A red admiral butterfly was enjoying the end of year warmth in Cross Lane on New Year's Eve, seen during a walk around West Mersea.
The regular black brant - front left, was also on the Hard on Friday with a small group of eight dark-bellied brent geese.
The velvet scoter appears to be a first winter bird showing two white patches on the face.
The distinctive white wing-bar of the velvet scoter showed when the bird flapped its wings and was also partially visible when the wing was folded. The bird was diving regularly and was seen to feed on a crab at one point. It was feeding with a group of six red-breasted mergansers - another group of five red-breasted mergansers were further down the channel.
As well as enjoying the sight of a rainbow over the Maydays marshes on Thursday morning, of greater interest for Richard Brown were two great white egrets on the Bower Hall saltmarsh. Later one great white egret flew onto Reeveshall landing on the field briefly before dropping into the nearby Broad Fleet.
The tide was going out during the morning of Wednesday 29th along the Strood channel with lots of waders and wildfowl including this redshank feeding on the mud. Birds of interest noted were 300 teal, 150 wigeon, 90 shelduck, 70 avocets, 200 lapwing with six golden plover.
A little egret was watching the water pour out of the Strood seawall sluice on Wednesday, two others were feeding along the dyke inside the seawall. The stonechat, 12 meadow pipits and three reed buntings were also along the dyke. A buzzard perched on a hedge and a sparrowhawk was seen on three occasions, possibly different birds.
Richard Brown took this picture of a great northern diver - one of five seen on Christmas Eve while out on his son's boat.
Also photographed by Richard from his son's boat was this red-throated diver - one of three seen just off West Mersea.
Fifty sanderling were feeding on the mudflats opposite the end of Cross Lane.
Amongst a small group of ten dark-bellied brent geese at the West Mersea Hard on Friday 31st, was this confiding pale-bellied brent goose that was preening itself on the edge of the mud close to the car park.
The black brant was also seen here at the Hard yesterday Thursday by Martin Cock.
The female blackcap was seen in the Firs Chase garden on Friday morning. A mistle thrush was in the poplar trees with the mistletoe clumps at the topside of the Firs Caravan park, also a red squirrel along the folly footpath scrambling amongst the ivy at head height.
At Maydays farm the velvet scoter was seen by Martin Cock on Friday for its third day in the Pyefleet channel, also seen were 13 red-breasted mergansers, five marsh harriers and two buzzards.
Richard Brown took these three pictures of the velvet scoter in the Pyefleet Channel on Thursday 30th, the sun coming out briefly late morning on an otherwise cloudy day.
This is the first record of a velvet scoter in the Pyefleet and providing reasonable views, as most previous records have been distant ones looking out to sea, such as the four seen earlier this year in the outer Colne.
Also in the Pyefleet were 50 avocets, 100 knot, 500 dunlin, 400 lapwing, two Mediterranean gull and two great crested grebes.
A male hen harrier was seen flying along the Reeveshall and Maydays seawall, later being seen by Steve Entwistle over a game cover crop. Also three marsh harriers over Reeveshall and Maydays, a buzzard, sparrowhawk and five red-legged partridge near Haycocks Lane.
Richard saw two stonechats in a field beside the Shop Lane seawall on Thursday.
A great northern diver was a nice find, feeding among the boat moorings behind the Dabchicks sailing club, opposite the old wooden jetty. A great crested grebe and ten little grebes also among the moorings.
In Firs Chase a sparrowhawk and 20 goldfinches passed over the garden and a red squirrel visited the feeder on Wednesday.
The velvet scoter was found in the Pyefleet on Wednesday afternoon by Martin Cock from Maydays, also 12 red-breasted mergansers.
At Maydays on Friday 24th Steve Entwistle reported four corn buntings, two redwings, four red-legged partridges while later from the Victoria Esplanade were a great northern diver and 15 great crested grebes in the heavy mist.
From the Victoria Esplanade on Thursday 23rd, Andy Field reported six great northern divers, two Slavonian grebes, two red-throated divers, two Mediterranean gulls, ten red-breasted mergansers, three sanderling and two bar-tailed godwits.
The black brant was seen off the Esplanade by Jonathan Norgate.
At East Mersea on Thursday Steve Entwistle on a visit to the Golfhouse saw and heard the water rail in the horse paddock by the track, also a pair of stonechat near the seawall and a green woodpecker.
On Wednesday 22nd Martin Cock and Steve Entwistle reported seeing at Maydays a yellowhammer, four corn buntings, 20 fieldfare, four redwing, two song thrushes, six buzzards, marsh harrier, eight linnet and two skylark.
In the afternoon at the country park Steve saw a goldcrest with eight long-tailed tits and then 23 sanderling on the shore.
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