MERSEA WILDLIFE: HERD OF ELEPHANTS

A colourful herd of hawkmoths visited the Firs Chase garden on the night of Friday 20th. Fourteen elephant hawkmoths came to the garden moth trap, along with two privet hawkmoths and three pine hawkmoths. After the hawkmoths were photographed, they were all released to safety inside a thick bush in the garden. Two tawny owls were heard calling to each other late on Friday night in Firs Chase.

A red kite was seen drifting over Feldy View on Friday just after midday, which may've been the same one seen by Andy Field a few minutes earlier over his garden in High Street North. Sixteen swifts were also seen over the houses.

A ruddy darter photographed by Andy Field in Feldy View on Friday.

Two vapourer moth caterpillars were in Andy Field's garden on Friday.

On Friday morning, five Sandwich terns, common tern and a marsh harrier were seen from Ivy Dock in East Mersea by Martin Cock.

On Thursday 19th Martin Cock at Maydays reported two marsh harriers, stonechat, two common terns, curlew, four great crested grebes and a lesser whitethroat.

Jack Hoy saw a sparrowhawk at Cudmore Grove near the bird hide on Thursday afternoon.

A short walk round Feldy View and then to the Dabchicks on Wednesday 18th, provided views of 15 swifts over the houses, green woodpecker and great spotted woodpecker, three common terns and a song thrush.

A comma butterfly was resting beside the path by the Firs caravan park on Wednesday.

A ruddy darter was in Feldy View on Wednesday, also meadow brown, small heath, Essex Skipper and a red admiral.

A fox was caught on a trail camera in Andy Field's garden on Wednesday morning.

A red kite was seen flying low over Maydays farm on Wednesday by Steve Entwistle, also four house martins.

In East Mersea a purple hairstreak and a buzzard were seen by Martin Cock in Meeting Lane/ Gyants Marsh area on Wednesday morning.

On Tuesday 17th birds noted during a brief visit to the Strood seawall included buzzard, sedge warbler, reed warbler, 25 swifts over the houses as was a sparrowhawk. A goldcrest was singing in the Firs Chase garden again.

A barred straw was photographed by Lea Merclova in the Cudmore Grove toilets on Tuesday 17th.

Lea also reported that the ringed plover was still on four eggs by the old fort on the beach, the nest now fenced off. The oystercatcher was still sitting on two eggs at the Point although the other oystercatcher nest by the shrubby sea-blite appears to have gone.

Two recently fledged swallows were photographed by Andy Field by the Cudmore Grove seawall on Monday 16th.

Two sand martins were also photographed by Andy along the park dyke on Monday.

There was a mixed flock of 20+ sand martins and swallows. Two sand martins spent a bit of time in a hole in the park cliffs, presumably prospecting a nesting site.

Four kestrel chicks at Cudmore Grove appeared to be almost fledged, photographed here by Andy on Monday. A red kite flew over the park, also a willow warbler singing at the park is a late migrant. A hummingbird hawkmoth was seen by the park cliffs. Two oystercatchers were on nests at the Point.

In Shop Lane a chiffchaff and blackcap were singing on Monday morning, also two grey squirrels seen by Fishponds Wood, while from the nearby seawall, two marsh harriers, two buzzards and reed bunting were noted, while the family of five Canada geese was still on Pewit Island.

A few red kites were seen passing over the island on Sunday 15th, with this one pictured being one of two seen over Feldy View late morning. A red kite was also seen flying west over Martin Cock's house in The Coverts, one over Andy Field's High St North house, then three seen over the West Mersea Hard near noon by Rob Lee. A buzzard was also seen flying north-west off the island.

A common tern was hunting along the Strood channel on Sunday, also seen were a great crested grebe, mute swan, four shelduck, two curlew, two Cetti's warblers, two sedge warblers, two reed warblers, yellow wagtail and a whitethroat. Fifteen swifts were flying over the houses.

A song thrush was seen in Steve Entwistle's garden in Empress Drive on Sunday morning.

A little patch of poppies provided a bit of colour by the Maydays seawall on Saturday 14th.

Birds noted included a hobby over Langenhoe, two marsh harriers, buzzard, common tern, three great crested grebes, two curlew, four redshank, 9 shelduck, yellowhammer, stonechat, 20 swifts and a lesser whitethroat singing.

In the afternoon a hobby flew over the Firs Chase garden heading north-west. Later in the middle of the night two tawny owls were heard calling to each other.

Birds noted on Friday 13th by Feldy View were marsh harrier, whitethroat, reed warbler, 10 swifts over the houses and three common terns in the channel.

A goldcrest was singing in Firs Chase garden.

At Maydays on Friday, Martin Cock reported two marsh harriers, lesser whitethroat, several young sedge warblers, yellowhammer, stonechat and a small skipper butterfly.

On Thursday 12th in a circuit of Feldy View and Dabchicks, ten swifts were over the houses, three common terns, two Mediterranean gulls, buzzard, yellow wagtail, blackcap, chiffchaff and a whitethroat were the main birds noted.

A small skipper was in Feldy View on Wednesday 11th, also a handful of meadow browns and small heaths. The cuckoo was heard calling, a pair of avocets flew along the Strood channel and three whitethroats were by the caravan park. A goldcrest and song thrush were in Firs Chase.

At East Mersea Point on Wednesday, Lea Merclova of the Essex Coast Bird Aware project, fenced off a second oystercatcher nest, also two ringed plover territories noted with four eggs noted at one nest and a chick also seen at the Point.

Along the Strood on Tuesday 10th were a pochard flying, two sedge warblers and a reed warbler singing and three whitethroats by the caravan park.

Moth trapping has been taking place on several of the warm nights recently in the Firs Chase garden. The first Privet Hawkmoth of the summer was on the 12th.