Plenty of butterflies were enjoying the sunshine near Feldy View on Friday 27th, such as this colourful
peacock butterfly.
Several
gatekeepers were feeding on the bramble flowers beside the Firs Caravan park.
An
Essex Skipper was feeding on ragwort in Feldy View. Also noted were
meadow brown, small heath, red admiral, comma, holly blue, small white and
large white.
A very flighty
painted lady was flying quickly along the Strood seawall on Friday, pausing only briefly for this hurried photograph to be taken.
A female
common blue damselfly rested on a bush by the Firs caravan park on Friday.
Birds seen during the walk along the Strood seawall on Friday included a red kite, buzzard, male stonechat, two common terns, eight curlew, sedge warbler and whitethroat. Three sand martins flew north-west over the fields and Strood Channel, while 15 swifts were seen over the houses.
At Maydays on Friday morning Martin Cock saw a hobby, marsh harrier, three buzzards, yellowhammer as well as the locally rare marbled white butterfly, gatekeepers and an Essex Skipper. Five common seals were also noted in the Pyefleet.
Along the Strood on Thursday 26th, a flock of 30 sand martins flew north-west off the Island, two marsh harriers, buzzard, ten linnets, three sedge warblers, reed warbler, curlew, turnstone were all noted and also seventy swifts flying about over the West Mersea houses.
On Wednesday 25th I joined the RSPB on Lennie Wilson's boat to help with the breeding bird survey on the beach recharges of Cobmarsh Island, Packing Marsh, Old Hall Point and Shinglehead Point on Tollesbury Wick. A pair of ringed plover was seen on Cobmarsh, while only one oystercatcher chick was seen on the island despite over a dozen pairs present. A couple of ringed plover pairs were seen on Old Hall Point. Herring gull chick numbers seemed well down this year compared to last year while only one pair of lesser black-backed gulls was seen on Packing Marsh. A summering brent goose was seen and a common tern flew past.
Earlier on Wednesday two green woodpeckers were seen in Feldy View - one of them being this juvenile, also ten swifts and a Mediterranean gull over the houses, and a buzzard over Ray Island.
An
elephant hawkmoth appeared in Sarah Thorley's greenhouse in East Mersea in the evening on Tuesday 24th.
In Shop Lane a hobby, two buzzards, three purple hairstreaks and a small copper was seen by Martin Cock on Tuesday.
The grass field by the Strood had been recently cut then baled on Tuesday 24th.
Birds noted from the seawall included two buzzards, two curlew, three redshank, two common terns, three little egrets, grey heron, two sedge warblers, 15 linnets and four singing reed buntings.
On Monday 23rd a large passage of swifts was observed with 500+ counted between 11.15 and 12.30. They were flying north-west over the Strood fields in a wide swathe between the Strood Hill and the Firs Caravan park. Presumably a long-ranging feeding flock from elsewhere passing over the island, rather than a flock heading south for the winter.
Also a hobby was seen flying north-west off the island on Monday, a red kite, three buzzards, ten stock doves, six curlew, three common terns, two sedge warbler, reed warbler, whitethroat and ten linnets.
Steve Entwistle visited Cudmore Grove on Monday and saw the barn owl hunting over the grazing fields in early evening. Twelve Mediterranean gulls were on the Golfhouse pools, also avocet there, while an oystercatcher was still nesting at the Point, 120 sand martins along the park dyke, skylark, four linnets, curlew, 56 oystercatcher, four swifts and 20 swallows. Two pairs of black-tailed skimmers seen along the dyke.
A Bromans Lane resident also watched the barn owl hunting the fields to the north of the country park on Monday evening.
On Saturday 21st Steve Entwistle visited Maydays farm and reported a pair of yellowhammers, female marsh harrier, reed bunting, lesser whitethroat and two whitethroats.
Also noted at Maydays during a brief walk in addition to Steve's sightings, were a buzzard, five swifts, two Cetti's warblers, reed warbler and a house martin over the buildings.
Later in Shop Lane a pair of white-letter hairstreaks was seen beside Fishponds Wood by Steve.
Some of the recent moths of interest from the Firs Chase garden included this
White Satin on the 26th.