Sunday 7 November 2021

BRAMBLING VISITORS

A brambling feeding on rowan berries at Cudmore Grove was photographed by Steve Entwistle on Sunday 7th. These two pictures taken off the back of the camera.

The female brambling was very confiding as it fed on the rowan tree in the car park along with a redwing and several blackbirds. A  brambling has also been seen feeding in a mixed finch flock at Blue Row.
Also at Cudmore on Sunday 25 common scoter offshore, a sanderling along the shore and a stonechat in the grazing fields were seen by Steve, while 27 skylarks were seen at Dawes Lane.

A driver of a stranded car had to be rescued during the high tide at the Strood by the lifeboat on Sunday. Sadly it's not an uncommon sight these days to see the lifeboat having to come to the rescue of car-drivers stuck in the high tide.
Birds noted during a walk along the Strood seawall at high tide were 200 brent geese, 30 avocet, 100 teal, marsh harrier, two buzzards, two rock pipits, 300 starling and 50 linnets.

A lesser redpoll photographed by Andy Field on Saturday 6th was feeding with three others on the birch trees in Feldy View. Later the brambling was seen for a third day feeding in the mixed finch flock at Blue Row, while a visit to Cudmore Grove by Andy produced a velvet scoter off the park seen flying to Point Clear, also four gannets, 20 common scoter, rock pipit and three sanderling.
Off Victoria Esplanade 92 sanderling were seen by Steve Entwistle.

At Maydays on Saturday 6th the kingfisher was perched on the seawall sluice, a stonechat was by the dyke, on the Reeveshall fields were 400 golden plover, 2000 wood pigeons, two buzzards and two marsh harriers. In the Pyefleet were two male pintail, 80 avocets, red-breasted merganser, 100 knot, 700 dunlin and 80 shelduck.

A black brant was feeding with 300 dark-bellied brent geese on the submerged saltmarsh during the high tide in front of the Firs caravan park on Friday 5th.
Along the Strood seawall were three marsh harriers, three buzzards, ten Mediterranean gulls, 25 avocets, stonechat and a singing Cetti's warbler. The leucistic starling was feeding with 500 starlings on the cut maize field and 20 blackbirds feeding in bushes by the dyke.

A stock dove was singing by the Firs Caravan park on Friday while overhead were passing a couple of flocks in total of 50 fieldfare with ten redwing flying north-west. A brambling flew over Feldy View calling, as did four siskin while five lesser redpolls were feeding on the birch trees.

A big passage of wood pigeons was seen by Martin Cock flying west first thing Friday over West Mersea. Later on Friday morning Martin noted at Cudmore two siskin, mistle thrush, five sanderling and a late clouded yellow butterfly. The brambling was seen again in the mixed finch flock feeding at Blue Row for its second day.

The dredger Sospan started to recharge the beaches at the entrance to the Mersea Harbour on Friday, blowing a jet of shingle onto Packing Shed Island to slow down the effects of on-going coastal erosion.
During a visit to the St Peters beach a stonechat was seen near the boardwalk, also a reed bunting and two linnets in the sueda bushes.
A red-throated diver was seen drifting in the Blackwater towards the Esplanade by Colin Mackenzie-Grieve from Old Hall, also three peregrines sparring together off the east end of Old Hall over the estuary.

A rainbow showed over the back of the country park grazing fields on Thursday 4th. At the park were seen a buzzard, fieldfare, two siskins and ten blackbirds, while two Cetti's warblers were singing and a pair of stonechat was in the grazing fields.

A high tide covered the saltmarsh beside the Point and the Golfhouse pools forcing six snipe into the air, also seen 50 black-tailed godwits, 20 linnets, ten shoveler, 100 brent geese, 100 wigeon and 70 teal.

At Coopers Beach on Thursday, Steve Entwistle reported eight great crested grebes offshore while on the Rewsalls marshes were two snipe, 20 teal and a grey plover during the very high tide.
At Blue Row a brambling was found by Steve feeding in a mixed finch flock of 20+ greenfinches, goldfinches and chaffinches on a cut sunflower field, also two red-legged partridges.

Martin Cock reported 80 redwings flying west over his West Mersea house on Thursday early morning.

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