LONE ORCHIDS

Had an evening stroll around the Willoughby car park in West Mersea on Monday 11th and was pleasantly surprised to find this small clump of green-winged orchids with three short flowering spikes.
This orchid was seen in this spot last summer, so it's nice it's reappeared for passers-by to enjoy.

Up until thirty years ago a small plot of grassland along the Esplanade used to have 15,000 green-winged orchids in it - a fantastic sight when you walked across it.

Just hanging on amongst the grasslands in the same car park is this common spotted orchid with the distinctive spotty leaves. This one should hopefully flower early next month sometime.

There was no sign this evening of the two turtle doves in the Willoughby car park which Steve Entwistle had seen the previous night. A handful of swallows and a sparrowhawk were seen.

A late morning walk alongside the fields between Meeting Lane and Shop Lane on Monday 11th provided views of a calling cuckoo, common buzzard, marsh harrier, Mediterranean gull, kestrel as well as the songs of 3 blackcaps, 5 whitethroats, 2 chiffchaffs and a lesser whitethroat.

Insects of note included a passing swarm of 10,000+ bees, hornet, brimstone butterfly and also holly blue, orange-tip, peacock, speckled wood, large white, small white and green-veined white.

On Sunday at the country park, this oystercatcher was seen in the grazing fields along with three avocets, 30 black-tailed godwits and a brent goose.The cuckoo was singing from the copse at the back of the pond.
The day before a reed warbler singing by the park pond was the first one at the park this year.

A broad-bodied chaser at the park on Sunday was the first dragonfly sighting of the year here.

Birds seen recently by Steve Entwistle included a cuckoo, 45 stock doves and a pair of yellow wagtails by the Strood on Sunday 10th, while at Maydays Farm willow warbler, common buzzard, pair of yellow wagtails and 20+ house martins by the farmhouse.