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.

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.

Mothing in the Firs Chase garden over the previous week included this Bordered Straw on the 27th - second garden record.

Unusual to have a Hummingbird Hawkmoth fly into the moth trap - on 27th.

Pale brown Poplar Hawkmoth on 27th.

Gypsy Moth on 30th.

Oak Processionary Moth on 27th.

Sandhill Rustic on 28th.

Maple Prominent on 28th.

Sallow Kitten on 30th.

Mint Moth on 29th.

Rusty-dot Pearl on 30th.

Tufted Oak Knot-horn on 28th.

TERN ISLAND

Good numbers of terns were on the shingle island offshore from Waldegraves Holiday Park on Monday 27th for the second day. At least 100 common terns were resting on the island at high tide along with ten little terns. At times some of the terns would fly off to feed, while others returned back from their feeding flights. It was nice to see and to hear the little terns as they've become much harder to see from the island in recent years. One of the little terns was fishing close into the beach at the bottom end of Cross Lane.

A big flowering buddleia bush along the front of Waldegraves had lots of butterflies feeding on it, including this Wall Brown, also ten Painted Ladies and two Red Admirals on Monday.

Little grebes appear to have bred successfully on the small pond beside the Sanderling Reach housing development on Monday.

At least two little grebe chicks were being fed by their parent on the pond.

Two swifts flew over Cross Lane.

On the east side of the Waldegraves golf driving range was a little owl perched in the hedge mid-day on Monday.

A male linnet was by the East Mersea boating lake on Monday, while a yellow wagtail, two reed warblers, ten goldfinches, five little grebes, two Mediterranean gulls and five common terns offshore were also seen in the area.

At least three Firebugs were seen at the back of the beach to the west of Waldegraves on Monday, where they've been seen before.

Andy Field had this hedgehog, also two badgers and a fox visit his West Mersea garden on Sunday night.

On Sunday 26th a pair of goldfinch was seen feeding on the knapweed seedheads in the Firs Chase garden.

The large flock of terns were on the shingle island offshore from Waldegraves Holiday Park on Sunday with 120 common terns and at least five little terns counted. Many of the terns were flying out to sea to fish where a large mixed flock of 40 common terns and 30 gulls were feeding. As the tide began to drop ten Mediterranean gulls and three Common Gulls arrived on the island. Two little terns were later seen flying west in front of Mersea Outdoors - so seven birds seen in total.

A common gull was feeding on a field at Mersea Outdoors on Sunday.

Beside the boating lake on the side lake were 100 redshank, 5 little grebes, five Mediterranean gulls, four little egrets, two reed warblers and a Cetti's warbler.

A Clouded Yellow was feeding on Red Valerian on the beach at Waldegraves on Sunday.

Plenty of Sea Holly in front of Waldegraves on Sunday.

The buddleia bush at the front of Waldegraves had 20 Painted Ladies and a Hummingbird Hawkmoth feeding on it on Sunday morning.

A Small Tortsoiseshell was feeding on buddleia by the East Mersea church on Sunday, along with 5 Red Admirals and a Comma.

Along a windy Strood seawall this Painted Lady was photographed by Sarah Thorley on Sunday.

Two hedgehogs were in Carrie Horwood's West Mersea garden during Saturday night.

The trail-cam footage seemed to film the two hedgehogs having a bit of argy-bargy, a bit of fending the rival away from the food! The more fiesty one later post-feed, blocked the entrance-way up for twenty minutes and not allowing the other one out! Carrie has since added a second exit in the feeding station to allow a quicker escape for the other hedgehog!

A Jersey Tiger moth was photographed by Caroline White in her Dawes Lane garden on Sunday.

A Jersey Tiger was also in the Firs Chase garden on Sunday morning, feeding on the buddleia.

A male yellowhammer was singing at Maydays farm by the seawall on Saturday 25th.

A peregrine was seen disturbing the birds in the Pyefleet channel, a red kite and three marsh harriers were seen flying over Langenhoe marsh. Two common sandpipers were in Maydays creek, also five whimbrel, great crested grebe, three shelduck were in the Pyefleet. A yellow wagtail and ten linnets also near the seawall while a buzzard perched along Haycocks Lane.

Steve Entwistle visited the East Mersea Golfhouse area early on Saturday morning and noted four linnets and 20 house sparrows, while in late afternoon in Shop Lane a song thrush with a large snail and six long-tailed tits were also noted.

Michael Thorley photographed some butterflies in his East Mersea garden near Meeting Lane on Friday 24th, such as this Holly Blue.

Gatekeeper also photographed by Michael.

Meadow Brown photographed by Michael in his garden, also Small White, Small Skipper and a Red Admiral seen in the garden.

On Thursday 23rd a summer plumaged knot was with a couple of redshank along the Strood Channel, also five black-tailed godwits and a grey plover. Along the seawall were seen a stonechat, buzzard, 4 corn buntings, flock of 50 linnets, 2 sedge warblers, a reed warbler and also a Clouded Yellow.

In Feldy View two willow warblers were seen in the trees and three yellow wagtails flew over to the south. Seventy swifts were flying over the West Mersea houses. Four Wall Brown butterflies were in Feldy View.

A screenshot of three swifts filmed by Andy Field as they whizzed passed the nestboxes on his house in High Street North on Thursday. One pair successfully raised one chick.

A lapwing seen in the Strood channel on Thursday.

A grey heron walked over the saltmarsh by the Strood channel on Wednesday 22nd. Also seen along the Strood seawall were 3 greenshank, grey plover, 2 whimbrel, 15 black-tailed godwits, 3 common terns, two marsh harriers, buzzard, stonechat, sedge warbler, two reed warblers, two whitethroats, and two lesser whitethroats in Feldy View, also three Wall Browns.

A male blackcap was in the Firs Chase garden along with a whitethroat on Wednesday and the local ring-necked parakeet was heard calling from a nearby garden.

A Bee-wolf was photographed by Michael Thorley in his East Mersea garden near Meeting Lane on Wednesday.

The Bee-wolf is a notable garden sighting for Michael, as they're usually found on the island on or near the beaches where they nest.

A Pine Hawkmoth was in the Firs Chase garden moth trap on the 26th,

A Sandhill Rustic on the 26th.

Iron Prominent on 26th.

Rusty Acorn Piercer on 26th.

Two Comfrey Ermines were on the 21st and the 27th.