed by Michael Thorley as it fed on some Sweet William in his East Mersea garden on Monday afternoon.
Martin Cock visited Maydays farm on Monday and reported seeing a red kite, two buzzards and a pair of yellowhammers.
On Sunday 31st a red kite was seen flying over the Strood fields late morning, also a marsh harrier and buzzard noted, while on Ray Island there were three Egyptian geese and two brent geese. A great crested grebe was in the Strood channel and fourteen swifts were flying over the West Mersea houses.
A Meadow Brown and Painted Lady were in Feldy View.
At East Mersea on Sunday, two common terns were seen feeding off the Point by Carrie Horwood.
At Cudmore Grove in the evening, Steve Entwistle watched the barn owl over the grazing fields - seen from the bird hide, also a hobby flew close by the hide, a cuckoo, two swallows and grey heron at the pond. A cuckoo was also seen flying across the fields by Bromans Lane.
A barn owl was seen by Carrie Horwood hunting the area of fields near the Strood fishing lakes on Sunday evening at 8pm and also Saturday evening.
The second
swift egg was seen laid in the nestbox at Andy Field's house in High Street North on Saturday 30th. The picture taken from the nest-cam off the computer screen.
On Friday 29th along the Strood seawall was this
shelduck - six were noted, also one
Egyptian goose opposite the Dabchicks,
great crested grebe, 3
little egrets, redshank and a
lapwing.
This moulting
gadwall was on the Strood borrowdyke on Friday, also along the dyke were
stonechat, singing birds included four
reed warblers, two
sedge warblers, two
reed buntings, two
whitethroats. In the fields were twenty
linnets, a
yellow wagtail flew into the fields, two
kestrels, buzzard and two calling
cuckoos were heard.
A Common Blue and Painted Lady were in Feldy View on Friday morning.
Michael Thorley reported "masses" of
Painted Ladies in his East Mersea garden on Friday.
Another of Michael's photos of a
Painted Lady on the corn marigold.
Seven
Painted Ladies were seen simultaneously in Michael's garden with five of them pictured here.
Buff-tailed Bumble Bee photographed by Michael.
Common Carder Bee photographed by Michael.
Common Carder Bee by Michael.
A few moths from the Firs Chase moth trap over the last week include this coastal moth the
Sand Dart.
A colourful version of
Heart and Dart with a pale-reddish border.
The
Ichneumon wasp Amblyteles armatorius was found at the moth trap on the 29th.
