MAYDAYS YELLOWHAMMER

A male yellowhammer was seen with its female partner on a bush by the Maydays seawall on Saturday 10th. It was a morning for raptors with six species seen during the walk, with a merlin flying low over the fields carrying prey being the most notable. Others included four marsh harriers, four buzzards, red kite, sparrowhawk and three kestrels.

The tide was pushing waders out of the Pyefleet with 75 avocets, 30 dunlin, 3 knot and a bar-tailed godwit of interest. Also along the channel were ten Mediterranean gulls, six great crested grebes, 2 wigeon and 6 shelduck. Five stonechats and a rock pipit were also seen near the seawall.

Sheltering behind bushes from a north-westerly breeze at Maydays was this Willow Emerald damselfly. Also noted along here were Migrant Hawker and a couple of Common Darters.

Twelve red-legged partridges were in a field beside the East Mersea road at Barrow Hill on Saturday.

Offshore from the Victoria Esplanade on Saturday were a red-throated diver and a red kite watched flying west initially before turning inland to fly overhead on its way west. Also three swallows flew west along the coastline and six meadow pipits west too.

On Friday 9th Steve Entwistle saw a dark phase Arctic skua close into the Esplanade, also 3 red-throated divers, 6 Arctic terns, 2 shelduck, 5 brent geese and 2 curlew.

Birds noted along the Strood on Friday morning included 6 brent geese, 2 greylag geese, 3 wigeon, 20 teal, 16 golden plover, 50 black-tailed godwits, 70 dunlin and two Sandwich terns. In the fields were 25 linnets, while 20 goldfinches were by the Firs Caravan park.

Two juvenile gannets were seen flying offshore from West Mersea on Thursday 8th, photographed by Andy Field from the Esplanade.

Another picture by Andy Field of the two juvenile gannets flying offshore from the Esplanade on Thursday. They were seen flying west towards Old Hall and then turned back to head towards the mouth of the Colne.

Two velvet scoters were seen flying into the Blackwater with six common scoters by Martin Cock at the Esplanade. Also seen from the Esplanade were 6 Arctic terns, 10 Sandwich terns, skua sp, brent goose, 3 wigeon, swallow, 40 meadow pipits and 2 red-throated divers.

Several swallows were reported by Clive Pickering flying past his house near the bottom of Kingsland Road on Thursday morning.

A poorly common tern was seen on the beach by the East Mersea Youth Camp on Thursday. It allowed a reasonable close approach, although stumbled on the beach when trying to walk away as if it had bird flu.

The common tern was eventually able to fly away and headed off west along the coastline. Offshore were six red-throated divers and 5 great crested grebes, while on the shingle island off Waldegraves were ten Sandwich terns, 30 sanderling and 40 oystercatchers.

Thirty Mediterranean gulls were feeding on the golf driving range with other gulls and a pair of little owls struck up a duet for a short while near the driving range. A swallow flying west was also seen a short while later by Martin Cock at the Esplanade.

A flock of long-tailed tits was in a hedge by the boating lake on Thursday, also three chiffchaffs heard in various places. Also 35 golden plover, 60 ringed plovers and 35 linnets in fields.

A Clouded Yellow butterfly was seen near the Youth Camp.

Ninety black-tailed godwits were in the Strood channel on Wednesday 7th with most being near the Dabchicks Sailing Club. On a wet morning a short walk to the Strood seawall produced a corn bunting overhead, stonechat, marsh harrier, buzzard, 100 turnstones, also sparrowhawk, chiffchaff and two song thrushes by Feldy View.

A pair of Egyptian geese flew up the Strood channel and headed over to the Ray Channel on Wednesday.

Andy Field saw a red-throated diver fly into the Blackwater and a Sandwich tern on a buoy, from the Esplanade on Wednesday.

On Tuesday 6th there was no sign of the Dartford warbler along the Strood seawall seen the previous day, although the pair of stonechat was still in the area perching on various bushes along the borrowdyke. Overhead a red kite circled round while peering down below.

 

After several circles over the nearby Strood field, the red kite swooped down and seemed to pick up a bird corpse which looked like a pigeon. It then landed in the field and began plucking it.

Two other red kites were seen that morning, also ten buzzards with five together over the Glebe, also marsh harrier.

Along the Strood channel on Tuesday was this redshank, also greenshank, 100 black-tailed godwits, bar-tailed godwit, 60 golden plovers, ten ringed plovers, 30 dunlin, 20 teal and 20 Mediterranean gulls.

Two pairs of stonechat were at either end of the Strood seawall with a female in the middle section, on Tuesday. Also 15 corn buntings, 20 skylarks, 50 linnets, 6 reed buntings, 2 Cetti's warblers, song thrush  and five chiffchaffs at various locations including Feldy View.

Six Clouded Yellows were seen along the Strood seawall and fields.

A red squirrel was reported by Heather Howard in her garden in St Peter's Road.

A Scarce Bordered Straw was found in the Firs Chase garden moth trap on the 6th.

Autumnal Rustic

Blair's Shoulder Knot.