MERSEA WILDLIFE: ANXIOUS RINGED PLOVER FAMILY

A ringed plover family at East Mersea was having a fraught time on Friday 31st, with four very young chicks having to cope with the archaeologists digging up their beach at the Tudor blockhouse fort.

The four young ringed plover chicks were running back and forth along the beach as the tide came in but faced with tall fencing around the beach.

One of the tiny ringed plover chicks strayed onto the top of the seawall dodging the walkers. Luckily this walker ahead stopped to let the chick return to the beach. The little chick is shown just below the centre of the picture facing right, near a small patch of green plant.

The two parent ringed plovers were anxiously watching over the chicks.

Round the East Mersea Point three recently fledged ringed plover youngsters were feeding with nine adults on the beach at high tide. Two dunlin, whimbrel, 180 black-tailed godwits and 100 redshank including the leucistic bird were also seen on the mud before the high tide on Friday.

Two bar-tailed godwits were also seen by Andy Field.

A flock of terns was resting on the mud by the East Mersea Point on Friday, including two Sandwich terns, here a juvenile with a common tern behind.

The adult Sandwich tern was close to the juvenile, a third bird flew out of the estuary.

Three little terns flew past the Point at high tide, one bird carrying a small fish east across the Colne.

There were 136 common terns gathered on the mud by the Point as the tide came in on Friday.

While some of the common terns rested on the mud, others flew off to feed in the Colne. Seventeen Mediterranean gulls were also resting on the mud, as were a couple of common gulls.

Twenty little egrets were seen at East Mersea on Friday, four of them seen fishing in the shallows as the tide came in. Five great crested grebes were seen in the Colne.

A tufted duck with her five ducklings was on the bank of the park borrowdyke on Friday.

Three pochard were also on the park dyke.

A pair of gadwall was also on the park dyke, this one hiding behind some club-rushes.

At the East Mersea Point on Friday were three yellow wagtails with two flying over. Twenty linnets were flying about here, and a flock of 15 goldfinches was by the grazing fields.

A Bee Wolf rested on the sand at the East Mersea Point on Friday. A Clouded Yellow was seen along the seawall.

A stonechat perched in the Golfhouse paddock on Friday, also five whitethroats, two sedge warblers, two reed warblers seen during Friday's walk. A willow warbler was calling as it foraged in bushes in the country park near the old pillbox. Fifty swallows, fifteen sand martins and ten house martins were flying about near the Golfhouse, while a buzzard was seen flying west.

A look at the hog's fennel plants in the country park on Friday revealed lots of evidence of the caterpillars of the Fisher's Estuarine Moth being present. Here the poo-hole used by the caterpillars as they fed inside the plant stems. The caterpillars should currently be pupating in the ground, ready to emerge as moths in early September.

At the base of many hog's fennel plants were the small pale piles of frass droppings from the caterpillars.

On Thursday 30th along the Strood channel, this whimbrel was seen close in with the incoming tide, four others noted during the morning walk.

Two black-tailed godwits close to the seawall, with another 18 on the mud by the Dabchicks sailing club. Three grey plover, greenshank, common tern, ten Mediterranean gulls, 10 little egrets, marsh harrier and a buzzard were seen, with a red kite circling over Peldon fields.

Twenty turnstones were seen along the Strood channel on Thursday, most of them resting on a small raft and on some moored boats. Four little grebes were in the channel.

Two sedge warblers, reed warbler, two whitethroats, 30 linnets, 3 yellow wagtails were noted during the seawall walk, while in Feldy View four willow warblers and two lesser whitethroats were seen. Ten swifts were over the houses and a ring-necked parakeet was heard calling in Firs Chase again.

On Thursday 38 Painted Ladies were all feeding on the Golden Samphire along the Strood seawall

The mottled markings of the underside of the Painted Lady.

Butterflies seen in Feldy View on Thursday included a Wall Brown, 20 Brown Argus, 6 Common Blue, Small Copper, 3 Small Heaths, 25 Meadow Browns and 25 Gatekeepers.

Plenty of Golden Samphire in flower all along the Strood seawall on Thursday.

Andy Field photographed this Crab Spider on Verbena trying unsuccessfully to grab a Hummingbird Hawkmoth in his West Mersea garden on Thursday.

Peter Marchington photographed this summering brent goose in front of the Shears Court in West Mersea on Thursday.

A Hummingbird Hawkmoth was photographed by Michael Thorley on Thursday in his East Mersea garden.

Another picture of Hummingbird Hawkmoth by Michael.

Michael also reported seeing fifteen turnstones flying past the Tudor blockhouse fort at East Mersea on Thursday morning.

On Wednesday 29th Andy Field reported the young swift had successfully flown the nestbox on his house in High street North. The youngster flew the previous day, while an adult spent Tuesday night in the nestbox. It's possible the bulk of the swifts left West Mersea on this Wednesday, as only ten could be seen in the skies on Thursday.

Two willow warblers were seen in a tit flock in Feldy View on Wednesday by Andy Field, also two chiffchaffs and a lesser whitethroat there.

Martin Cock saw two common sandpipers at Maydays farm on Wednesday.

Andy Field photographed a Large-headed Resin Bee using his bee hotel in his West Mersea garden on Tuesday.

Large-headed Resin Bee by Andy.

Birds seen along the Strood seawall on Tuesday 28th included a hobby over the Peldon side, marsh harrier, buzzard, 12 black-tailed godwits, ten turnstones, 30 swallows, five yellow wagtails - also one over Feldy View where a willow warbler also noted. Fifty-four swifts were seen over the houses.

In Firs Chase three willow warblers were in the garden and the ring-necked parakeet was heard.

A Wall Brown, Small Copper and Common Blue were noted in Feldy View.