HALF-HIDDEN HARE

This brown hare was keeping its big eye on the passing traffic on the nearby Chapmans Lane on Sunday 27th. The hare was half-hidden in the short crop of winter wheat so it wouldn't get noticed.

A strong northerly wind blew across the Maydays seawall during a walk there on Sunday 27th.
Three marsh harriers and a sparrowhawk were seen hunting over the fields and saltmarsh while feeding in the fields were 1000 golden plover, 50 lapwing and 50 curlew.

A large flock of 100 chaffinches were feeding in some game cover strips along with 5 yellowhammers, 10 reed buntings, 40 linnets and 20 house sparrows. Five fieldfares, five redwing and a couple of song thrushes were feeding in one of the fields.
There was no sign of any corn buntings, one of which was noted here on Friday 25th by Martin Cock.

In the Pyefleet a pair of red-breasted mergansers, 100+ mixed wigeon and teal and ten avocets were of note.

Steve Entwistle saw a pale-bellied brent goose with 70 brent geese at the West Mersea Hard and also reported a great northern diver from the Esplanade on Sunday 27th.

A pair of stonechat was found along the Strood borrowdyke on Saturday 26th, the female pictured here on a bramble bush. Ten reed buntings were the only other small birds seen along seawall.
A common buzzard and Mediterranean gull flew over the Strood fields.

A flock of 500 brent geese was feeding in the increasingly bare and muddy fields inside the Strood seawall.

Amongst the 30 black tailed godwits along the Strood channel on Saturday was this coloured ringed bird. Also 200 golden plover, 20 avocets, 180 shelduck, 50 wigeon and 4 knot were of interest.

Along the Strood seawall on Friday 25th was a pale-bellied brent goose with 500 brent geese, sparrowhawk, 15 avocets and a flock of 15 goldfinch.
The pale-bellied brent goose was also seen on Friday at the Hard by Richard Allen who also reported seeing 22 red-breasted mergansers from the Esplanade.
At the end of Friday a barn owl was seen by Martin Cock hunting near the park pond, later a different barn owl near Church Lane.
A common buzzard was perched in a hedgeline near Bocking Hall on Thursday 24th.

A marsh harrier was hunting over the fields near the East Mersea road near Weir Farm on Wednesday 23rd, while 200 golden plover were in the Chapmans Lane field. Sixteen red-breasted mergansers were seen in the Colne by Andy Field.

On Tuesday 22nd three eider, nine Slavonian grebes, red-throated diver were seen offshore from Coopers Beach by Martin, also a stonechat near the caravan park.
Near the Dabchicks on Tuesday were 30 avocets, 25 black-tailed godwits and a passing sparrowhawk.

Offshore from the country park on Monday 21st were 3 Slavonian grebes and a pair of red-breasted mergansers. A little owl was being mobbed in the clifftop trees by several noisy blackbirds. Two Slavonian grebes were seen by Martin offshore from Coopers Beach on Tuesday.