SINGING SKYLARKS

A handful of skylarks were singing over the fields alongside the Strood channel on Tuesday 14th.
Flying low over the houses by Whittaker Way was a hobby, while a kestrel was hunting the fields. A greenshank and a whimbrel were noted in the channel while a female pochard flew fast down channel.
Ian Black also noted from the Strood seawall on Tuesday two avocets, three whimbrel and a long trail of footprints along the mud that looked like possibly muntjac deer.
Near Langenhoe Point two little terns were seen by Martin Cock on Tuesday afternoon.

A sunny dog-walk along the Strood channel on Monday 13th provided views of the usual male marsh harrier, two buzzards and a close view of a female sparrowhawk perched on the sluice railings. A large flock of 2000+ mainly black-headed gulls swarmed high in the sky over the houses, catching the ants. Three Mediterranean gulls and five common terns were seen along the channel, also 150+ redshank, two greenshank, grey plover and two black-tailed godwits. Two yellow wagtails were feeding on the seawall while two lesser whitethroats were seen in Feldy View.

At East Mersea on Monday the eider was near to Langenhoe Point, also a juvenile cuckoo and two marsh harriers seen by Martin Cock.
Three two inch long newly born slow-worms were found in Ian Black's Mersea Avenue garden while in the Firs Chase garden a hummingbird hawkmoth was seen on Monday afternoon.
On the nearby Fingringhoe ranges Andy Field reported seeing on Monday, three greenshank, ten green sandpipers and four bearded tits.

A brood of seven ducklings was being closely supervised by the mother mallard along the Strood borrowdyke on Monday 13th.

On Sunday 12th a honey buzzard was watched closely providing good views as it circled overhead above the Firs cemetery and Feldy View. The distinctive black banding on the underwings, the small head and long narrow tail quickly stood out as being different from the usual common buzzards. The bird drifted north-west down the side of the caravan site, picking up height before disappearing over to Feldy and Copt Hall on the mainland.

Over the Glebe field on Sunday were 50+ swifts along with twenty house martins over Wellhouse and another twenty near Strood Hill. By the Hard were a common tern and two Mediterranean gulls.

A female mandarin duck was a surprise sight in the Strood borrowdyke on Saturday 11th. It often stayed hidden by the rushes and seemed wary to venture out into view if anyone was nearby. It was seen later in the afternoon making a short flight along the dyke but was not seen the next day.

A Sandwich tern flew up channel calling on Saturday - a rare visitor to this channel, also two common terns, three Mediterranean gulls, hobby, two greenshank, marsh harrier and 100+ swifts.
From the Bower Hall seawall on Saturday a sparrowhawk took an oystercatcher chick from the saltmarsh, two marsh harriers, common sandpiper, dunlin, common tern and a shelduck pair with seven young ducklings in the channel while two yellowhammers were singing and a pair of yellow wagtails was seen.
At Maydays on Saturday a brown cuckoo was seen in flight, a male marsh harrier, buzzard, two yellowhammers singing and twenty house martins over the farm buildings.

At East Mersea on Saturday, Jonathan Bustard reported seeing near Ivy Dock and Oyster Fishery area common sandpiper, green sandpiper along the dyke, two Sandwich terns west along Pyefleet, little tern and two common terns as well as a few avocets.
Steve Entwistle later reported two Sandwich terns on the Golfhouse pools along with 100 black-headed gulls and 14 Mediterranean gulls.

Jonathan Bustard photographed this salsify on the East Mersea seawall in the morning with the flowerhead still open.

A aptly named leopard moth with all its black spots was in the Firs Chase garden moth trap on Saturday 11th.

The once scarce tree-lichen beauty is now a familiar sight on summer nights.

This brown-veined wainscot on the 13th is the first record for the Island and seems to have spread slowly in Essex in recent years.