ROSY SHOW

The juvenile rose-coloured starling was still showing well on Monday 19th for most of the day near the East Mersea church. The bird is spending a lot of time in the garden of Rick and Bianca's, at the entrance into the Coopers Beach Holiday park. The bird seems to be enjoying the food that has been put out on and around the bird-table in their garden. This rare bird has attracted the attention of quite a few birdwatchers from across the county.

The rose-coloured starling was often with 25+ other common starlings, sometimes perching up in nearby dead elms or on wires near the tall water tower on the opposite side of the road from the church.
In the afternoon the bird was reported being back in the stubble field near the Dog and Pheasant pub where it was seen on Sunday.
The bird was also photographed by Steve Hunting in the afternoon, picture below.

Birds seen at the country park on Monday included a brambling, 5 siskins, redpoll and 6 swallows flying east. A sparrowhawk flew over the car park, 2 chiffchaffs and five goldcrests were in trees about the park. Five hundred golden plover flew over the car oark early in the morning.
On the park pond the kingfisher called in mid-morning, the water rail called again since it was first noted last week and 30 little egrets roosted.

On the grazing fields 820 wigeon were counted by Glyn Evans late afternoon while earlier he'd seen a merlin over Langenhoe Point and a Mediterranean gull near Maydays farm. A kingfisher was seen by the pond in Bromans Lane.
Seven red-legged partridge were in the field by the north end of Dawes Lane and a wheatear was in a field near Weir Farm.

Green woodpeckers are seen at the country park every day, this one obligingly hopped along the grass beside the Information Room on Sunday 17th.

A bit of autumn passage was noted on Sunday with the most noteworthy being a lapland bunting seen flying east over the Point calling several times. Also on the move were 4 redpoll sp, a house martin with four swallows, 50 linnets, 30 goldfinches, 20 skylarks and 25 meadow pipits. A rock pipit was over the saltmarsh near the Point and a blackcap by the pond.

The recent cloudy nights have been reasonably favourable for moth activity resulting 110 moths of 18 species coming to the trap on Sunday night. Over eighty moths have also been recorded on a couple of recent nights too.
One of the commonest moths at the peak of their season appears to be the green-brindled crescent, this fresh one pictured above still showing lots of the green iridescence.

Some of the other moths noted included streak, large wainscot, L-album wainscot, feathered thorn, barred sallow, lunar underwing, red-green carpet, turnip and yellow-line quaker.

The common marbled carpet comes in a variety of colour patterns, this variation catching the eye.

One of the most obvious and most numerous moths is the November sp moth with 20 individuals noted in the trap by morning.