LITTLE TERN TREAT

A close view of a little tern fishing off the East Mersea Point on Thursday 7th was an unexpected treat. It spent at least thirty minutes in the area with two periods of fishing with a break in the middle where it was seen resting on the edge of nearby mudflats.

The little tern was circling round over the waters off the Point as the tide came in, dropping down to fish every so often and then going round again. It was last seen heading out of the estuary and not seen again that day. There had been six little terns seen on the opposite side of the Colne earlier at Sandy Point in the morning, so presumably this was one of those birds. Six common terns also seen in the estuary.

A ringed plover was found sitting on four eggs round the back of the Point on Thursday.

Also on Thursday at the Point another ringed plover appeared to be crouching down at the top of the beach, but no nest or eggs could be found. Twenty-five ringed plovers were seen, some flying in the flock with dunlin and others feeding on the mud.

Fifty dunlin were seen at the Point on Thursday, three of them here resting on the mud as the tide was coming in. 

At least ten lapwing chicks were feeding in the country park grazing fields.

Ten adult lapwings were keeping a close eye on their chicks in the park fields on Thursday. Three redshank on the fields are probably breeding too.

Three brent geese were resting in the park fields on Thursday, also six greylag geese, 14 shelduck, pair of gadwall,  cuckoo calling at the back of the fields and a sparrowhawk passing over.

A male linnet perched up on the bushes at the Point on Thursday. A displaying meadow pipit over the seablite bushes at the Point was of note. Three reed warblers, sedge warbler, lesser whitethroat and two whitethroats also noted during the walk from the Golfhouse to the Point.

Steve Entwistle spent Thursday afternoon at the Point and while not seeing the little tern, did see a Sandwich tern, ten common terns, fifty herring gulls, seven bar-tailed godwits, fifty whimbrel in a large flock calling, 52 dunlin on the Golfhouse pools, and a song thrush with a beak full of worms by the Golfhouse.

Andy Field noted on Thursday morning that a swift returned back inside his swift nestbox two days earlier than last year

Rob Lee reported hearing the female cuckoo at Barrow Hill and recently has seen lots of cuckoos that were mainly males.

A cuckoo was also heard calling in Firs Chase on Thursday.

Michael Thorley photographed a field vole eating fallen apple blossom under a tree in his East Mersea garden on Thursday.

Another field vole pictured by Michael.

A male whitethroat was singing beside a path by the Firs Chase Caravan park on Wednesday 6th.  A lesser whitethroat was heard with its rattling song beside the caravan park, while along the Strood dyke were two sedge warblers, two reed warblers, marsh harrier over the fields, cuckoo heard calling and six swifts over the houses.

Along the Strood channel were two great crested grebes, three whimbrel, two shelduck, two lapwing over the Peldon seawall and five brent geese on Packing Shed Island.

At Maydays farm on Wednesday, Martin Cock reported two red kites, two cuckoos, whimbrel and plenty of sedge warblers.

At Barrow Hill Rob Lee saw three cuckoos on Wednesday, possibly two males after a female.

In the Firs Chase garden a song thrush and goldcrest were heard singing, while a rose chafer, brimstone butterfly, orange-tip  and holly blue were seen there during Wednesday.

A wall brown butterfly looked a bit tatty in Feldy View on a sunny Tuesday 5th. Maybe a bird had pecked off some of the hindwings. Great to see this species again here for the second year running.

Andy Field reported seeing one in his High Street North garden the day before.

 

A speckled wood was in the shady corner of Feldy View on Tuesday.

A green hairstreak was resting up in a tree in Feldy View and whenever a holly blue butterfly flew past it would fly up to it, checking it wasn't a rival male hairstreak. A painted lady flashed past, while orange-tip and small white were also noted. Another green hairstreak was seen again in the Firs Chase garden.

Three rose chafers were feeding on the rowan flowers in Feldy View on Tuesday.

A Large red damselfly was seen in Feldy View on Tuesday - another was also seen in the Firs Chase garden.

A brown-lipped snail caught my eye in Feldy View as it was attached to a small birch tree, a metre off the ground.

An oystercatcher was standing on a dinghy by the Dabchicks sailing club on Tuesday. Also along the channel were four common terns, whimbrel, great crested grebe, two shelduck, five brent geese. A hobby flew over Feldy View feeding on insects as it flew, before heading away over the Firs Road cemetery. Two swifts were seen over houses next to the cemetery.

A sparrowhawk and two whitethroats were heard singing beside the caravan park.

A female cuckoo was heard with its bubbling call in the Firs Chase garden early on Tuesday morning.

A painted lady feeding on thyme was photographed by Michael Thorley in his East Mersea garden on Tuesday. Eighty-three rosemary beetles noted in his garden too.

Painted lady was seen on the Strood seawall on Tuesday.

Andy Field photographed this Leaf-cutter bee Megachile centunculari, seems to have a nest in a pot in his front garden.

A pair of common terns was fishing along the Strood channel on Monday 4th. Also seen during the seawall walk were marsh harrier, buzzard, sparrowhawk, cuckoo calling near the bowls club, two greylag geese, five brent geese, two mute swans, whimbrel, 12 turnstones by the Hard, three great crested grebes and a nightingale heard singing across on Ray Island.

A pair of yellow wagtails was flying around the saltmarsh at the bottom of the Strood hill, one juvenile stonechat was with the parents, four reed buntings, five whitethroats, five sedge warblers, four reed warblers and a lesser whitethroat - were all heard singing. Seven swifts were flying over the houses.

A pair of shoveler was along the Strood dyke and a pair of pochard flew along the Strood channel on Monday.

A pair of gadwall rested in the Strood field on Monday after flying out of the dyke.

A Lunar Thorn in the Firs Chase garden on the 3rd May was the first island record since 2009.

A Seraphim in the garden on the 3rd, was only the second record for the island.

Pale Tussock

Figure of Eighty.

Silver-Y.

Buff-tip.

ORCHID DISPLAY

The green-winged orchids were having another good season in the back of the private garden on the Victoria Esplanade on Sunday 3rd. 

No count was made this year of green-winged orchids but the number seemed about the same compared with two years ago when 900 were counted. There were also several common spotted orchid plants not yet ready to flower yet. This is a natural wild population that have been allowed to flourish by the current owner and by his late mother who also lived in the same property for many years since at least the 1960's.

At least twenty adder's tongue ferns were found hiding amongst the grass and orchids.

On Sunday 3rd at Maydays, there were several buzzards in the sunny skies with 12 noted in total, six in one flock circling over the Langenhoe seawall. 

This buzzard missing the end of its wing had probably been shot at. A red kite and six marsh harriers were seen during the walk while a hobby flying over Reeveshall, crossed over to Langenhoe where a second hobby circled round with it. A cuckoo was heard calling on Langenhoe.

Waders noted along the Pyefleet at Maydays included this black-tailed godwit, 7 grey plover, 15 dunlin and a knot. Three great crested grebes, 38 shelduck were on the mud while 3 common seals were resting on the saltmarsh.

On the Reeveshall fields 20 whimbrel were feeding and two others on the mud, while 12 lapwing were also noted on the fields.

Along the Maydays dyke were 8 sedge warblers, 5 reed warblers, 3 Cetti's warblers, yellowhammer, reed bunting, 6 whitethroats, lesser whitethroat and a pair of red-legged partridge in a field. A painted lady flew along the seawall.

Rob Lee heard the cuckoo calling along Empress Avenue on Sunday. A red kite was seen flying west over the West Mersea Bowls Club by Carrie Horwood - possibly the same bird was seen a short while later flying west over the Firs Chase and the Dabchicks being chased west by a crow.

Late Sunday evening there was the sound of at least half a dozen whimbrels calling to each other in the dark as they flew over.

Michael Thorley photographed this brown-tail moth caterpillar at Cudmore Grove on Sunday.

Michael also photographed at the country park signs of Winter Moth caterpillars feeding on field maple and cherry leaves.

Winter moth caterpillar photographed by Michael at Cudmore Grove.

A male sparrowhawk photographed by Michael on Saturday 2nd May at his East Mersea garden.

Shaun Bater reported on Saturday in the Sanderlings and Cross Lane area, lesser whitethroat, whitethroat, blackcap and greenfinch. A mallard with five ducklings were on the small pond, a great spotted woodpecker was in the West Mersea caravan park and a cuckoo was heard at Waldegraves.

Andy Field was at East Mersea on Saturday morning and saw 6 common terns in the Colne, also two possible black terns seen distantly through the heat haze. Two whimbrel were on Pewit Island, while whitethroat, lesser whitethroat and chiffchaffs were noted along the seawall walk. Butterflies noted included wall brown, painted lady, brimstone, orange-tip and small white.

Two green hairstreaks were seen tussling in the Firs Chase garden on Friday 1st - this one resting by the back door on a rose-bush.

Two rose chafers were feeding on rowan flowers in Feldy View on Friday, also another along the Firs Chase folly to the Lane.

Birds noted during a brief circuit of Feldy View to the Dabchicks on Friday included 14 brent geese, 5 swifts over the houses, two Mediterranean gulls, buzzard, whitethroat, blackcap and a chiffchaff.

At East Mersea Steve Entwistle saw the cuckoo showing well and calling from the top of a bush near the bus turning circle on Friday evening.

On Thursday 30th a Chinese water deer was seen feeding down the side of a rape crop, to the west of the East Mersea church.

The Chinese Water Deer was watched for several minutes as it fed beside the rape crop and occasionally lifting its head up to look around.

Beside the East Mersea boating lake were two bar-tailed godwits in summer plumage roosting during the high tide on Thursday. Lea Merclova reported one at the East Mersea Point as well.

Also on the side-lake at Rewsalls marsh were a pair of shelduck, six oystercatchers, redshank, two whimbrel and a little egret.

A male kestrel was perched up near the East Mersea boating lake on Thursday. A buzzard was seen over to Rewsalls where two swifts were seen flying east.

Eight whitethroats were singing along the path west of the East Mersea church and down to the boating lake on Thursday. A reed warbler was singing by the church and three lesser whitethroats also heard on the walk.

Two green-veined whites mating beside a field at Rewsalls on Thursday.

The rape field in full flower looking east to the East Mersea church.

Carrie Horwood was very pleased to photograph this swift on Thursday morning over her house in Fairhaven Avenue - one of six swifts circling very soon after a new swift box had been installed on the house as recordings of swift calls was being broadcast. 

Rob Lee reported his second stable swallow arrived at his house at Barrow Hill on Thursday, also a flypast swift and a house martin.

In the Firs Chase garden a recently fledged robin from its nest in the ivy on the side of the house, was seen having a drink from the bird bath on Thursday. A goldcrest was heard singing from the cedar tree.

 

On Wednesday 29th in Feldy View, a small copper was seen among the grass - the first one of the year here.

An orange-tip was also in Feldy View on Wednesday, as were a small white and a brief flypast of a hairy dragonfly.

Birds noted during a brief Feldy View / Dabchicks circuit included a marsh harrier, kestrel, swift, brent goose and five turnstones by the Hard.

In the Firs Chase garden on Wednesday were two holly blues, orange-tip and a small white butterfly.

Up to three Cockchafers have been attracted to the garden moth trap in Firs Chase in the first week of May.

A Chocolate-tip in the garden was the first record for here.

Twelve Latticed Heaths were noted on the 1st May.

Waved Umber on 1st.