KITE OVER GARDEN

A red kite circled low over Firs Chase gardens while I was indoors having lunch on Monday 14th. I dashed outside to watch it hanging in the air peering down into the gardens showing its distinctive outline against the blue sky.

As the red kite continued circling slowly above, it then swooped down on a pair of carrions crows perched in our tall cedar tree, flushing them off before they turned to angrily chase the red kite away for invading their territory. A buzzard was also seen gliding north-west over Firs Chase at the same time.

Earlier along the Strood seawall on Monday morning nine buzzards, two marsh harriers and a peregrine were seen, mainly heading north-west off the Island. The clear skies appeared to be a good day for buzzards on the move.

During Monday afternoon 13 buzzards and two marsh harriers were seen heading off the Island by Steve Entwistle.

 

The first peacock butterfly was nectaring high in the cherry plum tree in the Firs Chase garden on Monday. Birds of interest in the garden were the overwintering blackcap, song thrush and ten goldfinches.

The little egret was feeding along the Strood channel on Monday morning, also four others noted. Two corn buntings perched beside the borrowdyke.

Three chiffchaffs were noted near the Firs Caravan park, two of them singing briefly.

The shag was perched on a buoy just opposite the end of the jetty at the West Mersea Hard on Sunday 13th. After a short while it jumped into the water and swam up channel to feed.

Twelve black-tailed godwits were feeding along the Strood channel on Sunday afternoon, also two avocets seen along here too.

Along the Bower Hall seawall six corn buntings and twenty redwing were seen on Sunday, while at Maydays there were ten pintail and a sparrowhawk.

A male hen harrier and two great white egrets were seen flying over the Langenhoe marshes, while in the Pyefleet were 300 golden plover, two great crested grebes and ten red-breasted mergansers. On Reeveshall a pair of pintail was on the pool, 500 starling including a leucistic bird and 30 lapwing were present, also four marsh harriers and two buzzards noted.

Earlier on Sunday morning Martin Cock visited Reeveshall from Shop Lane and noted a great white egret in the ditch, nine marsh harriers - three on Reeveshall and six on Langenhoe, also two chiffchaffs in the Shop Lane wood.

Steve Entwistle reported a pair of yellowhammers in Cross Lane on Sunday also three redwing, three long-tailed tits and six greenfinches.

Andy Field enjoyed hearing this chiffchaff singing in Shop Lane on Saturday 12th, taking this picture of it too. Later Andy walked the Reeveshall seawall and saw the male hen harrier fly down the Langenhoe seawall, crossed the Pyefleet and then returned by flying back along the Reeveshall seawall towards Andy. Three marsh harriers, three pintail, two red-breasted mergansers and two buzzards also seen.

A visit by Andy to the Cudmore Grove pond revealed a pochard, singing Cetti's warbler and calling water rail.

Shaun Bater walked from Shop Lane back along Reeveshall seawall back to West Mersea on Saturday and noted great white egret on Reeveshall, four marsh harriers, buzzard, two kestrels, four Mediterranean gulls, 500 brent geese, seven greylag geese, six brown hares, while up from the East Mersea road junction were six redwing and three red-legged partridge.

Steve Entwistle saw two red-legged partridge on Saturday near Blue Row.

A group of local volunteers helped to plant 400 trees on Saturday at Reeveshall farm on a field owned by Ben Simpson. These trees form part of a new woodland here that will comprise 3000 whips of native species primarily for benefit of the red squirrels. Lots of buckthorns were also planted to benefit the brimstone butterfly.

A brambling flew over the field near the Reeveshall farm buildings on Saturday morning, calling as it headed south-east towards Gyants Marsh, also seen were two marsh harriers and two buzzards.

On Friday 11th along the path between Shop Lane and Meeting Lane, birds noted were marsh harrier, two buzzards, three green woodpeckers, kestrel, 70 fieldfares, mistle thrush, song thrush, five stock doves, a distant mixed finch/ bunting flock of about 100 birds thought to be mainly chaffinches with some reed buntings. A siskin flew away from Fishponds Wood up Shop Lane.

The first adder I've seen this spring was out at Cudmore Grove on Thursday 10th. 

On the pond were six gadwall, six tufted ducks with another two on the dyke, also the Cetti's warbler sang. On the grazing fields were two Canada geese, 6 greylag geese, 700 wigeon, 100 teal, 20 black-tailed godwits, two snipe and also eight lapwing - some of them displaying in the air. A buzzard was in the air and 300 brent geese fed in the field near the Golfhouse.

At the end of Thursday Steve Entwistle watched the harriers heading into the Langenhoe roost from the Shop Lane seawall, seeing a male hen harrier drop in at 6.05pm, also 18 marsh harriers, and a merlin seen on a fencepost. Three Canada geese, 7 red-breasted mergansers, 400 dunlin, 50 shelduck, 52 grey plover, 12 great crested grebes and seven lesser black-backed gulls were also seen.