GREY WAG ON A GREY DAY

A grey wagtail was seen feeding near the West Mersea Hard on a very wet and grey Friday 14th. The bird was first seen flying over the floating jetty heading towards the shoreline in front of the Coast Inn. When I went to look over the side, the grey wagtail flew off straightaway but luckily it had only gone a little further along to the shoreline by Dukes Seafood. It was watched here for a few minutes feeding on flies before it then moved further along the shore.

In a quick look at the Strood in the drizzle, there were 50 brent geese, ten shelduck, 20 avocets, ten black-tailed godwits, 100 dunlin, four reed buntings and a kestrel.

In the Firs Chase garden on Friday a pair of blackcaps was seen feeding on the ivy berries, while in the afternoon a pair of firecrests was seen feeding in bushes as part of a quick moving mixed tit flock.

On a sunny Thursday 13th, there was the surprising sighting of a pair of stonechats at the Feldy View cemetery - the male pictured. Considering how often and how many have been seen in recent years on the nearby seawall by the caravan park, it's a surprise they haven't been in Feldy View before.

The female stonechat was seen near the male as they perched on the eastern hedge-line of Feldy View on Thursday. They both dropped into the nearby field to feed.

Ideal viewing conditions along the Strood channel on Thursday allowed lots of waders and wildfowl to be seen over the mudflats such as this small group of wigeon with a black-tailed godwit, a teal and black-headed gull. Trevor Hearn and I watched all the birds suddenly fly up in the air and managed to catch a brief glimpse of a peregrine flying away over the Ray Island saltings. Two marsh harriers were also seen during the walk.

Rough counts of birds along the channel included 200 brent geese, 180 wigeon, 112 teal, 30 shelduck, 18 little grebes, 200 golden plover, 80 black-tailed godwits, 80 lapwing, 38 avocets and 25 oystercatchers. In the fields five stonechats (plus the two at Feldy View) and 100 linnets were of note, two Cetti's warblers were along the dyke, while two rock pipits were along the seawall.

One of the black-tailed godwits on Thursday with the colour-ring combination of WL- O//B, has been a regular winter visitor to Mersea's mud before having been seen five times since it was first ringed in 2013 on the Ythan Estuary near Aberdeen. Thanks to Andy Field for keeping a note of its previous Mersea sightings - it was first seen here in March 2014, just six months after it was first ringed.

In the Firs Chase garden on Thursday a chiffchaff and goldcrest were seen, while the ring-necked parakeet was heard nearby again.

There was this interesting Wrinkled Peach mushroom growing on a log near Feldy View on Thursday.

The Wrinkled Peach usually grows on dead elm but has declined a lot because of Dutch Elm disease. Caroline White found one of these mushrooms growing along a nearby footpath in 2021.

At East Mersea a kingfisher and Cetti's warbler were seen at the boating lake on Thursday by Michael Thorley.

Near the East Mersea Oyster Fishery on Thursday, Carrie Horwood watched two water rails feeding in the borrowdyke for ten minutes. Also seen during her walk were a marsh harrier, sparrowhawk, 15 fieldfares, 280 brent geese on the grazing fields, 20 avocets, 200 lapwing, 50 knot, 20 curlew, shelduck, grey plovers, redshank, wigeon and teal. A goldcrest near the Golfhouse parking, green woodpecker, great white egret flying west and two yellowhammer near some sheep.

On Wednesday 12th the two Arctic terns were still in the Colne, seen from Ivy Dock by Martin Cock.

A grey squirrel was seen in Bromans Lane on Wednesday by Jack Hoy.

At St Peter's on Wednesday the black brant was a bit distant for good views but was feeding with some of the 200 brent geese seen near here and in the Mersea Quarters.

A pair of stonechat perched on the sea-blite bushes at St Peter's on Wednesday - the male here.

The female stonechat was always close-by to the male as they worked their way along the full length of the sea-blite bushes behind the beach.

Two little egrets, 20 black-tailed godwits, Mediterranean gull were noted around St Peter's while a marsh harrier was hunting over Cobmarsh Island.

On Tuesday 11th, two Arctic terns, great northern diver and a common scoter were seen by Andy Field from East Mersea Point. Also a merlin across the meadow to the north of Cudmore Grove, a goldcrest, three stonechats, rock pipit and 300 brent geese on the park's grazing fields. A red squirrel seen in the Cudmore car park was the first red that Andy had seen on the island for months!

Along the Strood on Tuesday were marsh harrier, sparrowhawk, 300 brent geese, 100 wigeon, 100 golden plover, 70 shelduck, 50 black-tailed godwits, 45 avocets, 18 little grebes, 50 linnets, and four stonechats. A female blackcap was seen near the Firs Chase caravan park.

Only birds noted on Monday during a quick visit to the Strood seawall were 20 avocets, buzzard, kestrel and a stonechat, while a chiffchaff and goldcrest were noted near the Firs Chase caravan park.

A dead common dolphin was reported on local Facebook washed up on the beach between Coopers Beach and the Youth Camp on Monday.

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An Oak Rustic was noted in the Firs Chase garden moth trap on 12th. This is the third garden record after singles in 2021 and 2022.

The dainty Olive-tree Pearl immigrant micro-moth was noted on the 12th.

Red-green Carpet

Angle Shades

FELDY FUNGI

A colourful Fly Agaric with its red cap added to the autumnal scene in Feldy View on a sunny Sunday 9th. A few Fly agarics were seen in this same area a couple of years ago in early November.

A single fieldfare was feeding amongst the leaf litter in Feldy View on Sunday.

The fieldfare was more confiding than usual fieldfares and provided good views on the ground and in a tree when it perched up on Sunday morning.

Two green woodpeckers and two great spotted woodpeckers were heard in The Lane and Feldy View area. A chiffchaff and two goldcrests were seen in the Firs Chase garden.

Birds seen from the Strood seawall on Sunday included 300 brent geese, 200 wigeon, 70 teal, 2 shoveler, 500 golden plover, 100 dunlin, 40 avocets and 30 knot. Raptors seen were two marsh harriers, two buzzards, three kestrels, while small birds of note were 150 linnets and three stonechats.

The sunny weather on Sunday saw this small copper butterfly resting on the Strood seawall. The latest date I think a small copper has been seen on the Island.

The small copper closed its wings up when the breeze blew, making this individual very hard to see on the path. A small copper was also seen the day before flying across Feldy View. Other butterflies on Sunday were two red admirals and a small white by the Strood seawall, while a common darter flew over the Strood seawall.

The mild autumn has seen flowers appear on the holly bush in our Firs Chase garden - a time of year most female hollies should be displaying their crop of berries.

A nice surprise was seeing this red squirrel in the poplar trees by the path at the top of the Firs Chase caravan park on Saturday 8th. It was seen exploring a hollow side to the trunk on one tree.

A rock pipit stood on a post in the Strood channel on Saturday - as did a couple of other rock pipits.

On a sunny Saturday a red kite flew over Ray Island and a second bird circled over Barrow Hill, while a marsh harrier and a buzzard were also noted. Along the channel were 150 wigeon, 50 teal, 400 golden plovers, 70 black-tailed godwits, 45 avocets, 50 dunlin, 20 knot and five Mediterranean gulls.

A distant kingfisher was spotted perching briefly on the Strood seawall sluice on Saturday. Three stonechats and 100 linnets were in the nearby fields. A very vocal brambling was heard calling from the trees at Feldy View but was only seen when it flew overhead and landed in trees down the side of the caravan park. It carried on calling for a minute whilst obscured by branches and was only seen when it flew off west. 

A goldcrest was seen in the Firs Chase garden on Saturday.

On Friday 7th Andy Field, Carrie Horwood and I carried out the monthly wetland bird survey along the northern side of the island, from Maydays farm to Cudmore Grove Country Park. After a very dull day the sun peeked out when we reached the park pond mid afternoon where we saw a sparrowhawk, 15 shoveler, 20+ teal, 15+ wigeon and 12+ mallard.

Earlier on our walk we saw the two Arctic terns flying back and forth just inside the mouth of the Colne. These were first seen by Neil Harvey early Friday afternoon, just before we got to the area to look. Neil also saw two Little gulls in the Colne and a water rail on one of the borrowdykes.

Four bar-tailed godwits were with other waders on the Golfhouse saltings, stonechat here too, while two female red-breasted mergansers were by Langenhoe Point. Later Steve Entwistle saw a red-throated diver in the Colne, the Arctic terns still present, four red-breasted mergansers flying out of the river, 300 dunlin, 3 bar-tailed godwits and 20 ringed plovers.

Other highlights of our walk along the north side of the island on Friday were a kingfisher by the Oyster Fishery, great white egret on Reeveshall, four snipe flying off from the edge of the Reeveshall seawall at high tide, four marsh harriers, peregrine over Maydays, twenty Mediterranean gulls flying up Pyefleet, 45 golden plover, 70 avocets, also at Maydays 6 yellowhammers, stonechat and ten fieldfares flying over.

Charlie Williams birds of note during his count on Friday from Maydays to Strood to West Mersea were six red-breasted mergansers in the Blackwater (one landing), 66 avocets, 17 sanderling off Seaview Avenue, one snipe, greenshank, kingfisher, three marsh harriers, buzzard, as well as 372 brent geese, 327 wigeon and 251 teal. 

 

Thursday 6th was flat calm along the Strood channel and flocks of birds were flying about during the very high tide in the middle of the day. The highlight was a glossy ibis seen flying north-west over the channel heading to Ray Island. Its very distinctive profile in flight with its long thin downcurved bill - like a "flying coat-hanger" apparently!

Along the channel were a Sandwich tern fishing, two greenshank heard calling, black brant opposite the Firs caravan park, 200 brent geese, 150 wigeon, 50 teal, 30 shelduck and 24 avocets. Two marsh harriers were seen flying about.

Two corn buntings were noted perched on bushes beside the Strood seawall on Thursday. A brambling was heard calling as it flew over but not seen, five song thrushes were in bushes near the bottom corner of the caravan park, 50 linnets, 30 skylarks, five stonechats, four rock pipits and ten reed buntings noted in the fields.

Moth activity in the Firs Chase garden is much decreased now. This Mottled Umber was resting on the window.

Two or three November Moths aggs have been noted in recent nights.

Five immigrant Rusty-dot Pearls were noted on the 6th.

This tiny Pellitory Beauty was nearly overlooked on the 6th. A recent coloniser in the UK, was first recorded in Essex in 2020.

This parasitic Ichneumon Wasp in the moth trap on the 5th looks like the sickle-wasp Ophion obscuratus

BLACK BRANT BACK

A black brant was feeding in the Strood Channel with 100 dark-bellied brent geese by the Firs Chase caravan park on Wednesday 5th. This is most likely the same individual judging by the markings, that has been wintering here for several years. Last November it was first seen four days earlier on November 1st. Further up the Strood channel another 200 brent geese were feeding by Ray Island

The black brant, seen here front right, was feeding at high tide over the flooded saltmarsh on Wednesday.

A grey wagtail was seen feeding on the edge of the mud by the Dabchicks sailing club on Wednesday.

Ten little egrets were seen along the Strood channel on Wednesday, this one by the caravan park.

During the very high tide, a raft of avocets floated in the Strood channel while in the background a lorry waits mid-causeway for the tide to recede on Wednesday.

The forty avocets bobbed in the water in the Strood during the high tide as all the saltmarshes were under water on Wednesday. Ten Mediterranean gulls and forty shelduck were noted along with lots of wigeon and teal feeding over the flooded saltmarshes.

In the fields there were three red-legged partridges, twenty skylarks, four stonechats, ten reed buntings and also four rock pipits along the seawall.

A male blackcap was in the Firs Chase garden on Wednesday.

On Tuesday 4th a grey wagtail was hurriedly snapped before it flew off from the side of a pond at Waldegraves Holiday park. It had been feeding round the edge. Presumably it was this same individual  seen a short while earlier perched on a railing of the Youth Camp sewage works.

A merlin flew east over Waldegraves and then over the Youth Camp while a buzzard was by the Rewsalls farm. Seventy brent geese, fifty oystercatchers and four sanderling were on the shingle island by Waldegraves. Four great crested grebes were offshore.

The water level on the side lake near the boating lake was too high for any waders although 12 little grebes and 20 Mediterranean gulls were present. Two green woodpeckers and two great spotted woodpeckers and 1000 starlings were by the Youth Camp.

 

A clouded yellow was seen briefly on the wing by the Youth Camp on Tuesday - the first November sighting on the island. One red admiral also seen nearby.

A grey squirrel was reported by Michael Thorley in Bromans Lane on Tuesday.

A small flock of thirty brent geese was feeding in the Golfhouse paddock on Monday 3rd - another 150+ brent geese were in the estuary. On the nearby saltmarsh 100 wigeon and 30 teal were noted. Three stonechats, rock pipit and four reed buntings were near the Point.

At the East Mersea Point on Monday 30 turnstones were feeding as the tide receded, also 1000 dunlin, 25 ringed plovers noted. Two terns feeding distantly in the Colne were only identified as Commic terns (Common or Arctic). A great crested grebe was seen in the Colne.

A sea rocket clump was in flower near the old pillbox at East Mersea Point on Monday.

The confiding at times Strood wheatear was still feeding along the seawall on Sunday 2nd - present for its ninth day. Three stonechats and two rock pipits were also along the seawall while 70 linnets were in the fields. A marsh harrier and three kestrels were over the fields too.

Along the Strood channel on Sunday were 100 golden plover, 46 avocets, 150 wigeon, 120 black-tailed godwits, 50 knot and 60 dunlin.

A flock of 30 avocets took off from the Pyefleet mud by Maydays on Saturday 1st. Also along the Pyefleet channel were 500 golden plovers, 50 knot, 50 dunlin, 100 brent geese, six great crested grebes and also a common seal on the saltmarsh.

A kingfisher perched over a Maydays ditch on Saturday, two marsh harriers were seen over Langenhoe.

Three yellowhammers were at Maydays on Saturday, also two stonechats, 50 linnets, 20 meadow pipits, two rock pipits, 150 starlings and a goldcrest.

On Friday 31st, birds of note seen along the Strood seawall included two marsh harriers, buzzard, sparrowhawk, wheatear, three stonechats, fifty linnets, 160 black-tailed godwits, 54 knot, 50 dunlin, 50 oystercatchers, fifty brent geese and 36 avocets.

Three redwing flew out of a holly bush in Firs Chase while a migrant hawker was still on the wing in Feldy View on Friday morning.

A Yellow-line Quaker was in the Firs Chase garden moth trap on 30th.

The small immigrant Diamond-backed Moth was noted on the 30th.

Fifth record this autumn of a Variable Cockroach on the 30th in the garden moth trap.