ROUGH SEAS

The wind whipped up the sea during Thursday 5th although the park escaped any damage or flooding during the high tide early in the afternoon. It seemed like a normal high tide as seen in the photo above, although the worst part of the storm surge is expected to hit the Island later tonight when there will be flooding.

The high tide had brought many waders and wildfowl to roost in the park fields. High numbers of wigeon were on the fields with up to 1500 birds present along with 300 teal. The main wader flock was a mix of 300+ redshank and 500+ black-tailed godwits with 100 lapwing and 8 snipe noted.

There was mass panic over the fields when a peregrine made several sorties over the main area where the birds were gathered. Even from a distance the near vertical flights of the peregrine made it stand out from all the birds trying to flee away.

At the Point 8 sanderling and 30 bar-tailed godwits were noted just prior to high tide. Rock pipit, 2 reed buntings and 3 skylarks were also noted along the beach.

On Wednesday David Low found a jack snipe feeding on the fields - the first sighting this year here. Ten common snipe were also feeding around the main wet areas. Good numbers of wigeon again with 822 counted in one fields with 400+ in the other field. David had visited the park to count and check through the brent goose flock but sadly this day, the flock was elsewhere in East Mersea, other than about 20 brent here.

A ruff was seen on the Golfhouse saltings, a goldeneye flew upriver and a red-throated diver was seen offshore. There was a big flock of 2000+ dunlin, 500 knot and 700 golden plover on the mudflats beside the park as the tide went out. Two marsh harriers headed north over the Point.

The sun barely shone on Wednesday although it brightened up at the end of the afternoon resulting in a nice red sunset to the west, here from the park beach.

There was another colourful sunset on Monday 2nd seen here from the car park at the park. During the middle of the day high tide, 3 red-throated divers, 6 Slavonian grebes, 30 great crested grebes, 200+ shelduck and a big raft of 440 wigeon were seen on the sea from the park.

The following day Martin Cock and Andy Field counted 9 Slavonian grebes from Coopers Beach as well as seeing great northern diver and black-throated diver in Besom Creek and the long-tailed duck near the Dabchicks. There was a big flock of 2000 golden plover rose into the air over the Quarters.

This mottled umber with its dark bands caught the eye following the mothing through Sunday night, different markings than the ones caught a few nights earlier. This was one of four mottled umbers and a November sp noted on Monday morning.