FELDY BLACK RED

A female black redstart was found in the Feldy View cemetery on Thursday 25th by Andy Field. This picture was taken by Michael Thorley.

Another of Michael's pictures of the black redstart, perched on one of the wooden plaques in the cemetery. The bird seemed to like feeding on the fresh soil turned over for the recent burials. It was quite flighty and at one point flew 100m away and landed on the roof of a nearby house, but returned a short while later.

Andy Field took this photo of the black redstart earlier in the morning and quite a few of the local birdwatchers descended on the place to watch the bird. It wasn't seen the next day sadly.

The great white egret was also photographed by Andy Field feeding at the pond at the back of the Strood fields on Thursday morning.

A turnstone was feeding along the front of the Coopers Beach caravan park at high tide on Thursday morning.

A small flock of about thirty turnstones was roosting on the Coopers beach seawall on Thursday, waiting for the tide to fall, as were five dunlin while a pair of ringed plover was on the small beach in front of the clubhouse.

On the nearby Rewsalls marshes during high tide were 7 little egrets, 75 curlew, 100 brent geese while three great crested grebes were offshore.

A pair of grey partridge was seen in a rape crop behind the East Mersea boating lake on Thursday by Martin Cock. Later a walk along the path between Shop Lane and Meeting lane by Martin produced a Cetti's warbler and a brimstone butterfly.

On Wednesday 24th along the Strood were the great white egret back again on the pond at the back of the fields, also two little egrets seen along the seawall walk, two buzzards together near the Strood Hill and 36 golden plover roosting in the field. Along the Strood channel were 195 redshank, 12 shelduck, 80 brent geese and ten teal, while fifty herring gulls were flying above a fishing boat in the Quarters.

In East Mersea on Wednesday morning Martin Cock reported thee Cetti's warblers between Cudmore Grove and the Oyster Fishery, two chiffchaffs and a firecrest by the old bird-hide, also a marsh harrier and a red squirrel by the Oyster Fishery.

The black brant was showing nicely on Tuesday 23rd in the country park grazing field near the Golfhouse, along with 800 brent geese. Also in the fields were 400 wigeon, 70 teal, 8 lapwing, 3 snipe, and two greylag geese. High over the Golfhouse drifted a red kite heading northwest along the back of the island and buzzard was seen briefly too. 

A firecrest was watched feeding in trees by the bird-hide at the park and a chiffchaff was singing by the horseride. On the pond were five pochard while in the river Colne were six red-breasted mergansers and four great crested grebes. Three ringed plovers were on the mud close to the beach.

Along the Strood on Tuesday, Martin Cock watched two great white egrets appear, one landing briefly in the borrowdyke while the other one continued on.

Shaun Bater reported a male sparrowhawk in his Estuary park garden on Tuesday.

A red chestnut was one of fifteen moths caught in the garden moth trap on Tuesday night. Also common quaker, clouded drab, chestnut and hebrew character were recorded. On Thursday night two oak beauties, early grey, common quaker and small quaker were among the nineteen moths caught.