FELDY HAWKMOTH CATERPILLAR

Very pleased to find the caterpillar of the Hummingbird Hawkmoth feeding on Lady's Bedstraw in Feldy View on Tuesday 21st. The adults have been seen over the years visiting many gardens and other locations on the Island but this is the first time a caterpillar has been found to prove breeding. In Feldy View a female was seen egg-laying in this patch of Lady's Bedstraw at the end of June, although the large size of this caterpillar would suggest this is from an egg laid by a different Hummingbird Hawkmoth maybe a couple of weeks earlier in June.

Butterflies in Feldy View on Tuesday included a Wall Brown, 2 Common Blues, 7 Brown Argus and 30 Gatekeepers.

Two sedge warblers were seen in the Strood dyke on Tuesday, also two reed warblers and two whitethroats noted nearby, while 2 kestrels and 15 linnets also seen. Along the Strood channel were a greenshank, ten black-tailed godwits and four common terns. 

A willow warbler was seen in Feldy View on Tuesday, also two lesser whitethroats and two green woodpeckers, reed warbler, yellow wagtail over, while 52 swifts were seen over the houses.

A flock of 25 house sparrows in Feldy View on Monday 20th was an unusual sight here, some of them foraging in the grass and other low vegetation. Two lesser whitethroats were the only other bird of note there, although 40 swifts were seen over the nearby houses. 

Butterflies noted here included 15 Brown Argus, 13 Common Blues, 50 Gatekeeper and 20 Meadow Browns.

Along the Strood channel on Monday were a greenshank, 18 black-tailed godwits, little grebe and 6 little egrets.

A flock of ten goldfinches was feeding on knapweed seedheads in the Firs Chase garden.

Michael Thorley photographed a Common Darter in his East Mersea garden near Meeting Lane on Monday.

 

The female Common Darter was egg-laying from a height of 30cm above the pond vegetation.

The nest of Red-tailed Bumble Bee had been dug out, probably by badgers, inside the Strood seawall on Sunday 19th. The bees looked a bit unsure of what to do, sitting around beside their opened up burrow.

Birds noted along the Strood seawall on Sunday included ten Mediterranean gulls, four common terns, 25 curlew, whimbrel, 6 black-tailed godwits, 70 redshank, 2 sand martins, sedge warbler and two reed warblers.

On a hot and breezy Sunday morning in Feldy View, butterflies seen included this Small Skipper, also good numbers of 50 Gatekeepers, 60 Meadow Browns, 30 Brown Argus, ten Common Blue, ten Small White and a Small Copper. Five Green-eyed Flower Bees were busy around some Knapweed.

At Maydays on Saturday 18th, two common sandpipers and a greenshank were in Maydays Creek, while along the Pyefleet were 9 grey plover, 4 black-tailed godwits, one dunlin and a great crested grebe. Beside the seawall were yellow wagtail, 2 yellowhammers, 25 linnets, 2 reed buntings, 2 Cetti's warblers, while on Reeveshall were a big feeding flock of 300 rooks and 50 jackdaws. A buzzard was on top of a post in Haycocks Lane.

A Chinese Water Deer was along Broad Fleet on Reeveshall.

A Clouded Yellow along the Maydays seawall on Saturday seemed to be the first one noted on the Island this summer.

For the second year running a Wall Brown made an appearance in the Firs Chase garden, photographed here up on the roof.

A vocal tawny owl was heard calling in Firs Chase late on Saturday night and was seen in silhouette flying over the garden. The ring-necked parakeet was heard calling earlier in the day.

The first willow warblers to be seen this autumn on their return passage, were found along the path at the top end of the Firs Chase Caravan park on Friday 17th. This bird was heard calling and was seen to have had the red legs.

Two yellow wagtails were seen by the Dabchicks while another one was seen mobbing a buzzard by Feldy View. Two lesser whitethroats were in Feldy View and 30 swifts over the nearby houses.

Birds seen along the Strood channel on Friday included 2 greenshank, 200 redshank, 50 curlew, 5 lapwing, 5 black-tailed godwits, 5 turnstone by the Hard, 6 Mediterranean gulls, 2 common terns, little grebe, also two grey herons and three marsh harriers.

The ring-necked parakeet was heard calling in Firs Chase on Friday morning.

During the very hot Friday morning in Feldy View, three Wall Browns were seen, 25 Brown Argus, 10 Common Blue, 45 Gatekeepers, 25 Meadow Browns, 2 Small Coppers, 5 Small White and a Large White.  A Wall Brown was also seen along the Strood seawall.

One of the many Gatekeepers seen in Feldy View on Friday.

A Hummingbird Hawkmoth was seen feeding on Verbena flowers beside the Dabchicks.

Two greenshank were in the Strood channel on Friday.

On Thursday 16th a very small ringed plover chick was seen by Rob Lee within the archaeologists working compound on the beach near East Mersea Point. 

Also in East Mersea Daniel Woollard went for a walk along Bromans Lane on Thursday evening and saw an adult little owl with two fledglings, also a barn owl and a great white egret fly past Cudmore Grove.

A juvenile green woodpecker was well camouflaged as it clung to a tree in Feldy View on Wednesday 15th - a second juvenile was also present following an adult. Thirty swifts were over the nearby houses.

An osprey was seen flying slowly up the Strood Channel on Wednesday, occasionally circling round as it headed north-east towards the Bonners Barn area. It could easily be followed at a distance by all the gulls in the air near to it.

Other birds along the channel were common tern, 12 little egrets, grey heron, buzzard, two kestrels over the fields and a sand martin flew west.

The two oystercatcher chicks have grown well in the area behind the Dabchicks and might be able to fly now. 

On a hot and windy Wednesday morning in Feldy View, 35 Brown Argus were counted, also 12 Common Blues, Wall Brown and a Hummingbird Hawkmoth seen.

An Emperor Dragonfly was photographed by Michael Thorley in his East Mersea garden on Wednesday.

The female Emperor was seen egg-laying on detritus in his garden pond.

Female Emperor Dragonfly.

Moth numbers have dropped a lot in this ongoing dry period. This Canary-shouldered Thorn was seen in the Firs Chase garden moth trap on the 14th.

HEATWAVE CONTINUES

A lesser whitethroat was feeding in the trees in Feldy View on a very hot and windy Tuesday 14th. There was very little bird activity late morning in the ongoing heatwave.

The lesser whitethroat was picking off insects in some of the silver birch trees in Feldy View. A whitethroat was the only bird of interest in Feldy View and a song thrush seen nearby during the middle part of the day. Forty swifts were flying over the West Mersea houses and ten swallows by the Dabchicks.

Twenty two lapwings flew off Ray Island when a buzzard flew over, also ten little egrets seen on the saltmarshes at high tide.

Two Wall Browns were in Feldy View on Tuesday, also 30 Brown Argus, 20 Common Blues, 70 Gatekeepers, 50 Meadow Browns and a Painted Lady.

Two Six-spot Burnet moths were feeding on a lavender bush in Feldy View on Tuesday.

Amongst lots of grasshoppers in Feldy View was this Meadow Grasshopper on lavender.

A Painted Lady feeding on buddleia in the Firs Chase garden on Tuesday afternoon.

A Ruby Tiger in the garden moth trap in Firs Chase in Monday evening was the first of the summer.

Seven Elephant Hawkmoths and a Pine Hawkmoth also noted.

A Small Mottled Willow moth - one of several this summer.

The first Tree-lichen Beauty was on the night of the 13th.

Hedgehogs are still regular visitors to the garden of Carrie Horwood in Fairhaven Avenue.

A badger was recorded in Michael Thorley's East Mersea garden at 3.30am on Tuesday morning.

A Black-tailed Skimmer dragonfly was photographed by Peter Marchington on the East Mersea Golfhouse path on Monday evening.

A pair of Mediterranean gulls on the beach near Shears Crescent on Sunday 12th was the first ones Peter had seen here since March.

A greenshank was seen by the Strood causeway on Sunday by Steve Entwistle.

This male Oak Eggar moth was photographed by Peter Marchington in his Shears Court flat on Saturday 11th.

A pair of swifts was seen flying low over Shears Crescent on Saturday morning by Peter.

Meanwhile a female Oak Eggar moth was photographed by Steve Entwistle on his Empress Drive house on Saturday.

On Friday 10th at the East Mersea Golfhouse pools on the saltmarsh were a pair of common terns with three large chicks on a pool drying out fast, pochard on the park dyke with 2 young, yellow wagtails and ten Mediterranean gulls - all seen by Martin Cock.

Michael Thorley saw a male yellow wagtail at his garden pond in East Mersea, also a female blackcap, whitethroat in the garden and a young linnet in his fruit cage on Friday.

A badger was filmed in Michael Thorley's garden in East Mersea near Meeting Lane on Wednesday night.

A fox also in Michael's garden on Wednesday 8th.

Michael Thorley photographed this Hummingbird Hawkmoth in his East Mersea garden on Tuesday 7th.

Hummingbird Hawkmoth photographed by Michael.

Daniel Woollard had an evening stroll at Cudmore Grove on Tuesday and reported a barn owl hunting along the grazing marsh, 8 black-tailed godwits on the mud and 25 Mediterranean gulls with lots of young too. A badger showed well from the bird-hide about 10pm and a pair of little owl was feeding on the ground along Bromans Lane.

A hummingbird hawkmoth was seen by Steve Entwistle on Sunday 5th in his Empress Drive garden.

On Friday 3rd Martin Cock reported 2 common terns and 3 largish chicks on the Golfhouse pools at East Mersea, also several black-headed gulls chicks there, 6 Mediterranean gulls, Sandwich tern and a red kite were in the area.

A brimstone butterfly was in Martin Cock's West Mersea garden on Friday.

Michael Thorley saw a red-legged partridge on his neighbour's garage roof near Meeting Lane in East Mersea on Friday.

A Large Marsh Horsefly Tabanus autumnalis was photographed by Carrie Horwood in her Fairhaven Avenue house on Thursday 2nd.

Andy Field saw two red kites separately over his garden in High Street North on Thursday afternoon.

Martin Cock saw a Marbled White butterfly and a marsh harrier at Maydays farm on Thursday.

Andy Field photographed this long-tailed tit in Shop Lane during his visit to the nearby seawall on Wednesday 1st. A distant osprey was seen perched on a post on the Geedon saltings, also seen were a whimbrel, 2 black-tailed godwits and 3 marsh harriers.

A Comma butterfly photographed by Andy during his visit to the Shop Lane and Reeveshall seawalls on Wednesday. Other butterflies noted were White-letter Hairstreak, Ringlet, Comma, Peacock, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown, Small Heath, Brown Argus, Common Blue, Gatekeeper, Large White, Small White, Small Skipper and also a Marbled White.

Steve Entwistle at Maydays farm on Wednesday also watched the distant osprey on the Geedons pole, two yellowhammers, yellow wagtail, 8 house martins, greenfinch and a Marbled White on the seawall and a Banded Demoiselle also seen.

On Monday 29th June in the evening the osprey was seen on the pole on the Geedons by Martin Cock, also twenty black-tailed godwits.

VULNERABLE CHICKS

Three oystercatcher chicks have hopped out of their dinghy where they nested, to feed on the mud behind the Dabchicks Sailing Club. Chrissie Westgate took this photograph from her nearby house. The chicks are very vulnerable at the moment if dogs are allowed to run out onto the mud or run loose along the edge of the path at high tide where the chicks might be. Please keep dogs on leads in this area.

A notice has been put up behind the Dabchicks warning walkers with dogs to keep their dogs on the lead. 

A small passage of red kites was seen over the island on Monday 29th, with four seen over the Firs Chase garden in the morning. Two were also seen over Martin Cock's garden in The Coverts, while Jack Hoy saw 5 or 6 red kites mid-morning in East Mersea, hunting over grass fields that were being turned for hay just north of Cudmore Grove Country Park.

Two green woodpeckers landed on a telegraph pole near to Feldy View on Monday.

Fifteen swifts were flying over the nearby houses.

Whilst scanning the tops of the oak trees in Feldy View for possible Purple Hairstreak butterflies, I spotted this hairstreak fluttering high up which was actually a White-letter Hairstreak. This is the first time a White-letter Hairstreak has been seen here, in the north-west corner which is close to some elm in the hedgeline of the caravan park.

Five Painted Ladies were in Feldy View on Monday morning, as were Essex Skipper, Small Skippers, Small Copper, Small Heath, Meadow Brown, Small White, Large White and Holly Blue.

A Six-spot Burnet Moth was seen briefly in Feldy View.

A Field Grasshopper rested on a short post in Feldy View on Monday.

Two Hummingbird Hawkmoths were flying around the Lady's Bedstraw in Feldy View on Monday. This screen-grab is showing one of them touching a bedstraw stem with her abdomen to lay a single egg and then flying off to lay another single egg on another bit of bedstraw.

Carrie Horwood photographed this Liparus coronatus weevil at Waldegraves Holiday park on Monday.

David Bullock in East Mersea has been getting visits from a Red Squirrel to his East Road garden near the turning to the Colchester Oyster Fishery.

There has been more Red Squirrel activity in David's garden during the last couple of months. Both pictures by David.

A Small Copper was in Feldy View on Sunday 28th, as was a Brown Argus and two Painted Ladies.

Thirty swifts were over the houses, while down by the seawall a yellow wagtail flew west off island, Mediterranean gull and four little egrets were along the Strood. A sedge warbler, reed warbler and whitethroat were all heard singing.

Andy Field watched a flock of forty swifts mobbing a drone over the High Street North and Whittaker Way area on Sunday evening.

A little owl was seen in Cross Lane on Sunday evening by Caroline White.

On Saturday 27th a pair of oystercatchers was leading me away from their presumed chick somewhere along the seawall. I didn't linger around to look for the chick, as the parents were getting concerned.

A flock of 80 curlew was disturbed off the top end of the Pyefleet saltmarsh and flew down channel.

Four common seals including one possible young one, were at the top end of the Pyefleet channel.

 

Two sand martins were resting on a fence beside the Maydays seawall on Saturday.

Sand martins have been very scarce this summer on the island, these birds will be from elsewhere. Feeding nearby on the saltmarsh were thirty swallows.

Along the dyke were 3 singing sedge warblers, 2 reed warblers, 2 whitethroats, 2 yellowhammers and also a yellow wagtail flying onto the fields from the saltmarsh.

A hummingbird hawkmoth was seen at Maydays.

Two red kites were seen from the Maydays seawall on Saturday, one heading to Langenhoe and this one circling over the Maydays seawall and fields. Three marsh harriers were seen over Langenhoe while a buzzard was in Haycocks Lane.

A juvenile Starling was photographed by Michael Thorley in his East Mersea garden on Saturday.

A very hairy Miller moth caterpillar was photographed by Carrie Horwood on her garden seat cover in Fairhaven Avenue on Saturday.

One of the two common terns flying offshore past Shears Court was photographed by Peter Marchington on Friday 26th. Two were also seen by Carrie Horwood fishing off the end of Fairhaven Avenue.

Carrie also reported a diseased dunnock in her garden that appeared to show symptoms of avian pox.

Twenty-five swifts were flying over Steve Entwistle's garden in Empress Drive on Friday during the day but only four seen in the evening there.

Only birds of interest during a brief visit to the Strood seawall on a hot Friday morning were ten swifts over the houses, kestrel, 2 little egrets, reed bunting, 2 sedge warblers, 2 whitethroats and a reed warbler. On the seawall were 6 Painted Ladies and a Six spot Burnet Moth.

Two song thrushes and a Hummingbird Hawkmoth were in the Firs Chase garden on Friday.

Butterflies noted in Feldy View included 4 Painted Ladies, 40+ Meadow Browns, 3 Small Heaths, Common Blue, 2 Red Admiral, 40+ Essex/ Small Skippers, Large Whites, Small Whites, Holly Blues and a Hummingbird Hawkmoth.

Dragonfly activity in Feldy View on a very hot Thursday 23rd included five Southern Migrant Hawkers - an immature male here, also 50+ Ruddy Darters resting on the bushes.

A little owl was reported by Jack Hoy in Bromans Lane on Thursday evening. An oystercatcher has been seen a few times recently beside Bromans Lane, maybe with a nest in the nearby maize field.

 

A Marbled White was photographed on Wednesday 24th beside the paddocks between the Dabchicks sailing club and the Firs Caravan park. One was seen a week earlier in Feldy View.

A yellow wagtail flew south-west over Feldy View.

Michael Thorley photographed this Hummingbird Hawkmoth in his East Mersea garden on Wednesday, also Meadow Browns in his garden the day before.

Michael also reported the tawny owl calling near his garden on Monday evening at 11pm, while his neighbour Chris Green also added that he can hear the tawny owl most nights, often very loud and near, but usually from the trees near Meeting Lane.

Peter Marchington photographed this Forest Bug on his washing line at Shears Court on Wednesday.