ISLAND CIRCUIT

Wishing folks a Happy New Year.
The new year kicked off on Mersea with thick mist / fog which lasted for the first couple of hours of Wednesday 1st. I got out and about early-ish to walk the whole perimeter of the Island and after eight hours walking 23 kms, I managed to notch 77 bird species.
Not much seen on the first section along the Strood seawall, although the sun tried to poke through the mist which was down to only 30 - 50 metres as in the picture above.

A pair of stonechats was feeding close to the seawall by Bower Hall. Sixteen fieldfares called in flight through the mist while one of three corn buntings perched on a bush. At Maydays two other corn buntings and a yellowhammer were glimpsed on bush tops.

The brightest flash of colour all day was the blue of a kingfisher as it flew off the Maydays sluice after I peered over the side to look for it. At the top end of the Pyefleet channel 13 pintail were gathered on the mud along with 100+ wigeon. Also along the channel were 8 red-breasted mergansers, 4 great crested grebes, 100 avocets and a common seal on the mud.

A large flock of 1000 brent geese was spread out feeding on one of the big grass fields on Reeveshall. Also in the field were a few curlew and 19 stock doves.
Three marsh harriers were seen on Langenhoe as was a common buzzard, while another one was by the Oyster Fishery.
A peregrine flew over the saltmarsh pools by the East Mersea Golfhouse and a pair of stonechat was on the nearby saltmarsh.

At the country park pond four little egrets arrived for the high tide afternoon roost, also 8 gadwall and a pair of tufted duck noted here. On the park fields 1000 wigeon were feeding with a few curlew and lapwing.

Offshore from Coopers Beach five Slavonian grebes and a red-throated diver were seen, while off West Mersea two great northern divers and a Mediterranean gull were seen late afternoon. A sparrowhawk was seen near the Youth Camp and a pair of stonechats was in a field to the west of the East Mersea Church.

The red-necked grebe was found late Wednesday morning off the West Mersea Esplanade by Steve Entwistle.