PECKISH FOX

A fox appeared to be making off with some sort of sausage-shaped snack near Cross Lane on Wednesday 15th. It disappeared over the ditch and into some nearby scrub.

The fox must have found the snack on the field currently being developed for housing between Cross Lane and Seaview Avenue. The picture snapped through the tall wire-mesh Heras fencing.

A great northern diver, red-throated diver and red-breasted merganser were offshore from the end of Cross Lane on Wednesday. A flock of 15 greenfinch was in Waldegraves caravan park with three song thrushes in a field behind.

A small flock of fifty brent geese was feeding in a wheat field to the east of Waldegraves caravan park on Wednesday. A black brant was feeding with 40 brent geese on the shingle island offshore at high tide. Later about 400 geese flew onto a wheat field to the west of the East Mersea vineyard.

Also on the island were 30 Mediterranean gulls and 70 sanderling.

On the Rewsalls side lake to the boating lake on Wednesday were a greenshank, bar-tailed godwit, black-tailed godwit, 30 dunlin, 18 little grebes. A kingfisher flashed along the old borrowdyke while 50 linnets, rock pipit and meadow pipit were seen. A red-throated diver and 20 great crested grebes were on the sea.

At Blue Row among a flock of 200 chaffinches feeding in a sunflower stubble field was a brambling. Two red-legged partridges and a buzzard were also seen by the farm track to Bower Hall.

Andy Field, Steve Entwistle and Martin Cock noted offshore from St Peters / Esplanade on Wednesday a guillemot, a possible razorbill though too distant to be sure, two great northern divers, 3 red-throated divers and three red-breasted mergansers.

On Tuesday 14th a visit to Coopers Beach to look at the old Rewsalls marshes at high tide revealed 52 curlew, 50 redshank, 2 snipe, 3 little egrets, 20 linnets, rock pipit, two reed buntings and a sparrowhawk that made several passes over the area in an hour. Offshore were two red-throated divers and 20 great crested grebes. A Cetti's warbler was singing beside the Coopers football pitch - although not sure what team it was supporting! Two buzzards perched in a hedge behind the marshes.

Two siskins flew over Shop Lane calling on Tuesday afternoon, there was a kestrel hovering over a nearby grass field while a buzzard perched by the East Mersea Road at Weir Farm.

From the Esplanade a shag was seen perched on the Nass Beacon by Martin Cock.

David Ambrose visited East Mersea on Tuesday and noted four brent geese, mistle thrush eating mistletoe berries, eight teal, 45 wigeon, 120 avocets, 2 cormorants, 30 dunlin and 2 black-tailed godwits.

At the end of Tuesday afternoon Martin looking from the Shop Lane seawall counted twenty marsh harriers at the Langenhoe roost while a male hen harrier flew close-by within forty metres and watched for five minutes. However it was not seen going into the roost though.

On Monday 10th there was a good variety of waders along the Strood channel during the low tide with this turnstone seen flicking over the seaweed looking for food. Other waders of note included 50 avocets, 25 black-tailed godwit, a single bar-tailed godwit, 100 lapwings, also 400 brent geese, 12 greylag geese over Copt Hall, 200 teal, 150 wigeon, six Mediterranean gulls and 10 little grebes. 

A little egret waited beside the outflow of the Strood seawall sluice. A great white egret was seen flying over the Ray saltings seemingly having flown over the Strood road, it passed over Ray Island and continued southwest to Copt Hall where it dropped down.

Two buzzards were seen over the Strood fields, also the stonechat, a singing Cetti's warbler while two mistle thrushes landed in trees near the Firs Caravan park.

At Maydays farm on Monday, Martin Cock reported three buzzards, two marsh harriers, peregrine, five pintail and a Cetti's warbler. Offshore from West Mersea there was a shag seen.

Liz Huxley reported on Monday seeing the black brant, great northern diver and a Mediterranean gull from West Mersea.

A lone brent goose was feeding on the saltmarsh beside the Reeveshall seawall on Sunday 12th. Along the Pyefleet channel were 12 red-breasted mergansers, 300 knot, 30 avocets, five pintail and 100 black-tailed godwits. A merlin perched on a fencepost on Reeveshall before flying fast over to Langenhoe, while a peregrine made a brief stop-off in the middle of a Reeveshall field. A total of ten marsh harriers were flying about over Langenhoe and also Reeveshall / Maydays.

Two corn buntings were perched at Reeveshall with one singing, three more at Maydays and a sixth bird beside the Bower Hall seawall. Also here were 30 fieldfares, 20 linnets and ten chaffinches, while thirty linnets were by Shop Lane, and a further twenty by the Strood. Along the Strood were 200 teal, 100 wigeon, ten little grebes and a Cetti's warbler singing in the reeds.

At West Mersea two shags and two great northern divers were seen offshore by Martin Cock on Sunday afternoon. Oliver Cottis also saw a shag, great northern diver, four red-breasted mergansers, 50 brent geese, 3 great crested grebes while along the Strood were a marsh harrier, rock pipit and a little egret.

Eight Canada geese flew over Steve Entwistle's West Mersea house on Sunday morning.

A red admiral butterfly was a surprise sight for Adrian Amos when it flew over his West Mersea garden during the brief sunny periods on Sunday morning.

Two snow buntings were seen at East Mersea Point by Moira Jackson on Sunday just after mid-day.

Andy Field photographed two snow buntings at East Mersea Point on Saturday 11th, also there a red-throated diver, common scoter, 7 red-breasted mergansers and a goldeneye offshore. A stonechat and a goldcrest were seen at the country park.

Offshore from Seaview Avenue at West Mersea on Saturday Neil Murphy saw the razorbill in the Blackwater, two guillemots, five great northern divers, red-throated diver, 20 great crested grebes, 20 sanderling, 12 Mediterranean gulls and eight red-breasted mergansers. A shag was seen near the Nass Beacon by Martin Cock in the morning.

At Maydays farm on Saturday, the game cover crop and surrounding area beside the seawall was holding 100 chaffinches, brambling, five corn buntings, song thrush, four redwing, thirty fieldfare, thirty reed buntings, stonechat and two Cetti's warblers.

A great white egret was seen feeding on the Maydays / Bower Hall saltmarsh with a little egret nearby as a good size comparison. A peregrine flew over the Pyefleet then chased a wood pigeon over Maydays, six marsh harriers and five buzzards were seen, while in the Pyefleet were 9 pintail, two red-breasted mergansers, 90 avocets, 150 shelduck, 200 knot, 40 black-tailed godwits and 220 lapwings on Reeveshall.

There was a good view on Saturday morning of a Chinese Water Deer sprinting across the big grass expanse of Reeveshall from the ditch by the seawall to the cover of the Broad Fleet reedbed. Having watched it through the telescope sprint across the field, the action was replayed when a second Chinese Water deer also sprinted over to Broad Fleet. 

On Friday 10th a sparrowhawk and a grey heron flew over the Mersea school.

A young hedgehog found in Empress Avenue by David Morris on December 6th was looked after and given food to help it put on some weight but sadly it died a week later. There have been many reports nationally of young underweight hedgehogs being found and in need of feeding up so they can survive the winter.