FELDY FUNGI

A colourful Fly Agaric with its red cap added to the autumnal scene in Feldy View on a sunny Sunday 9th. A few Fly agarics were seen in this same area a couple of years ago in early November.

A single fieldfare was feeding amongst the leaf litter in Feldy View on Sunday.

The fieldfare was more confiding than usual fieldfares and provided good views on the ground and in a tree when it perched up on Sunday morning.

Two green woodpeckers and two great spotted woodpeckers were heard in The Lane and Feldy View area. A chiffchaff and two goldcrests were seen in the Firs Chase garden.

Birds seen from the Strood seawall on Sunday included 300 brent geese, 200 wigeon, 70 teal, 2 shoveler, 500 golden plover, 100 dunlin, 40 avocets and 30 knot. Raptors seen were two marsh harriers, two buzzards, three kestrels, while small birds of note were 150 linnets and three stonechats.

The sunny weather on Sunday saw this small copper butterfly resting on the Strood seawall. The latest date I think a small copper has been seen on the Island.

The small copper closed its wings up when the breeze blew, making this individual very hard to see on the path. A small copper was also seen the day before flying across Feldy View. Other butterflies on Sunday were two red admirals and a small white by the Strood seawall, while a common darter flew over the Strood seawall.

The mild autumn has seen flowers appear on the holly bush in our Firs Chase garden - a time of year most female hollies should be displaying their crop of berries.

A nice surprise was seeing this red squirrel in the poplar trees by the path at the top of the Firs Chase caravan park on Saturday 8th. It was seen exploring a hollow side to the trunk on one tree.

A rock pipit stood on a post in the Strood channel on Saturday - as did a couple of other rock pipits.

On a sunny Saturday a red kite flew over Ray Island and a second bird circled over Barrow Hill, while a marsh harrier and a buzzard were also noted. Along the channel were 150 wigeon, 50 teal, 400 golden plovers, 70 black-tailed godwits, 45 avocets, 50 dunlin, 20 knot and five Mediterranean gulls.

A distant kingfisher was spotted perching briefly on the Strood seawall sluice on Saturday. Three stonechats and 100 linnets were in the nearby fields. A very vocal brambling was heard calling from the trees at Feldy View but was only seen when it flew overhead and landed in trees down the side of the caravan park. It carried on calling for a minute whilst obscured by branches and was only seen when it flew off west. 

A goldcrest was seen in the Firs Chase garden on Saturday.

On Friday 7th Andy Field, Carrie Horwood and I carried out the monthly wetland bird survey along the northern side of the island, from Maydays farm to Cudmore Grove Country Park. After a very dull day the sun peeked out when we reached the park pond mid afternoon where we saw a sparrowhawk, 15 shoveler, 20+ teal, 15+ wigeon and 12+ mallard.

Earlier on our walk we saw the two Arctic terns flying back and forth just inside the mouth of the Colne. These were first seen by Neil Harvey early Friday afternoon, just before we got to the area to look. Neil also saw two Little gulls in the Colne and a water rail on one of the borrowdykes.

Four bar-tailed godwits were with other waders on the Golfhouse saltings, stonechat here too, while two female red-breasted mergansers were by Langenhoe Point. Later Steve Entwistle saw a red-throated diver in the Colne, the Arctic terns still present, four red-breasted mergansers flying out of the river, 300 dunlin, 3 bar-tailed godwits and 20 ringed plovers.

Other highlights of our walk along the north side of the island on Friday were a kingfisher by the Oyster Fishery, great white egret on Reeveshall, four snipe flying off from the edge of the Reeveshall seawall at high tide, four marsh harriers, peregrine over Maydays, twenty Mediterranean gulls flying up Pyefleet, 45 golden plover, 70 avocets, also at Maydays 6 yellowhammers, stonechat and ten fieldfares flying over.

Charlie Williams birds of note during his count on Friday from Maydays to Strood to West Mersea were six red-breasted mergansers in the Blackwater (one landing), 66 avocets, 17 sanderling off Seaview Avenue, one snipe, greenshank, kingfisher, three marsh harriers, buzzard, as well as 372 brent geese, 327 wigeon and 251 teal. 

 

Thursday 6th was flat calm along the Strood channel and flocks of birds were flying about during the very high tide in the middle of the day. The highlight was a glossy ibis seen flying north-west over the channel heading to Ray Island. Its very distinctive profile in flight with its long thin downcurved bill - like a "flying coat-hanger" apparently!

Along the channel were a Sandwich tern fishing, two greenshank heard calling, black brant opposite the Firs caravan park, 200 brent geese, 150 wigeon, 50 teal, 30 shelduck and 24 avocets. Two marsh harriers were seen flying about.

Two corn buntings were noted perched on bushes beside the Strood seawall on Thursday. A brambling was heard calling as it flew over but not seen, five song thrushes were in bushes near the bottom corner of the caravan park, 50 linnets, 30 skylarks, five stonechats, four rock pipits and ten reed buntings noted in the fields.

Moth activity in the Firs Chase garden is much decreased now. This Mottled Umber was resting on the window.

Two or three November Moths aggs have been noted in recent nights.

Five immigrant Rusty-dot Pearls were noted on the 6th.

This tiny Pellitory Beauty was nearly overlooked on the 6th. A recent coloniser in the UK, was first recorded in Essex in 2020.

This parasitic Ichneumon Wasp in the moth trap on the 5th looks like the sickle-wasp Ophion obscuratus

BLACK BRANT BACK

A black brant was feeding in the Strood Channel with 100 dark-bellied brent geese by the Firs Chase caravan park on Wednesday 5th. This is most likely the same individual judging by the markings, that has been wintering here for several years. Last November it was first seen four days earlier on November 1st. Further up the Strood channel another 200 brent geese were feeding by Ray Island

The black brant, seen here front right, was feeding at high tide over the flooded saltmarsh on Wednesday.

A grey wagtail was seen feeding on the edge of the mud by the Dabchicks sailing club on Wednesday.

Ten little egrets were seen along the Strood channel on Wednesday, this one by the caravan park.

During the very high tide, a raft of avocets floated in the Strood channel while in the background a lorry waits mid-causeway for the tide to recede on Wednesday.

The forty avocets bobbed in the water in the Strood during the high tide as all the saltmarshes were under water on Wednesday. Ten Mediterranean gulls and forty shelduck were noted along with lots of wigeon and teal feeding over the flooded saltmarshes.

In the fields there were three red-legged partridges, twenty skylarks, four stonechats, ten reed buntings and also four rock pipits along the seawall.

A male blackcap was in the Firs Chase garden on Wednesday.

On Tuesday 4th a grey wagtail was hurriedly snapped before it flew off from the side of a pond at Waldegraves Holiday park. It had been feeding round the edge. Presumably it was this same individual  seen a short while earlier perched on a railing of the Youth Camp sewage works.

A merlin flew east over Waldegraves and then over the Youth Camp while a buzzard was by the Rewsalls farm. Seventy brent geese, fifty oystercatchers and four sanderling were on the shingle island by Waldegraves. Four great crested grebes were offshore.

The water level on the side lake near the boating lake was too high for any waders although 12 little grebes and 20 Mediterranean gulls were present. Two green woodpeckers and two great spotted woodpeckers and 1000 starlings were by the Youth Camp.

 

A clouded yellow was seen briefly on the wing by the Youth Camp on Tuesday - the first November sighting on the island. One red admiral also seen nearby.

A grey squirrel was reported by Michael Thorley in Bromans Lane on Tuesday.

A small flock of thirty brent geese was feeding in the Golfhouse paddock on Monday 3rd - another 150+ brent geese were in the estuary. On the nearby saltmarsh 100 wigeon and 30 teal were noted. Three stonechats, rock pipit and four reed buntings were near the Point.

At the East Mersea Point on Monday 30 turnstones were feeding as the tide receded, also 1000 dunlin, 25 ringed plovers noted. Two terns feeding distantly in the Colne were only identified as Commic terns (Common or Arctic). A great crested grebe was seen in the Colne.

A sea rocket clump was in flower near the old pillbox at East Mersea Point on Monday.

The confiding at times Strood wheatear was still feeding along the seawall on Sunday 2nd - present for its ninth day. Three stonechats and two rock pipits were also along the seawall while 70 linnets were in the fields. A marsh harrier and three kestrels were over the fields too.

Along the Strood channel on Sunday were 100 golden plover, 46 avocets, 150 wigeon, 120 black-tailed godwits, 50 knot and 60 dunlin.

A flock of 30 avocets took off from the Pyefleet mud by Maydays on Saturday 1st. Also along the Pyefleet channel were 500 golden plovers, 50 knot, 50 dunlin, 100 brent geese, six great crested grebes and also a common seal on the saltmarsh.

A kingfisher perched over a Maydays ditch on Saturday, two marsh harriers were seen over Langenhoe.

Three yellowhammers were at Maydays on Saturday, also two stonechats, 50 linnets, 20 meadow pipits, two rock pipits, 150 starlings and a goldcrest.

On Friday 31st, birds of note seen along the Strood seawall included two marsh harriers, buzzard, sparrowhawk, wheatear, three stonechats, fifty linnets, 160 black-tailed godwits, 54 knot, 50 dunlin, 50 oystercatchers, fifty brent geese and 36 avocets.

Three redwing flew out of a holly bush in Firs Chase while a migrant hawker was still on the wing in Feldy View on Friday morning.

A Yellow-line Quaker was in the Firs Chase garden moth trap on 30th.

The small immigrant Diamond-backed Moth was noted on the 30th.

Fifth record this autumn of a Variable Cockroach on the 30th in the garden moth trap.

STROOD WHEATEAR

The wheatear was seen again along the Strood seawall on Thursday 30th - enjoying its pause here on its migration journey south now for its sixth day.

There were lots of small birds feeding in the fields which included 100 linnets, 12 corn buntings, 12 reed buntings, 20 meadow pipits, ten goldfinches, 30 skylarks and five stonechats.

The male kestrel was perched on a tree-top by the Strood seawall on Thursday. Three marsh harriers were also noted during the walk.

A flock of 150 knot flew onto the Strood mud to feed having flown in from the Pyefleet channel direction. There was a nice variety of wader flocks along the Strood which included 100 golden plover, 100 redshank, 48 oystercatchers, 36 avocets, 52 dunlin, 50 grey plover and 50 black-tailed godwits. Duck numbers increasing with 200 wigeon, 100 teal, 24 shelduck, also 70 brent geese and 22 little grebes.

Three clouded yellows were seen on the wing along the inside of the Strood seawall on Thursday when the sun shone. A brown hare was seen running through one of the weedy fields.

A woodlark was heard by Chris Poole on Thursday morning as it flew high east over Fairhaven Avenue calling but not seen.

At Cudmore Grove four siskins were in the back garden of Mollie Kirk's bungalow on Thursday afternoon. Two greenfinches and five goldfinches also seen in that area by Steve Entwistle.

On a very wet Wednesday 29th there were several finches feeding in the Firs Chase garden including five goldfinches, six chaffinches and two greenfinches. A chiffchaff and goldcrest were seen among a mixed tit flock as they passed through the garden. Late afternoon the ring-necked parakeet was heard squawking from nearby gardens in Firs Chase.

A blackcap was calling in Feldy View on Wednesday morning. Only birds noted during a brief and wet look at the Strood included 20 avocets, ten black-tailed godwits, 50 brent geese and a stonechat.

The Strood wheatear was again very confiding along the seawall on a sunny Tuesday 28th.

A clouded yellow was seen flying past the wheatear.

The wheatear seemed to like the section of seawall opposite an old pear tree, where there's quite a lot of bare soil to find insects to feed on. Four stonechats were also seen near the seawall while in the weedy fields was a flock of 70 linnets. Two rock pipits were feeding along the saltmarsh edge below the seawall.

A merlin was watched as it crossed the Strood channel, then flew fast and low over the fields heading south-west. A marsh harrier was also noted over Ray Island.

A flock of 31 avocets was having a rest from feeding on Tuesday along the Strood channel. Also noted were 200 golden plovers, 100 black-tailed godwits, 200 wigeon, 100 teal and 70 brent geese.

Three siskins were seen flying north-west past the Dabchicks and a single siskin flew west over the Firs Chase garden on Tuesday.

Offshore from the Esplanade on Tuesday was a red-throated diver seen by Andy Field.

On Monday 27th the wheatear was still feeding along the Strood seawall, also noted during the walk were two stonechats, rock pipit, 100 brent geese, 100 wigeon, 20 little grebes, 36 avocets, 30 oystercatchers, 20 shelduck and 30 golden plover. Three redpolls flew west past the Dabchicks sailing club.

On a sunny Sunday 26th three chiffchaffs were feeding in the overgrown corner beside the Firs Chase caravan park.

The wheatear was seen again for its second day along the Strood seawall on Sunday.  Three stonechats and two rock pipits were also noted near the seawall.

There were 32 avocets feeding along the Strood channel on Sunday, ten Mediterranean gulls, 30 golden plover, 20 shelduck, 70 brent geese, also a Sandwich tern, marsh harrier and a skein of 24 greylag geese flying over.

A clouded yellow was along the Strood seawall on Sunday.

A ringtail hen harrier was seen by Ed Bateman flying in front of the East Mersea Oyster Fishery on Sunday, and a guillemot seen in the Colne.

Good numbers of wood pigeons were seen flying west over West Mersea by Martin Cock on Sunday morning.

A Sprawler moth in the Firs Chase garden moth trap on the 28th, seems quite a scarce moth on the island with only two previous records in twenty years - in 2009 and 2016.

The first Green-brindled Crescent of the autumn on 28th.

Black Rustic