FELDY FINCHES

A small flock of goldfinches was feeding on the seedheads of knapweed in Feldy View on Thursday 20th. Three willow warblers were feeding in the birch and oak trees in Feldy and a common buzzard was seen circling over the Firs Chase caravan park. Along the edge of the mud near the Dabchicks were 120+ black-tailed godwits.
In Firs Chase three willow warblers were feeding in the back garden birch tree, while in Mersea Avenue a green sandpiper flew over Ian Black's house calling later in the day.

On Wednesday a peregrine spent a bit of time on the stubble in the Strood Hill field behaving strangely. It seemed to be staring all around and then took to the air for a short fly-around before coming back to the same place. After several of these short flights, the peregrine was then seen picking up an item of prey it had been standing over and then flew further up to the next field where it dropped down again to feed on it.
Also in the area a buzzard was seen in flight, a wheatear on the seawall while in the channel of interest were 20 black-tailed godwits, fifty golden plover and four dunlin.
In Firs Chase a buzzard was mobbed by crows on Wednesday morning as it flew north over the garden. Martin Cock reported from his Coverts garden a chiffchaff and seven swifts overhead.

At Maydays on Wednesday afternoon Martin reported two common sandpipers, two green sandpipers, two juvenile buzzards in the wood and a juvenile marsh harrier feeding on a dead pigeon.

On Tuesday 18th a spotted flycatcher was seen briefly by Andy Field on the edge of the field near the Shop Lane seawall. Also two whinchats, two wheatears and three yellow wagtails on the dried out pool at Reeveshall. A siskin was heard flying over, also two southern migrant hawkers and a red squirrel in Fishponds Wood.
Later on Tuesday a hobby and fifty golden plover flew over fields near the Dog and Pheasant and a hobby was also seen at Chapmans Lane by Martin Cock.

Along the Strood seawall on Tuesday morning were a wheatear, two corn buntings, 100+ house sparrows, two reed buntings and a whitethroat. Three kestrels, swift and 15 house martins were seen over the fields while along the channel were 30+ black-tailed godwits, 2 little grebes, four ringed plovers and seven noisy greylag geese flying about.

A distant shot by Richard Brown of one of three curlew sandpipers seen on Monday 17th on the nearby MOD ranges on Langenhoe Point.

At Maydays farm on Monday morning a raven was heard calling by Martin Cock as it flew west from Reeveshall, also two common sandpipers, green sandpiper, two knot, greenshank and a marsh harrier.

Nine house martins and a swift were seen by Steve Entwistle over Empress Drive on Monday.

A sunny walk on Monday 17th to the East Mersea boating lake during high tide saw a few birds roosting on the adjacent flooded marsh. Birds noted were three common sandpipers, 34+ little egrets, 24 ringed plovers, 20 redshank, 5 Mediterranean gulls, two common terns, wheatear, sparrowhawk, four yellow wagtails, two willow warblers, two whitethroats and three reed buntings. Towards Coopers Beach a common sandpiper was along the dyke and two stonechats.

On Sunday 16th a hobby flew over the Firs Road / Firs Chase area while 12 goldfinches were in Feldy View.

Two corn buntings were seen perched on bramble near the Strood seawall on Saturday 15th.
Along the Strood channel were two greenshank, 12 golden plover, 20 grey plover, 3 ringed plover, 70 black-tailed godwits and a dunlin. A juvenile marsh harrier was over Ray Island and a buzzard over the Strood fields.

Two green woodpeckers and a buzzard were seen by Ian Black over his Mersea Avenue garden on Saturday.

On Friday 14th the young sparrowhawk was still calling loudly from Fishponds Wood, also a large mixed tit flock of 30 birds and two red squirrels were seen too.
At Maydays Martin Cock reported two wheatear, seven knot and common sandpiper.

A field vole photographed by Michael Thorley in his East Mersea garden near Meeting Lane.

The field voles seem to love feeding on maize - and there's a whole field of ripening maize beside Michael's garden.

A male speckled bush cricket was found by Steve Entwistle on Friday 14th in the kitchen in his Empress Drive house.