SWANS ALONG PARK DYKE

A pair of mute swans put in a rare appearance along the country park borrowdyke on Thursday 3rd. The pair appeared to be a male and a near adult female with its paler bill - the same pair seen in the Strood dyke a week earlier.

A skylark was feeding on the beach at the East Mersea Point on Thursday. Birds seen near the Point were 1000 dunlin, 72 ringed plover, 101 shelduck, bar-tailed godwit, knot and four avocets with 25 shoveler on the saltmarsh pools and two red-breasted mergansers in the Colne.

Two buzzards drifted west over the Golfhouse pools, a stonechat was by the dyke and a snipe was seen in flight. A mistle thrush was seen in a mistletoe laden tree by the Golfhouse.

The male pintail was seen again on the country park pond - seen here standing with the white chest, also two female pintail seen too on Thursday, along with 20 gadwall, pochard, six tufted duck, 70 teal and five little egrets in the trees. A Cetti's warbler and two water rails were heard calling by the pond.

At Maydays on Thursday morning Steve Entwistle reported seeing a marsh harrier, sparrowhawk, greenshank, 15 corn buntings, fieldfare, reed bunting pair, 300 avocets, 2000 dunlin, bar-tailed godwit, five black-tailed godwits, two little grebes and 13 pintail. 

Martin Cock reported seeing at Maydays on Thursday 17 corn buntings, four red-breasted mergansers, two redwing, fieldfare and 35 linnets.

Later two redwings were seen by Steve in the large garden just up from the Strood along the East Mersea road, while offshore from the Esplanade were three great northern divers and 54 great crested grebes.

On Wednesday 2nd at Reeveshall a juvenile pale-bellied brent goose was feeding on the saltmarsh with thirty brent geese, also four greylag geese, 300 brent, 400 lapwing, 400 starlings, 12 stock doves  feeding on Reeveshall fields. A pair of pintail and a greenshank were on the Reeveshall pool while four marsh harriers and three buzzards were noted. Of interest in the Pyefleet were five red-breasted mergansers and 100 avocets along with four rock pipits along the saltmarsh.

Martin Cock and Andrew Tilsley on Wednesday morning walked the East Mersea seawall between the Oyster Fishery and Ivy Dock and reported a pair of stonechat, three marsh harriers and a knot. 

At Coopers Beach on Wednesday there was a great northern diver and two Slavonian grebes seen offshore by Steve Entwistle, while a pochard was at the park pond, two mistle thrushes by the Golfhouse and eight greylag geese on the grazing fields.

Michael Thorley photographed the male pochard on the country park pond on Tuesday 1st.

A pair of gadwall was also photographed by Michael at the park pond on Tuesday.

The tide was flooding the marshes at Rewsalls on Tuesday 1st with birds of interest being a black brant with 300 brent geese, 110 curlew, 29 snipe, 15 teal, forty golden plover, 50 turnstone, ten ringed plover with forty sanderling on the beach. Fifteen reed buntings, fourteen linnets, three song thrushes, meadow pipit, buzzard and a kestrel were also noted during the walk from East Mersea church to the Rewsalls boating lake.

 

The pathway leading to the East Mersea church was flanked on both sides with a colourful display of winter aconites and snowdrops on Tuesday.

A very strong wind whipped up the waves on the surge high tide along the Strood channel on Monday 31st. Spray was being blown over the top of the seawall, providing a good drenching to anyone silly enough to walk along! 

The main bird interest seen from the seawall was a wader roost at a flooded patch in a field with 300 dunlin, five ringed plovers, redshank, grey plover and eight golden plovers seen. A snipe was flushed off the side of the seawall while seven rock pipits were feeding along the edge of the seawall.

A second-winter Mediterranean gull was feeding in a field by the Firs caravan park on Monday, while a mistle thrush was seen in the usual mistletoed poplar trees at the top of the caravan park.

A turnstone was feeding on part of the flooded car park at the West Mersea Hard on Monday.

A shag was feeding close to the end of the West Mersea jetty by the Hard on Sunday 30th. Along the Strood seawall were seen four snipe, two corn buntings, 250 teal and bar-tailed godwit. Five red-legged partridge were in a field by the Strood Hill.

At Maydays on Sunday were two pintail, bar-tailed godwit, 20 black-tailed godwits, 15 corn buntings, five fieldfare, two redwings and two buzzards.

On Reeveshall were greenshank on the pool, 1000 brent geese, 300 lapwing, 400 starlings, 500 dunlin, 40 knot, four marsh harriers, five buzzards and ten meadow pipits.

Ten red-breasted mergansers were in the Pyefleet and twenty were also in the Colne.

Shaun Bater walked from Shop Lane to the Strood on Sunday and noted four kestrels, four buzzards, four marsh harriers, pochard, pintail, greenshank, four avocets, seven red-breasted mergansers and a bar-tailed godwit - as well as the resident flock of nine helmeted guineafowl near Bower Hall.

A buzzard perched in a hedge near the country park entrance on Sunday 30th. On the park pond were two pochard, 14 gadwall, six tufted ducks while five greylag geese were on the grazing field and two snipe also noted. A pair of stonechat was on the saltmarsh by Ivy Dock.

Steve Entwistle saw a song thrush, pair of greenfinch and goldfinch, and six long-tailed tits in Cross Lane on Sunday morning.