FELDY PIED FLY

A pied flycatcher was found in the Feldy View cemetery on Sunday 9th. Several birders came along to see the bird - including Simon Patient who took this photograph.

Another of Simon's Pied Flycatcher photos. The bird was first seen mid-morning in a lone birch tree, before flying to the main group of trees where it stayed for the rest of the day.

Simon also took this picture of the Pied Flycatcher. In the afternoon the bird spent long periods sitting still, probably due the very hot temperature.

Andy Field took this picture of the Pied Flycatcher. This species has been stopping off at Feldy View nearly on an annual basis in recent years during the late summer / early autumn period.

The Pied Flycatcher spent most of the time perching and feeding inside the birch and oak trees in Feldy View.

Two lesser whitethroats were also feeding in Feldy View on Sunday, also 2 willow warblers, chiffchaff, blackcap a brief visit by a reed bunting and a yellow wagtail flying over, while Steve Entwistle saw the sparrowhawk and great spotted woodpecker there. Four whitethroats were down the side of the nearby caravan park and forty black-tailed godwits were by the Dabchicks sailing club.

Mid-morning Sunday a very tatty buzzard was seen by Martin Cock flying east over his West Mersea house.

On a very hot Saturday 8th a family of 12 shelduck was seen in the Pyefleet channel, four of the young pictured here in the heat haze. Also seen during the walk along the Maydays and Reeveshall seawall were three common sandpipers, three great crested grebes and a common tern. A hobby was seen briefly over Langenhoe, as were a sparrowhawk, four kestrels, marsh harrier and a buzzard.

Other birds noted were a male yellowhammer, ten linnets, three whitethroats, four sedge warblers and a lesser whitethroat. Three brown hares and five Clouded Yellows were also seen.

On Friday 7th Andy Field visited Cudmore Grove and photographed this juvenile yellow wagtail. Four of them were seen with the cattle in the grazing fields. Also seen were 2 or 3 young sparrowhawks, 12 common terns on the mud behind the Golfhouse saltmarsh pools, Sandwich tern off the park, 2 Mediterranean gulls, 25 black-tailed godwits, "numerous" reed warblers, blackcaps, whitethroats, lesser whitethroats, sedge warbler and Cetti's warbler.

A grey squirrel was reported by Jack Hoy on the clifftop path at Cudmore Grove on Friday morning.

A caterpillar of the Vapourer moth was photographed by Andy Field in his greenhouse in his West Mersea garden on Saturday.

A family of four whitethroats was feeding in bushes near the Strood seawall on Friday. Birds noted along the Strood channel included a knot, 200 redshank, 3 whimbrel, 4 grey plover, 52 black-tailed godwits, 20 turnstone, 2 common terns, ten Mediterranean gulls, while sparrowhawk and buzzard seen over the fields.

In Feldy View were three willow warblers and a lesser whitethroat, while four swifts were flying over the houses.

A reed warbler, willow warbler and a hummingbird hawkmoth were in the Firs Chase garden on Friday.

Several Firebugs were found on Common Mallow plants at either end of the Strood seawall on Friday.

Butterflies noted in Feldy View on Friday included a Wall Brown, ten Common Blues and five Brown Argus.

Hummingbird hawkmoths were seen on Friday feeding in Carrie Horwood's garden in Fairhaven Avenue and also in Michael Thorley's East Mersea garden. Steve Entwistle has seen one most afternoons over the previous week.

In Feldy View on Thursday 6th, a couple of wood pigeon families are still using nests with this one still sitting on hers, with two young in another nest being fed by parents.

Four willow warblers, 2 lesser whitethroats, reed warbler and 2 chiffchaffs were also in Feldy View, while two swifts seen over the houses. A peregrine flew past Feldy View and along the front of the Firs Chase caravan park heading west. Two buzzards, yellow wagtail, common tern, whimbrel and 55 black-tailed godwits also noted.

Lavender clumps in Feldy View are one of the few nectar sources still in flower on Thursday with this Common Blue one of eight seen.

Fifteen Brown Argus were in Feldy View on Thursday.

This very dark Small Copper shows more brown than usual. Two Wall Browns were also of note.

A green woodpecker perched in a tree beside the Firs Caravan park on Wednesday 5th. In the nearby Feldy View at least eight willow warblers, 2 reed warblers and two chiffchaffs with a yellow wagtail flying over, while three swifts were high over the fields and houses.

Twenty black-tailed godwits, three common terns, 3 grey plover, yellow wagtail, ten linnets and 15 goldfinches were noted during a brief walk along the Strood channel to the Dabchicks.

Three swifts flew west over the Firs Chase garden, also a Willow Emerald damselfly seen resting high up on a bush.

Martin Cock reported two little owls in the hedge at the back of the Waldegraves golf driving range on Wednesday.

Rob Lee had two barn owls fly over Barrow Hill within twenty seconds of each other as they headed east back to barns east of the barrow early on Wednesday morning.

A Jersey Tiger moth was photographed by Jack Hoy in his house in Mersea Avenue on Tuesday 4th.

Jack also reported seeing a dead red squirrel on the East Mersea road near the Fox pub on Tuesday.

In East Mersea Martin Cock reported 30 brown argus, blackcaps, chiffchaff and young buzzards calling during his walk along the path on Tuesday between Meeting Lane and Gyants Marsh.

Two willow warblers were in Feldy View on Monday 3rd with just one swift seen flying over the nearby houses. Ten Brown Argus and 6 Common Blues were seen in Feldy View. Later a Clouded Yellow was seen in Feldy View by Steve Entwistle. One was also seen feeding along a ditch behind the Dabchicks.

Two corn buntings were perched on a bush near the Strood seawall on Monday. A peregrine flew over the channel flushing all the birds off  which included 200 redshank, greenshank, 45 Mediterranean gulls, 66 curlew, 37 black-tailed godwits and three common terns.

Three yellow wagtails were feeding along the Strood seawall on Monday. 

On Sunday 2nd Martin Cock visited Maydays farm and reported 3 common sandpipers, greenshank, whimbrel, 12 grey plover, stonechat, yellowhammer and four yellow wagtails.

 

On Saturday 1st a male yellowhammer was singing on bushes near the Maydays seawall. A corn bunting, yellow wagtail, house martin and five kestrels were seen flying over Maydays. In the Pyefleet were two greenshank, 100 redshank, common tern, 8 black-tailed godwits, two great crested grebes and a family of ten shelduck. A marsh harrier and two buzzards were over Langenhoe.

Lots of butterflies were enjoying the sunshine along the Maydays seawall including 70 Small Whites feeding on the Golden Samphire flowers. Four Clouded Yellows and four Painted Ladies also noted. A Chinese Water Deer was seen beside Broad Fleet on Reeveshall.

The Sea Lavender has nearly finished flowering on the saltmarsh at Maydays farm.

Steve Entwistle spent an hour in the bird-hide at Cudmore Grove on Saturday in the middle of the day and saw a garden warbler, willow warbler, 2 greenfinches, 5 long-tailed tits, 5 whitethroats, 4 goldfinches, 20 little egrets and 2 stock doves.

Peter Mann photographed a Jersey Tiger moth in Shop Lane, East Mersea on Saturday.

Mothing in the Firs Chase garden in the last week has included sightings of this Lime Hawkmoth on the 3rd.

Marbled Clover on the 3rd - same date as one last year.

Broad-barred White on 3rd.

Marbled Beauty on the 3rd.

Nicely coloured Campion on the 4th.

Toadflax Brocade on the 8th.

Rosy Rustic on 8th.

Interested to find a couple of Variable Cockroaches in my moth trap. A species that appears to be slowly spreading in Essex. A handful were seen in the moth trap here last autumn.
 

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.