CURLEWS ALONG CHANNEL

Several waders were making the most of the Strood mud late morning on Tuesday 20th before the incoming tide covered it all. This curlew was one of the waders along the Strood channel.

 

A few curlews were in the Strood channel and a handful were also feeding in the nearby field too, where 20 golden plover and forty lapwing were also. In the channel were ten shoveler, two great crested grebes, ten little grebes, also 20 knot, 40 black-tailed godwits and a bar-tailed godwit.

 

A linnet perched on a bush near the Strood seawall on Tuesday - thirty others perched on wires over the fields, while a very large flock of 300 was seen flying along the Feldy Marsh seawall on the Peldon side. A flock of 70+ fieldfares perched on bushes at the back of the Strood fields, some of them feeding on the ground too. Two marsh harriers and a buzzard were noted during the walk.

Mark Thomson reported 200 golden plover in the Strood fields on Tuesday.

In East Mersea a firecrest was seen by Martin Cock by the Fishponds Wood layby in Shop Lane on Tuesday. Also seen were a red squirrel in the woods here while 8 pintail and two marsh harriers were seen from the seawall.

Later on Tuesday two goldcrests, green woodpecker and 2 long-tailed tits were seen next to the Fishponds Wood layby by Steve Entwistle. 

On Monday 19th a common seal resting on a pontoon in the Pyefleet Channel peered over to Andy Field as he took this photograph of it from the nearby seawall near the Oyster Fishery.

Birds seen during the monthly wetland bird high tide count between Maydays and Cudmore Grove included at Maydays - 68 pintail, 60 knot, 40 avocets, 376 shelduck, 2 marsh harriers, 2 buzzards and 50 fieldfares.

Continuing the WeBS count on Monday past the Reeveshall pool we noted it has now filled up nicely with water now, here there were 7 Canada geese, 2 greylag geese and a hybrid goose, also a stonechat here. A great white egret flew from Reeveshall to Langenhoe and 1000 brent geese were feeding in a field north of the Mersea Barns area. In the Pyefleet 8 pintail, 13 red-breasted mergansers with most at the east end, 2 great crested grebes, 500 knot, 30 shoveler, 220 lapwing in the field, while a sparrowhawk and 3 marsh harriers were on Langenhoe.

At Cudmore Grove a Slavonian grebe was offshore to the south-west, a pochard and tufted duck were in the dyke with a new-ish pair of mute swans in the central ditch and 10 shoveler on the Golfhouse pools. In the grazing fields 100 brent geese, 250 wigeon and 10 curlew were feeding, while 10 sanderling, 2 bar-tailed godwits and 500 dunlin were seen at the Point.

Carrie Horwood and Charlie Williams carried out the count at the Strood on Monday with highlights being 2 marsh harriers, 3 kestrels, buzzard, 51 avocets, 107 shelduck, 20 cormorants, 6 shoveler, 300 redshank, 200 lapwing, 70 black-tailed godwits, 35 oystercatchers, 4 stonechats, grey heron, 3 little egrets, 40 linnets, 18 meadow pipits, 16 skylarks and 2 Cetti's warblers.

Birds noted by Carrie at the East Mersea boating lake area on Monday included marsh harrier, little owl heard calling, 22 knot, 140 redshank, 52 turnstones, 15 grey plover, 28 dunlin, 2 green woodpeckers, 6 fieldfares, 10 pied wagtails, 2 rock pipits and a goldcrest.

Martin Cock on Monday from the Esplanade saw a Slavonian grebe, great northern diver and 19 red-breasted mergansers. Charlie Williams reported two great northern divers off Seaview and two in the Mersea Quarters.

On Saturday 17th at the East Mersea boating lake, this mixed group of dunlin, turnstones, ringed plovers and a grey plover was roosting on a small island in the side-lake. Waders seen in the area during the high tide included 100 turnstone, 80 redshank, 80 curlew, 25 ringed plovers, 20 dunlin, 4 grey plover and 4 black-tailed godwits. 

Also on the Rewsalls side-lake were 16 shoveler -four of them pictured, while offshore were 36 great crested grebes and three red-throated divers on the sea. A sparrowhawk and a marsh harrier flew over the fields by the Youth Camp.

A flock of 30 mallard was on the pond near Decoy Point at Waldegraves on Saturday, also two Mediterranean gulls here. To the east of Waldegraves the male stonechat was still present, 14 meadow pipits were in the grassy field, while a grey heron, 20 curlew, 12 stock doves and a buzzard were on the west side. Thirty sanderling were along the water's edge on the beach. A song thrush was singing in Cross Lane.

A barn owl was seen early on Saturday morning by Shaun Bater as it flew over Dawes Lane near the new Mersea Homes development.

Three great northern divers were seen on Saturday by Mark Thomson off the beach at St Peters.

A flock of twenty goldfinches was feeding in Feldy View on Friday 16th. A female blackcap was seen beside the Firs Chase caravan park.

A turnstone was feeding as the tide came in along the Strood channel on Friday.

A flock of mainly dunlin was roosting on the saltmarsh in the Strood channel on Friday. Two Mediterranean gulls, 20 avocets and a shoveler were also noted.

Four hundred golden plover was noted during the walk along the Strood seawall on Friday, most of them seen roosting in one of the fields, as were fifty lapwing. Two marsh harriers were seen, two stonechats and ten skylarks and 20 linnets were in the fields. 

A blackbird with a white head was seen in the Firs Chase garden on Friday. This individual has not been seen in the garden before.

On Thursday 15th birds noted along the Strood included three marsh harriers, sparrowhawk, 150 knot, 500 dunlin, 20 avocets, with 30 skylarks, 30 linnets, 2 stonechats, 100 golden plover and 50 lapwing seen in the fields. On the Peldon side there was a flock of 700 brent geese in a field, while a large flock of 500 linnets was seen along the Feldy Marsh seawall.

A blackcap, 30 goldfinches and song thrush were by the caravan park.

The regular female blackcap was on the fat balls in the Firs Chase garden on Wednesday 14th. The ring-necked parakeet was heard squawking as it flew over nearby gardens.

Birds noted along the Strood seawall on a sunny Wednesday morning were a red kite on Ray Island, 270 golden plover, 30 knot, two shoveler, 80 linnets, stonechat, 15 skylarks, 15 goldfinches, while two song thrushes were singing in the Firs Chase caravan park and The Lane area.

Offshore from the Esplanade on Wednesday, Andy Field watched flocks of common scoter totalling 200 birds heading up the Blackwater, also three great northern divers and five red-breasted mergansers. Steve Entwistle also saw a Slavonian grebe, two great northern divers and two red-breasted mergansers offshore from the Esplanade.

Andy later visited the East Mersea Youth Camp on Wednesday and saw a little owl on the seaward side, two mistle thrushes, two redwing, two fieldfares and also the pair of stonechat in the grassy field to the west.

On Tuesday 13th in a brief walk in the drizzle along the front of the Firs Chase caravan park there were ten little grebes, three avocets, two ringed plovers, 100 dunlin, little egret, while in the fields were kestrel, stonechat pair, 80 linnets, 20 lapwings and five golden plover. Two song thrushes were singing near the Lane and caravan park and there was a goldcrest in the Firs Chase garden.