BREEZY EVENING STROLL

Went for a Friday evening walk on the 31st August along the Reeveshall seawall. The area not quite as desterted as usual as I had sort of company in the form of this tractor cutting the long grass down. Since other sections of the field have been cut down, various waders have taken to probing for food amongst the short grass, making them easier to see.

This evening 60 black-tailed godwits were seen on the field with a few curlews. Amongst the sheep 7 yellow wagtails headed off to their eveing roost as did another group of 9 from the cattle. As the light faded a female marsh harrier crossed swiftly over the Reeveshall field, heading over the Pyefleet to the roost at Langenhoe Point. At least five marsh harriers were seen over Langenhoe including two youngsters playfully talon-grappling with each other in the air.

On the Reeveshall pool five green sandpipers were very noisy this evening while 25 lapwing roosted in a group on the muddy margins. An avocet, three black-tailed godwit and a greenshank were the only other waders noted. A female tufted duck dived a few times and 7 shoveler passed overhead with 3 teal.

Amongst the many hundreds of waders along the eastern half of the Pyefleet, there was little of unexpected interest with good numbers of redshank, grey plover, curlew and black-tailed godwit. Surprisingly there was only one dunlin and one knot seen but none of the other familiar summer passage waders. Two great crested grebes were seen in the Channel.

Heading back along the seawall I stopped by the small patch of reeds and strained my ears as I thought I heard the brief "ping" of a bearded tit. I waited but it didn't call again - until I did a crude imitation of the "ping" call. I did it from three different positions and each time I had a reply from the bird but it refused to show. This is presumably the same bird that was first seen here a fortnight ago.

In the country park the notable birds were a passing group of about 150 swallows and martins, feeding over the park and neighbouring fields. Two willow warblers called from near the car park as did chiffchaff, whitethroats and lesser whitethroats.

Twenty-two species of moth totalling about 75 individuals found in the trap on Friday morning included frosted orange, bloodvein, small square-spot rustic, latticed heath and orange swift.

Heard from Hugh Owen tonight who lives just a couple of miles north of the Island that he was lucky enough to see the rare and spectacular Camberwell Beauty in his garden a few days ago. It seems there has been a small influx recently from the continent with a few being seen in Essex.

SHELTERED HOTSPOT

The moth trap was run on the nights of both Tuesday 28th and Wednesday 29th. The cool wind is blowing from the north-west and combined with a clear sky and full moon, the trapping has been below average with Tuesday the better evening.

The moth above is the canary-shouldered thorn with its distinctive posture of holding the wings upright. This individual didn't quite have the pale lemon head of some specimens.

The most interesting moth in the trap was this peacock-type moth. Separating the more widespread peacock from the scarcer Essex cousin the sharp-angled peacock isn't easy. This moth above is showing features of both but the darkness of the paw-print marks on the forewing probably indicate this is the peacock.

The copper underwing pictured below is a common moth with one or two individuals turning up in the trap over the last two or three weeks. It was very reluctant to show off its orangey / copper hindwings except when it took to the wing and it flew off into a bush.

The main bird interest at the park seemed to be centred round the bushes and hedgerows near the park entrance. As I walked past the area at 8am to open the country park, I could see and hear a lot of small bird activity. The highlight being 3 spotted flycatchers perched up clearly in bushes and on top of dead branches. This could've been a family on its way south and strange to think that the same bushes hosted a spotted flycatcher only four days earlier.

This field corner was sheltered from the cool breeze and there were all sorts of warblers, finches and other birds all feeding on berries or insects in the area. Even the local sparrowhawk was tempted to check out the area with a couple of fly-pasts. A few more warblers seemed to be evident with 2 willow warblers, 3 chiffchaffs, 5 whitethroats, 5 lesser whitethroats and blackcap all noted with some loosely associated with a tit flock. There were a handful each of greenfinches, chaffinches and goldfinches calling out and flying around. The great spotted woodpecker looked down from a tall tree calling loudly, while later in the day the male yellowhammer sat up in a bush here.

Martin Cock reported seeing two clouded yellow butterflies at Reeveshall on Tuesday. No real butterflies of note at the park in recent days because of the cool weather. Small white and green veined white and speckled woods have been the only ones noted.

WALK TO THE POINT

By the time I went for a stroll to the East Mersea Point in the early evening of Tuesday 28th, the clouds had turned very grey and the breeze was blowing from the east. The big grey clouds north of the river Colne looked threatening but stayed away from Mersea. It was low tide so there was plenty of mud on show but many of the waders seen were tiny specks in the distance.

Any bird that was big and white like a little egret were easily seen with seven noted. Up to 40 avocets fed together in a tight group along the outer edge of the mudflats with a further 12 on the east side of the Colne near Brightlingsea. Also dotted along the distant edge were about 100 black-tailed godwits, although there were other small groups scattered across most of the different mudflats.

Around the Point were 5 meadow pipits feeding in the saltmarsh while nearby among the shrubby sea-blite bushes was a flock of 25 linnets which flew around briefly before settling back down to continue feeding.

One of the saltmarsh pools near the park showing the big grey cloud just missing Mersea.

Walking back along the seawall the loud squealing of a rabbit in distress could be heard. I scanned one of the grazing fields and saw a red fox with a rabbit in its mouth. It soon picked it up and then sprinted across the field past some bemused cows and calves towards a nearby hedgerow. Scanning the other field a second red fox was seen surveying the surroundings and probably weighing up his foraging options for the night ahead.

A grey heron flapped menacingly and ponderously over the fields with huge wing-beats. The local carrion crows took great offence with the heron trying to perch in their favourite look-out tree. They cawed loudly and mobbed it repeatedly so that it was forced to fly away and past the pond. A snipe was seen dropping down into the fields.

Near the pond a young cuckoo was unexpectedly seen perched on top of a fence post. It provided good views of its finely barred chest, the brown wings and back as well as the white spot on the back of the head. This is probably a migrant from further north, stopping off for a brief feed on the local caterpillars.
Two blackcaps also seen here were the first at the park for nearly a month. A pair of yellowhammers perched briefly by the pond before flying strongly away.

On the pond a water vole was seen swimming from one clump of reeds into the cover of a willow bush. The sight of three teal is a sign that autumn is not far away.

A sparrowhawk was seen by the beach at dusk chasing after a sand martin by the cliff but without any luck. Over the nearby fields about 100 swallows, sand martins and house martins spent time feeding low over the grass.

Earlier in the day a passage grey wagtail flew east over the park calling as it went. Also a group of 200 golden plover passed swiftly over the car park with their rapid wing-beats sounding like a strong gust of wind blowing through the trees.

One of the exotic plants that has been growing happily on the sand at East Mersea Point for several years is this garden escape variety of Clematis tangautica. One of the yellow flowers is giving this motionless bumble bee some shelter as dusk approached.

CLOUDED YELLOW

For a change this was an August bank holiday with lots of sunshine. For a change too, there were actually people out walking and enjoying the north side of the Island. However an hour's walk on the seawall between the Oyster Fishery and the Reeveshall pool was hard work finding birds as the tide was high.

The sunshine did bring out the buttterflies and the picture above shows one of several painted ladies feeding on the golden samphire growing just above the waterline. Elsewhere meadow browns and small heaths were seen amongst the grassy seawall.

I caught sight of this small brown butterfly pictured below, flying low amongst the grass which I eventually managed to get close enough to photograph. It is a very worn butterfly but I believe it showed enough features to be the brown argus, as opposed to the very similar female common blue butterfly. The small size, the line of orange spots along the hindwing appear quite bold, the lack of blue-ish from the base of the wings, whilst underneath I managed to see the very worn but distinctive pattern of spots, all characteristic of the brown argus.

Brown argus butterflies were first identified on Mersea about ten years ago on the Reeveshall seawall. There followed an expansion of the population for a few years as mirrored on the mainland. However the butterfly on Mersea in recent years appears to be just clinging on and it has often been hard to locate any individuals anywhere.

One very distinctive butterfly that flashed past that needed no second close inspection was an eyecatching clouded yellow. This is bright yellow with a black margin to the upperwings but with its quick and erratic flight, a close view proved elusive. This scarce migrant butterfly from the continent is often seen each summer on Mersea with one or two individuals seen near the seawalls.

I could only follow this butterfly through the binoculars as it flew further away from me. It eventually settled after 50 metres but before I could get closer than 5 metres, it was up again and fluttered away over the nearby field. The yellow of this butterfly seems to mirror the bright sunshine that always seem to accompany it on a late summer's day when it flashes past.

On the Reeveshall pool, there was little ringed plover, green sandpiper, 10 lapwing, 8 teal, 2 snipe and one black-tailed godwit. A whinchat perched in a nearby bush whilst a common sandpiper called loudly as it flew along the seawall and a yellow wagtail also called
Two grey partridge were having a dust-bath alongside Bromans Lane earlier in the morning.

SPOTTED A FLYCATCHER

Summer returned just in time for the bank holiday weekend with Saturday 25th being the first hot day for two or three weeks here on Mersea. A combination of increasing numbers of visitors and the increasing heat, produced only a few things of interest during a late morning walk along the north side of the country park.

A female yellowhammer which had been calling quietly from bushes on the side of the car park, climbed higher up the bush and into view. Although there has been a male in the park up until a fortnight ago, there hadn't been any sign of a female this summer here to keep him company - until now.

Around some of the big bushes and hedgerows there seemed to be a bit more small bird activity than usual. Near the entrance to the park a spotted flycatcher which perched up on a bare branch caught the eye. This passage migrant has become harder to find each year on the Island as numbers in the south-east of England have declined sharply.

This bird flew out from its perch to catch a fly, then flew straight back to the same bare branch to continue watching. It then flew off to another hedgerow and was later seen from the hide sitting at the top of a big hawthorn bush. Hopefully this won't be the only flycatcher to admire during this autumn passage on the Island.

Up to ten common whitethroats and five lesser whitethroats were busy feeding in the hedgerows of the park, many presumably migrants from further north. A group of ten long-tailed tits were foraging along the bushes with great tits, blue tits and one or two chiffchaffs.

At the park pond a snipe circled over the pond before swooping down onto a little muddy island. This is an early record of snipe for the pond as they're not usually expected here until late autumn.

One group of visitors to the park were spending some time enjoying close views of an adder tucked into the sunny bottom of a hedge.

REEDBED ROOST

It was still cloudy for most of Friday 24th but the wind dropped, making it more pleasant. An hour on the Reeveshall seawall around mid-day proved worthwhile as always. No sign of anybody else wanting to enjoy the peace and quiet of the north side of the Island. Not that's a complaint about the lack of people here!

On the migrant front 4 whinchats were seen, three perched up in the top of a bush to survey the surroundings together. The bulk of the whinchats pass through Mersea from mid-August to mid-September and in the prievous years there has been the occasional double figure count in some parts of the Island.
Two wheatears also flitted along the seawall ahead of me flashing their white base to the uppertails.

On the pool the cattle were plodding around the margin so there weren't as many birds to be seen. One avocet, green sandpiper and five teal were the only birds to be seen here.
A small flock of a dozen stock doves were seen feeding on a grass field which makes a change from seeing flocks of the commoner wood pigeons.

The only harrier seen was a male marsh harrier sitting on the seawall on Langenhoe. There may have been another bird of prey flying around the edge of the river Colne as something was disturbing the large wader flocks feeding. Up to 100 avocets rose into the air along with a similar number of black-tailed godwits, flying round a few times before settling back down again.

On the pool three small red-eyed damselflies were seen resting on the pondweed, the first time they have been noted on this pool. Also emperor dragonfly and common darter seen here too.

Just when the sun found its way through the clouds for the first time in almost a week, it was a bit too close to sunset to enjoy any warmth or blue skies. The setting sun across the mud near the Dabchicks Sailing Club made for a pleasant end to the day.
The tall lanky silhouette of a grey heron stalked the water's edge as the tide slowly crept in.

No mud was visible along the Strood Channel with the high tide close-by. However three greenshanks noisily called out from the Ray Island for several minutes before taking to the air.
In the distance to the west, above Copt Hall and Old Hall Marshes, the loud honking calls of skeins of greylag geese could be heard as they headed off to their night-time roost.

The most interesting group of birds were the roosting corn buntings and pied wagtails. The long section of reedbed in the dyke by the seawall was attracting lots of pied wagtails, many arriving in small groups overhead to join the roost. Others had a last feed on the edge of the mud and saltmarsh before heading into the reedbed. It was difficult to estimate numbers but at least fifty were present.

Whilst watching the wagtails settle in, around 50 corn buntings flew out of the reeds before dropping back into the reedbed further along. As corn buntings decline across the country it is nice to see flocks of them still present on Mersea. I recall seeing similar flocks in late summer here in previous years, many of the birds feeding on the seeds from the various seawall plants.
At least four reed warblers were also seen in the reeds, some of them rising up to catch flies in the air.

I discovered later that I had missed the opportunity to see a pied flycatcher in the garden of Martin Cock at Broomhills Road. This irregular passage bird is occasionally seen in the autumn here and this one was already continuing its long journey to Africa by the next morning.

DANCING FOXES

No sign of the much talked about global warming here on Mersea Island over the last few days. Another grey morning on Thursday 23rd with a cold northerly wind and fine drizzle threatening at times during the day.
A brief glimpse in the morning at the receding tide revealed a good variety of waders on the mud in front of Cudmore Grove. About 10 sanderling was the most interesting group as this is the first group back onto Mersea this autumn. Most were scurrying around pecking frantically at the mud, in the company of 70+ turnstones and 50 ringed plovers. One knot looked a little bit lost as it stood by itself on the water's edge, showing off its cinnamon belly.

The lack of walkers on the beach meant the waders could feed quite close to the beach. Up to 50 redshank were dotted along the mud with more reinforcements arriving all the time. Not many curlews or oystercatchers in the first 50 metres of uncovered mud but they wouldn't have been long in arriving.
A dozen common gulls were noted later by the beach in the company of black-headed gulls and a common tern.

More dull weather restricted numbers of birds noted although several passage chiffchaffs were heard around the park. House martins, swallows and sand martins hawked together along a path swooping after their insects along the side of trees sheltered from the wind. It was more sheltered on the beach too and here the sand martins could be seen feeding some hungry faces in the holes in the sandy cliff.

At the park pond a gadwall has returned after a summer away as has a teal. Yesterday three little egrets roosted at high tide in the shelter of the copse overlooking the pond.

The attempt at mothing last night on Wednesday was cut short by a downpour of rain. A public demonstration to several families of night-time wildlife at the country park was prematurely abandoned just as the moths were beginning to arrive. Only about ten moths were noted.
One of the very regular visitors to the trap in recent weeks has been the flame shoulder pictured above, with its pale flash along the edge of the dark-reddish wings.


The large yellow underwing is a very common large moth which looks like a very dull brownish uninteresting creature. It is only when it is disturbed or seen in flight that the bright orange hindwings add a splash of colour and make it stand out from the many other brown moths.

The night-time walk on the Wednesday evening rewarded some members of the group with views of up to five badgers at the park as well as a red fox. However the badgers decided not to come out until the light was almost gone, so our views were rather poor as dusk fell.
On Thursday evening one badger was seen as night fell, the animal emerging from one entrance and then disappearing down into another part of the sett. In the gazing fields two well grown fox cubs were out playing and foraging together in the middle of the field well before darkness fell. At one point the playing developed into a stand-up face-to-face bickering, although as they held each other with their outstretched paws, it looked like they were about to do the tango with each other! Or was this an attempt at doing the "fox-trot!"