DABBLING TEAL

There are still good numbers of duck on the country park grazing fields with this pair of teal seen dabbling in the shallows. Around 200 teal and 600+ wigeon have been seen in recent days, although the latter have also been resting on the sea. Other ducks have included 65 shelduck, some roosting in the fields at high tide, also ten shoveler and ten gadwall with a dozen tufted duck. A drake pochard was snoozing on the park pond for most of Wednesday 4th.

Numbers of waders roosting on the fields at high tide seem to be dropping off although small flocks of curlew, redshank and black-tailed godwits are still being noted. Up to 500 golden plover and 50 lapwing have been in the fields too.

The lone male house sparrow is still chirping away from the buildings in the car park on Friday 6th, having been present for over a week. There hasn't been one in this area for over ten years, so quite exciting!
The stonechat was seen beside the seawall on Friday.

The sunshine on Friday saw the third adder join the other two around the middle of the day at the park. Two were seen on Wednesday with the first one first appearing a week ago.

A pair of red-legged partridge was seen scuttling across the ploughed field beside Bromans Lane at the beginning of Thursday 5th. There was a pair in this general area last year although this is the first sighting this year of them since last autumn.
Almost at the same time a barn owl was seen heading back to the barns of Bromans Farm on Thursday  morning.

The previous day a barn owl was watched catching a vole at the park late afternoon but it was then pursued noisily by the resident female kestrel to get it to drop its prey. The kestrel must have been watching it from nearby as it suddenly appeared and tried to snatch the food away from it. Both birds flew towards the trees and were briefly lost to view. A quick check of the kestrel tree a few moment later revealed the kestrel plucking a small animal, so it must've won it's dispute with the owl!

The sight of a chiffchaff feeding in a sallow bush at the end of Wednesday didn't seem right for a newly arrived summer migrant just arrived from Africa. A quick check revealed no other influx of summer migrants elsewhere, the north-westerly wind direction didn't seem favourable and the date seems a few days too early. This chiffchaff enjoying its early evening snack of gnats over the pond, was most likely a bird that has overwintered.
The park's other overwintering warbler the Cetti's warbler let out a few loud bursts from the hedge at the back of the grazing fields on Wednesday late afternoon.
A Mediterranean gull flew over the saltmarsh at the Point on Wednesday afternoon.

A dozen fieldfares were seen to the north of the park sitting up in a hedge while another 30 were seen by Bocking Hall on Wednesday 4th.

A water rail was seen at Waldegraves caravan site by Martin Cock at the main lake at the beginning of the week.

A pair of pied wagtails have been seen in the car park of the park in recent days, this one squawking at something.

The yellow flowers of the gorse add a little bit of colour beside the park's cliff-top, with the view of the mudflats behind.

A red squirrel was reported by Marion Potifar in Shop Lane at the beginning of this week, inspecting the pot plants on her patio before it peered briefly through the patio window.