A colourful male
brambling was an unexpected visitor to the bird feeder in the Firs Chase garden on Monday 2nd.
This
brambling is showing an extensive orange chest which is unmistakeable compared to the pale pink of what a male
chaffinch would show. The bird made a few appearances at the feeder for only a few minutes and was photographed from the kitchen window - I had to interrupt the washing-up to fetch the camera! It wasn't seen again that day. It's been six years since one was last seen in the garden here.
Along the Strood channel on Monday was this group of
wigeon, shelduck, brent geese and one
avocet. Estimates of birds were 100
wigeon, 100
teal, 100
black-tailed godwits, 74
shelduck, 50
brent geese, 30
dunlin, 2
knot and 20
little grebes. In the fields were 5
stonechats, 4
corn buntings, 30
linnets, 10
skylarks, 3
buzzards noted and a
rock pipit on the saltings.
Orange Birch Bolete see in Feldy View.
A
black redstart was feeding between the Esplanade beach huts on Sunday 1st. It was seen flying up to this nearby hawthorn tree. It might be the same bird seen nine days earlier about 100m to the west.
Offshore from the Esplanade were 20 great crested grebes, 2 red-throated divers and three Mediterranean gulls.
A peregrine flew east over the fields near East Mersea church on Sunday.
Steve Entwistle photographed this
Sandwich tern on a buoy off Kingsland Beach on Sunday, also 290
brent geese and two
red-breasted mergansers near Cobmarsh Island.
Steve later saw eleven red-legged partridges in the field by Chapmans Lane.
This distant
red-throated diver was photographed by Peter Marchington from Shears Court on Sunday.
A
long-eared owl was photographed by Christopher Perera as he walked his dog in Cross Lane on Saturday 31st. It was not seen subsequently.
The sun set on Halloween behind the flying witch on the broom-stick by the Hard!
A tatty
Small Copper butterfly was soaking up the autumn sun on Friday 30th along the Strood seawall. Nearer the houses by the Dabchicks were two
Holly Blues.
A pair of bearded tits was heard calling and seen as they flew low over the tops of the reedbed along the Strood dyke on Friday. They dropped quickly into the reeds and weren't seen again. A merlin flew fast over the Strood channel heading north to Peldon. A red kite, four buzzards and two kestrels also noted during the walk. Small birds included 6 stonechats, 25 linnets, 10 reed buntings and two Cetti's warblers, while 14 stock doves fed in a field.
Along the Strood channel on Friday were 70 shelduck, 120 wigeon, 200 teal, 100 golden plovers, 90 black-tailed godwits, 5 avocets and 6 knot.
At East Mersea Andy Field walked the Cudmore Grove circuit on Friday and reported 2 stonechats, 2 rock pipits, 10 meadow pipits, 10 bar-tailed godwits, 400 dunlin, knot, 30 grey plover and 7 avocets.
Later, Andy visited the Strood to look for the bearded tits but without any luck, only reporting 2 stonechats and 70 black-tailed godwits of note there.
Carrie Horwood saw a merlin hunting meadow pipits near Stone Point on Friday, also stonechat and a redwing. There were good numbers of ringed plover, shelduck, redshank, 2 greenshank, teal, wigeon, 58 brent geese, 45 curlew, turnstone and also a water rail heard near the Oyster Fishery. Two Clouded Yellows also seen along the seawall.
Birds noted during a sunny walk along the Strood seawall on Thursday 29th included 2
red kites, 2
buzzards, 2
kestrels, 4
stonechats, 84
shelduck, 50
brent geese,100
wigeon, 100
teal, 100
golden plover, 100
black-tailed godwits, 15
little grebes and 6
avocets.
Four Clouded Yellows and a Small White were along the seawall too.
Jack Hoy watched a peregrine at Maydays causing mayhem with the other birds on Thursday - also lots of mullet in the creeks.
Martin Cock saw a red kite, marsh harrier and a yellowhammer on Thursday afternoon at Maydays farm.
A
Feathered Thorn was in the Firs Chase garden moth trap on the 28th.
