LITTLE OWL AT PARK BOX

A little owl perched at the entrance to the large nestbox on the tree beside the park pond on Tuesday 9th. The owl was enjoying basking in the sunshine and on a couple of occasions dropped inside the box to have a look inside. This is the first owl of any kind to be seen at the box, although stock doves have been nesting inside for the last three years.

Also at the pond on Tuesday were 66 roosting little egrets, two sparrowhawks chasing each other in and out of the copse, a calling chiffchaff, ten jays, four swallows and the water rail heard calling. Butterflies in the sunshine were 2 small coppers, red admiral and a speckled wood.

On Wednesday 10th a buzzard and kestrel were seen over the park fields, nine brent geese were by the Point and a goldcrest called from the park clifftop trees. The common buzzard was seen by the park fields again being mobbed by crows on Thursday 11th, also that day at the pond were 2 gadwall, 25 wigeon, 2 tufted duck, 4 shoveler, calling Cetti's warbler and water rail. Flying over the pond were three flocks of skylarks totalling 38 birds heading west, also 50 curlew roosting in the fields.

Two swallows flew west over the park on Saturday 13th and on the pond were 35 wigeon and a gadwall also 30+ brent geese near Ivy Dock. By the Strood 26 Mediterranean gulls were seen by Charlie Williams on Saturday.
Five siskin flew over the park calling on Sunday 14th, a goldcrest, pair of blackcaps and 2 song thrushes were at the pond, while 100 avocets were feeding on the far edge of the mudflats.
At West Mersea a grey wagtail flew over Martin Cock's garden on Sunday.

A red squirrel was seen at the country park on Saturday 13th in trees near the toilet building. One had been seen in Bromans Lane the previous week on Saturday 6th.
At West Mersea there was the worrying sighting of two grey squirrels in the Crisps garden feeding on walnuts at Mortimers Farm on Sunday 14th. No doubt the same two grey squirrels seen a fortnight earlier by Mrs Miller in her garden near the Fox Pub.

The warm night of Wednesday 10th saw this pretty immigrant micro-moth Palpita vitrealis drop into the moth trap at the country park. It is the second record for the park.

Another migrant moth drifting onshore on the warm southerly breeze overnight on the 10th was this delicate. There were 180 moths of 30 species also trapped that night.