FORAGING SANDERLING

A small flock of sanderling has been foraging on the beach at the East Mersea Point in recent days with this one photographed on Friday 6th by Andy Field.

The female stonechat continues to frequent the general area of the park's seawall, as seen here by Andy Field.

The male reed bunting was singing its rather uninspiring song from the bushes at the Point on Saturday 7th.

Half a dozen stock doves are often in the area of the pond, this one above, was drinking from this section of waterlogged field in front of the bird hide. The sunshine reflecting off the green iridescent patch on the back of the neck.

A drake pochard was on the pond during most of Saturday, tucked into a clump of reedmace.

The last hour and a half of Saturday was spent on the seawall north of Shop Lane in East Mersea. Scanning the Langenhoe Point on the opposite side of the Pyefleet Channel, an eye was being kept on the harriers coming into roost. Sadly no hen harriers were noted but at least eight marsh harriers were seen and another couple on the nearby Reeveshall.

Also seen were two barn owls, one on Langenhoe and one much closer hunting over a nearby grass field, also black brant among 3000 brent geese, common buzzard flying into the wood to roost last thing, six red-breasted mergansers in the Pyefleet and 15 pied wagtails flying west to roost.

A pipistrelle bat was hawking up and down the track by the Shop Lane woodland just after nightfall.