CUDMORE CYGNETS

Andy Field photographed two mute swan cygnets at Cudmore Grove on a recent visit to the park. 

When Andy visited the park on Friday 30th, birds of interest included a pair of common terns on the Golfhouse saltmarsh pools, no sign of any lapwing chicks in the Golfhouse paddock, and just one large chick seen in the grazing fields. Four sand martins were flying over the borrowdyke, a female kestrel by the nestbox in the oak tree and four pochard commuting between the park pond and the borrowdyke.

A little tern was reported a few days earlier by a birder with the Hitchin Sea Scouts sailing in the Colne. The barn owl has been seen by Matt Smith hunting over the park before opening time.

Along the Strood seawall on Friday were 3 Mediterranean gulls, buzzard, 2 stonechats, 2 sedge warblers, reed warbler and a whitethroat, also 15 swifts over the houses. A goldcrest was heard singing in the Firs Chase garden.

A small tortoiseshell was feeding on a Pyracantha bush in Feldy View on Friday - the first sighting I've had this year of one.

A female broad-bodied chaser was near Feldy View on Friday.

Also on Friday another broad-bodied chaser appeared in the Firs Chase garden.

A brief visit onto the Strood seawall on Thursday 29th provided views of 40 swifts over the houses, buzzard, shelduck, 3 sedge warblers, 2 reed warblers and a whitethroat.

Three sedge warblers were singing along the Strood borrowdyke on Wednesday 28th, also three reed warblers singing too. Other birds noted were three stonechats, two yellow wagtails, Mediterranean gull, two common terns, cuckoo on Ray Island and another over the Strood fields, while over the houses were 44 swifts and two sparrowhawks. Two grey herons flew over Firs Chase and a green woodpecker was in Feldy View.

Michael Thorley photographed the mute swan at Cudmore Grove with two cygnets on Tuesday 27th.

Another photograph by Michael of the mute swan in the Cudmore Grove borrowdyke with the two cygnets on Tuesday.

Three whimbrel were seen off the meadow near Cudmore Grove by Mollie Kirk on Tuesday.

An ominous dark sky loomed over the Strood channel on Monday 26th.

Birds seen along the Strood seawall included two brent geese, pochard, common tern, marsh harrier, three Mediterranean gulls, two sedge warblers, two reed warblers, whitethroat, two stonechats and eight linnets.

A common lizard was resting on a slate plaque in Feldy View on a sunny Sunday 25th. Two other common lizards were also soaking up the sun on the plaques low in the grass.

A painted lady was seen by Martin Cock in his garden in The Coverts.

A few moths at the Firs Chase garden moth trap recently included this first Eyed Hawkmoth for four years, seen on the 28th.

Pale Tussock

Figure of Eighty

Poplar Grey

Four Cockchafers were in the moth trap on 28th May.

OYCK IN A BOAT

On Friday 23rd an oystercatcher was seen sitting on her nest in an old fish-box filled with shingle in Jim Pullen's old dory near the Dabchicks sailing club. This fish-box has become a regular nesting site for the oystercatchers in recent years.

Birds seen during a walk along the Strood seawall on Friday included six Mediterranean gulls, common tern, family of four stonechats, yellow wagtail, grey heron, two little egrets, two singing Cetti's warblers, also a cuckoo and nightingale heard from Ray Island. There were 23 swifts flying over the houses and a song thrush was seen in the Firs Chase garden.

At East Mersea Point on Friday, Martin Cock reported a sanderling, dunlin, 28 ringed plover and also the breeding pair, two pochard and eight common terns. Andy Field was also able to add two sand martins, ringed plover chick at the Point, just one lapwing chick in the grazing fields with two adults, while three lapwing chicks were with a pair of adults in the Golfhouse paddock.

On Thursday 22nd along the Strood channel were a brent goose, common tern, sparrowhawk over the houses, also blackcap and chiffchaff in Firs Chase.

A barn owl was seen hunting the field to the north of the country park on Thursday evening. A gadwall was on the park pond. A little owl perched on a telegraph post at Weir Farm at dusk.

Two recently hatched ringed plover chicks were photographed on Wednesday 21st by Lea Merclova of the Bird Aware Essex Coast team. Looks like one other egg still to hatch and also one egg was lost. Possibly a young fledged ringed plover was seen although not sure if this was from an earlier nest here or from elsewhere.

At Maydays on Wednesday Martin Cock reported a pair of stonechat, six Cetti's warblers, six sedge warblers, eight reed warblers, yellowhammer, two cuckoos, corn bunting, whimbrel, grey plover, ringed plover, sparrowhawk and two great crested grebes.

Along the Strood on Wednesday were a great crested grebe, two avocets, redshank, common tern, cuckoo, two stonechats, yellow wagtail, nightingale singing on Ray Island also 11 swifts over the houses.

A walk past the country park pond on Tuesday 20th with the ECC ecologist, the grazier and Andy Field provided close views of a pair of pochard, tufted duck pair and a greylag goose. One lapwing chick was seen in the grazing fields and a common blue butterfly was of interest.

On Tuesday morning along the Strood seawall, birds of interest included a marsh harrier, three buzzards, cuckoo, two Cetti's warblers, two sedge warblers, two reed warblers, whitethroat, two stonechats and a yellow wagtail.

A lesser whitethroat was photographed in the Feldy View / flycatcher corner by Andy Field on Monday 19th. Also seen in the area were two whitethroats, lesser whitethroat, yellow wagtail, cuckoo heard on Ray Island, 12 swifts over the houses and four swallows.

The male yellow wagtail perched on wires near Feldy View on Monday, photographed by Andy.

A hobby was seen over Barrow Hill by Rob Lee on Monday.

A rather faded painted lady was resting on the side of the Strood seawall on Monday morning.

A male kestrel was hovering over the Strood seawall on Monday. Other birds noted along the seawall included three brent geese, cuckoo, two whimbrel, common tern, red kite over fields at Peldon, four sedge warblers, four reed warblers, whitethroat, family of four stonechats and a yellow wagtail. A common blue butterfly was seen in Feldy View.

Steve Entwistle on Monday noted a Cetti's warbler in Meeting Lane, while in Shop Lane there were two singing chiffchaffs, cuckoo, two pairs of swallows and four male orange-tip butterflies.

A Cream-spot tiger moth was seen at the moth trap in the Firs Chase garden on 20th.

White ermine

Light Brocade

Treble Lines

Tare Case-bearer Coleophora amethystinella

CHAT CHICKS

Three fledged juvenile stonechats were perching on bushes along the Strood seawall on Sunday 18th. The young appear to have been fledged for a several days, judging by the confident nature of their flying about.

The male stonechat was keeping a watchful eye over the chicks from the edge of the borrowdyke on Sunday. This is the first time stonechats have bred along here. The adults seem to have been around through the winter and stayed into the spring to breed.

Also from the Strood seawall on Sunday were seen 2 whimbrel, redshank, common tern, 2 marsh harriers, two house martins, 5 sedge warblers, 5 reed warblers, whitethroat, yellow wagtail pair, 12 linnets, cuckoo over the fields and another on the Ray, also a nightingale singing here, 30 swifts over the houses, two brent geese in the channel and five on Packing Shed Island.

Five brown hares were running about the Strood fields on Sunday.

Large red damselfly was seen along the footpath between Firs Chase and The Lane on Sunday.

Azure damselfly also along the Firs Chase to The Lane footpath.

A badger was seen checking out the bird-food tubs by the front door in Firs Chase just after midnight on Sunday

A spotted flycatcher was seen at Cudmore Grove Country Park on Sunday by Mollie Kirk. It was seen near the overflow car park mid morning and then it flew to the play area but not seen after this.

On Friday 16th a hobby was seen by Mollie Kirk flying west over the country park pond in the evening.

Martin Cock reported seeing a buzzard, sparrowhawk, the usual warblers and a green hairstreak during his Wednesday 14th morning walk between Meeting Lane and Shop Lane.

A male broad-bodied chaser was photographed by Michael Thorley in his East Mersea garden on Wednesday 14th. The female broad-bodied chaser was seen ovipositing in his garden pond.

A green hairstreak was photographed by Andy Field at Cudmore Grove on Tuesday 13th. Two were also seen by Daniel Woollard in the garden of the park's bungalow.

Three pochard on the country park pond on Tuesday, photographed by Andy. Other birds seen during his Cudmore circuit included cuckoo, sedge warbler, reed warbler, five common terns, ringed plover still sitting on a nest, ten lapwing chicks with one of the broods of four now in the Golfhouse paddock, also four house martins over the bus turning circle.

Chiffchaff singing at the country park on Tuesday, photographed by Andy.

A Wall Brown was photographed by Michael Thorley in his East Mersea garden near Meeting Lane on Tuesday 13th. A painted lady also seen in the same garden.

Michael also reported seeing five brent geese, 8 shelduck and five oystercatchers from the Shop Lane seawall on Tuesday.

Two tufted ducks and three pochard were seen by Shaun Bater on the pond at Sanderling Reach on Sunday 11th.

The first sighting in the Firs Chase garden of a broad-bodied chaser on Friday 9th.

Ed Bateman saw lots of terns off Langenhoe Point on Friday, including two Sandwich terns but no little terns.

Some mallard ducklings were reunited with their family on a pond at Barrow Hill by Rob Lee.

A clump of thrift growing along the seawall by the Strood channel on Thursday 8th.

An oystercatcher nesting in the roughly cultivated field by the Strood on Thursday 8th.

Also seen in the area were a pochard flying, mute swan, brent goose, cuckoo, redshank, three common terns, two Mediterranean gulls, buzzard, three sedge warblers, five reed warblers, two whitethroats, pair of stonechat, pair of yellow wagtails, also 12 swifts over the houses.

The cuckoo was heard calling by Daniel Woollard at Cudmore Grove early on Thursday morning.

A coxcomb prominent at the Firs Chase moth trap.

Pale Prominent 

CUDMORE CIRCUIT

A male reed bunting was in full song perched on a shrubby sea-blite bush at the East Mersea Point on Tuesday 6th. 

On the mud near the East Mersea Point was a pair of ringed plovers, while nearby another ringed plover was still sitting on her nest on the beach. A fourth ringed plover was on the beach near the old fort. Other waders seen were a pair of redshank, four whimbrel and 90+ oystercatchers on the mudflats.

In the river Colne there was no sign of the little tern that Andy Field had been watching twenty minutes before I got there, or even the three Sandwich terns that flew into the Colne an hour earlier, only four common terns fishing in the river. Three great crested grebes and a couple of cormorants were also in the river.

A dumpy-looking little lapwing chick was feeding in the park's grazing field on Tuesday. The four pairs of lapwings in the fields have at least ten chicks amongst them, although only three were on view among the long grass.

Two sedge warblers were singing along the park dyke and also two reed warblers, two Cetti's warblers and three whitethroats heard during the Cudmore Grove circuit. Ten linnets and six swallows also noted but no sign of any sand martins by the cliff.

A mute swan was sitting on her nest along the park dyke on Tuesday, with the male at the other end of the dyke. Two greylags were noted, also a Canada goose paired with a hybrid Canada / greylag goose, a pair of gadwall, five tufted ducks seen too. Four pochard had been seen earlier on the pond by Andy Field.

At West Mersea on Tuesday, Shaun Bater saw five mallard ducklings on a small pond at Sanderlings Reach, while four pochard and a mallard were on the larger pond there.

A swift was back in the nestbox on Andy Field's house in High Street North on Monday 5th. We look forward to seeing the pair successfully rear some chicks this summer.

A hobby was seen on Monday by Rob Lee as it flew east over Barrow Hill.

At Maydays farm with a chilly northerly breeze blowing, fifteen minutes had to be spent sheltering beside a bush from a rain shower. After that birds noted from the seawall included a cuckoo calling then flying north off the island to Langenhoe, 20 lapwings on Reeveshall and 15 whimbrel feeding on the fields and mudflats.

Along the Maydays dyke were a pair of yellowhammer, stonechat, two singing sedge warblers, three reed warblers, two Cetti's warblers, lesser whitethroat and two whitethroats. A corn bunting was singing on Reeveshall and four swallows over the fields, two marsh harriers and 6 swifts noted too.

In the Pyefleet there were four grey plover, four dunlin, four redshank, 15 shelduck and a great crested grebe.

A house martin was seen on Monday in Haycocks Lane by Steve Entwistle.

On Sunday 4th the pair of stonechats was watched beside the Strood seawall, perching up on bramble bushes and calling repeatedly, suggesting they were very anxious about me being there, maybe some chicks in the area. Four sedge warblers and four reed warblers were singing, also whitethroat and two Cetti's warblers.

Two water rails called from each of the reedbeds, a pair of shoveler flew onto the pond behind the fields, two pairs of pochard landed briefly in the dyke, yellow wagtail flew past as did two house martins. A nightingale and cuckoo were heard across on Ray Island.

A pair shelduck was feeding in the Pyefleet on Sunday, also greenshank, eight whimbrel, avocet, six ringed plover, two marsh harriers and two buzzards seen, ten brent geese on Packing Shed island.

Three brown hares were in a Strood field and a hairy dragonfly flew along the seawall.

At Maydays farm on Sunday, Martin Cock saw a red kite, buzzard, marsh harrier, common tern and ten brent geese.

A pair of oystercatchers was seen prospecting the recently cultivated weedy field by the Strood on Saturday 3rd. Also in the fields were ten stock doves, lapwing flew off, two buzzards overhead and eight swifts over the houses. In the Pyefleet were three common terns, whimbrel and two brent geese.

Two skylarks crouched down on the Strood seawall on Saturday, also in the area were the stonechat pair, two sedge warblers, two reed warblers, two Cetti's warblers, three reed buntings, while five house sparrows were seen flying over the Strood channel to Ray Island. 

At Maydays on Saturday Martin Cock reported 8 sedge warblers, 4 reed warblers, 11 whimbrel, 2 marsh harriers, 2 buzzards, 3 cuckoos, a Chinese water deer and also a possible sighting of a short-eared owl on Langenhoe marsh.

A cuckoo was seen flying from Empress Avenue to Fairhaven Avenue on Saturday morning by Shaun Bater, also a swift seen over Kingsland Road.

Three swifts were seen by Adrian Amos flying over his East Road garden on Saturday.

A male hen harrier was seen heading north-east from Barrow Hill by Rob Lee on Saturday morning.