PLENTY ALONG PYEFLEET

The weather may have been dull along the Pyefleet Channel on Friday 30th but the variety of birds seen, certainly made the visit worthwhile. Only 200m section of seawall was walked but the Pyefleet didn't disappoint with plenty of bird activity in all directions.

A check of the tide-times suggested that the early afternoon visit would see the incoming tide, bringing waders closer to the shore. The incoming tide also brought one or two interesting birds swimming into the Pyefleet. The least expected was a red-throated diver which after one or two dives, flew further into the Channel. There was the added bonus of being able to see a marsh harrier in the background over Langenhoe, in the same field of view.

There was lots of marsh harrier activity with five birds seen mainly over Langenhoe, including one nicely marked male which at one point crossed high over the river Colne, sending flocks of waders beneath it into panic. I watched one female harrier fly low over the saltmarsh towards me before suddenly banking sharply away when she probably decided she had flown too close to me on top of the seawall.

Most of the dozen red-breasted mergansers seen, drifted in with the tide and one group of males were seen displaying very energetically to each other whilst bemused females looked on. A dark brown diving duck seen in the distance, was probably a female common scoter - one had been seen here yesterday.
Lots of the usual wildfowl seen included 200 wigeon, 100 teal and about 50 shelduck. For once brent geese were conspicuous by their absence with only two seen briefly in flight.

The timing for wader watching was perfect with thinly scattered groups across the mud, coming together into large concentrated flocks on the nearside of the Channel. Black-tailed godwits, pictured above, caught the eye with at least 100 feeding close in. Closer inspection revealed at least three paler-looking bar-tailed godwits alongside and a couple of avocets too.

The biggest concentrations were 500 knot and 1500 dunlin that congregated on the mud to have one last feed as the tide swept in beside them. Other waders gathered here were 70 grey plover, 100 redshank and a small group of turnstone. On Langenhoe Point there was a sizeable group of about 500 lapwing, which were forced onto the nearby saltings when the tide came in.
A green sandpiper was heard calling from the Reeveshall pool direction.

Small birds of note included a grey wagtail that crossed the Pyefleet, passing overhead as it flew westwards, a pair of stonechats and a yellowhammer. A flock of 12 finches flying along the saltmarsh were probably linnets but I did wonder if I heard one call like a twite. In a nearby hedgerow there were 10 fieldfares perched high on some bushes.

Beside the Shop Lane wood four siskin flew overhead calling and following some poorly imitated calling back to them, I was treated to close views when they landed in a tree above my head. At least three goldcrests were also heard calling from the wood and a green woodpecker was seen too. A couple of fields away a duet from two little owls yelping to each other, sparked a third bird to answer back from nearby hedgerows.

Richard Allen visited this section of the Pyefleet yesterday and noted 4 marsh harriers, peregrine, common scoter, 12 pintail and a green sandpiper. Later from the West Mersea Hard, 3 shags, red-throated diver, 20 great crested grebes and two merlins were seen by him too.

HAVING A HOOT

One of the regular sights around Mersea these days is the little egret and on Sunday 25th, this one seemed more obliging than most while it was stalking a saltmarsh pool near East Mersea Point. A short while later two others flew past me calling out to each other as if they were clearing their throats!

The kingfisher was seen flying fast and low along the dyke beside the grazing fields. I tracked it down ten minutes later to its favourite perch in a bush over the water near the Golfhouse. Even perched 70m or so away, the bright blue-back was unmistakable.

The tide appeared to be getting higher at a quicker rate than usual and it would appear the Island was probably cut off for probably two and a half hours. The waders in the Colne were already having to switch roost sites well before the actual peak of the high tide. Small groups of black-tailed godwits, redshank, grey plover and dunlin were gathered on the saltmarsh next to the Point.

The incoming tide brought a snoozing female common scoter close to the park shore. It then raised its pale brown face to look around and then took off, heading rapidly into the Colne.

Twenty restless fieldfares flew around various tree tops near Bromans Lane calling loudly. A group of ten blackbirds continued to feed along one of the thick hedgerows. In the grazing fields there were the usual 30 goldfinches flying around as well as a stonechat and two rock pipits near the seawall.

Good selection of divers, sea-ducks and grebes were seen again off West Mersea. Graham Ekins noted great northern diver, 4 common scoter, 3 red throated diver, shag, 14 red-breasted mergansers, 2 Slavonian grebes, 300 golden plover, 50 knot, as well as a hen harrier flying near the Strood. Andy Field managed to see the 2 long-tailed ducks flying from near Cobmarsh Island up to the Dabchicks area. He also reported that 2 little auks were seen by the Hard on Friday 23rd.

Howard Vaughan dragged himself away from the south of Essex on Monday 26th and reported that his trip onto Mersea was worthwhile. He missed the long-tailed ducks although they had been seen up until mid-day by others but did see a Slavonian grebe by the Hard. From the Esplanade there was the great northern diver, 2 red throated divers, 3 Slavonian grebes, 13 common scoters, 18 great crested grebes and an adult Mediterranean gull.
At Cudmore Grove he saw a little auk flying rapidly towards the river Colne and 2 Slavonian grebes and a red-breasted merganser.

I was treated to a wonderful duet from two rival male tawny owls in the Cudmore Grove car park on Monday evening. Having just emerged from the house at about 8pm, I stopped to listen to a close owl calling loudly. Unusually for the park a second male answered and I quickly noticed it had landed on a nearby telegraph post by my back garden, calling out loudly to the other male - probably perched 30 metres away.

The bright moonlight meant I could see the outline of the nearest owl, perching only 20 metres away from me! The two owls were answering each other's calls loud and fast for about five minutes and seemed to build up to a sort of crescendo. However once the calls became combined, they soon stopped and one male backed off to Bromans Lane.
I felt that I should've been able to tell who had been the best hooter!

MERSEA TSUNAMI

A BBC's Timewatch crew visited the country park's grazing fields on a bitterly cold Saturday 24th to look for evidence of the tidal wave that followed the well documented Colchester earthquake of 1884. Professor Simon Haslett is being asked by TV and radio presenter Vanessa Collingridge if the layer of sand and shingle discovered nearly a metre under the fields, could've been deposited there by the tsunami. Confirmation should come later after the soil samples have been analysed in the lab with the results shown on the television programme, sometime next spring.

Whilst I hovered around in the background in the fields, one or two birds of interest were noted during the morning period, despite the Arctic wind. First to show was a pair of stonechats calling anxiously on the seawall as we walked past. Several small flocks of brent geese were seen flying around the coast looking for the main flock of geese. The regular group of 100 wigeon were gathered both in the fields and in the dyke.
Three flying cygnets distracted the film-crew as they swooped low over our heads before settling on to the nearby dyke. Several little egrets flapped by as they moved off the mudflats for the high tide.

The anxious calls of some carrion crows alerted me to a male sparrowhawk flying over the fields. It disturbed 40 curlew from one field along with wood pigeons and some starlings. A short while later some curlew and ten black-tailed godwits took to the air and circled around the fields. One of the regular kestrels was hovering in the cold wind above the fields, hoping to catch a snack.

The regular group of about thirty goldfinches flew around the fields as they checked out the thistles. Three skylarks and one or two meadow pipits were also noted during the morning. The strangely unseasonal sound of a great spotted woodpecker drumming was heard and then later, two green woodpeckers were seen flying onto a tree alongside the fields.

Several thrushes made their presence noted today. Early in the morning a song thrush was again in song along Bromans Lane which appears to have inspired the mistle thrush to start singing today too. Amongst a group of about ten blackbirds were five redwing that soon flew away and one noisy fieldfare that perched up high calling.

On the park pond the first water rail of the winter here was heard calling from the reedmace but was too shy to show. Usual variety of ducks on the pond with up to fifty noted of mallard, wigeon, teal, gadwall and shoveler

Graham Ekins had a very productive visit to West Mersea with views of a short-eared owl hunting saltmarsh to the near the Strood Channel, male hen harrier also along here, two marsh harriers over Old Hall Marshes, female long-tailed duck different from the two birds seen last week and 2 snow buntings seen opposite the Victory pub. He also saw offshore 3 common scoter, eider, guillemot, 14 red-breasted mergansers, 23 great crested grebes, 2 slavonian grebes, 2 shags and a great northern diver. An excellent variety of birds for West Mersea.

TO THE POINT

Walked to East Mersea Point with Nick Green on Thursday 22nd. The timing was perfect for enjoying the spectacle of flocks of waders arriving onto the newly uncovered mud. It made the walk worthwhile seeing this good variety of waders on display and all quite close to the beach to admire.

A group of 150 knot caught the eye whilst both bar-tailed and black-tailed godwits probed the mud side by side. The usual grey plover, redshank, oystercatcher, dunlin, curlew, ringed plover and turnstone were all in evidence in varying numbers. Passing continuously overhead were many flocks of golden plover probably totalling about 500 birds, heading up into the estuary from their high tide roost at Colne Point.

A group of 50 shelduck were seen on the water close inshore while wigeon and brent geese were also present around the coast in small numbers. Flying rapidly out of the river were three red-breasted mergansers with a further two seen still inside the Colne.

There was no sign of any snow buntings along the beach and the only small birds seen along here were three skylarks. One flock of about 25 goldfinches flew around the grazing fields, dropping down to feed on the thistles and a similar number were also seen flying west over the park.

A brief stop by the park pond revealed a nice variety of at least 50 ducks including wigeon, teal, mallard, shoveler, gadwall and 3 tufted ducks. In recent days a pair of mute swans have taken up residence back on the pond after an absence of about four months, since the parents deserted the area with their young cygnets in search of more food.

As there was no wind or rain, the moth trap was put out at the park and the grand total of seven moths were recorded with 4 feathered thorns and 3 December moths.

Just north of the Island Hugh Owen had some more good counts of the short-eared owls on the Langenhoehall Marshes. On Tuesday 20th there were 5 seen in mid-afternoon while the following afternoon he was able to enjoy the sight of 7 owls in the air together with an eighth bird sitting on a post.

There must be plenty of voles in these old grazing marshes as a barn owl, two marsh harriers and two kestrels were also seen in the area.

NOLLY'S FOLLY

Walked along the highly praised "Nolly's Folly" across West Mersea's St Peters Meadow on Monday 19th. Instead of squelching through saltmarsh puddles and getting boot-loads of mud, a raised recycled plastic board-walk now ensures walkers can enjoy their visit to the area more. This essential walk-way should help to restore the saltmarsh (Site of Special Scientific Interest) which has been badly eroded in recent years by many pairs of feet.

The rock pipits seemed to appreciate it, as at least four were seen perching on it before dropping onto the nearby marsh to feed. The now familiar sight here of a little egret was seen stalking the little creeks and pools, as was a curlew.

However the rapid and fast flight of a female pheasant heading from the marsh to a neighbouring garden was an unusual sight. There was also a female stonechat perching on the sea-blite bushes, which was a bonus too, as they rarely get to this corner of the Island.


The tide was well out and all sorts of waders, gulls and brent geese could be seen along the mud of the Mersea Quarters. There wasn't much bird activity amongst the boat moorings except for a cormorant and dabchick, although at the entrance to one of the creeks, three common scoters dived for food as did a pair of great crested grebes.

There was the usual selection of waders using the mud between the Hard and St Peters with redshank, curlew, oystercatcher, grey plover, ringed plover, dunlin and turnstone all widespread and easy to see.

Around 200 brent geese were seen in several groups on the mud or in the water with one large flock of a hundred, gathered beside the freshwater stream near St Peters. This is always a popular spot for them where they can have a drink and a bathe.

MORE WILDFOWL

There were good numbers of waders and wildfowl seen along the Strood Channel on Saturday 19th. The brent geese numbers have been building up and there are now 500 feeding on the winter wheat fields, in the back ground of the photo above. Other than a short flight into another wheat field, the geese stayed a long way off as they grazed the far side of the fields.

Scattered along the length of the mud in the Channel were lots of resting wildfowl with up to 500 wigeon and teal and 120 shelduck. It seems like there may have been a recent influx of shelduck since my last visit a fortnight ago, maybe as more birds return from the moulting grounds off the German coast.

Two goldeneye ducks seen amongst the boat moorings were the first for the winter here while the dabchick count of 24 is a good number.

There was the usual good variety of waders to admire with 13 species logged along the Channel. The ones to catch the eye were one greenshank, five bar-tailed godwits, only five black-tailed godwits but a group of about fifty knot.

It seemed surprising to see some frost still on the ground by late morning even under the grey skies. The area of bushes along from the Dabchicks was the only place where any groups of small birds were seen. Amongst the 20 blackbirds feeding around the old apple trees were a couple of song thrushes and one fieldfare that perched on top of the bushes making its loud "chacking" calls.

Twenty linnets, ten goldfinches, ten greenfinches were also noted in the area as was a reed bunting, while along the seawall three rock pipits were noted. Martin Cock noted 3 stonechats during his walk along the seawall as well as a spotted redshank.

Graham Ekins saw 2 long-tailed ducks, 4 common scoter, great northern diver, 2 slavonian grebes and 37 great crested grebes on his visit to the Esplanade and Hard areas. Andy Field was able to add 2 velvet scoter flying into the Blackwater and also 8 red-breasted mergansers to the day's list.

On Friday Hugh Owen saw three possibly four, short-eared owls in the Langenhoehall Marshes, just north of Mersea Island.

FIRST FROSTS

The first frosts of the autumn were encountered yesterday morning and today - Friday 16th. The clear skies during the night continued through the day with a bright sun to take the chill off the air. At the park pond at Cudmore Grove, a group of 7 little egrets were easy to spot as they perched up in the willow tree waiting for the tide to turn.

On the pond some of the 25 mallard and 25 teal seemed very anxious about something near the edge. A closer scan revealed a fox curled up basking in the mid-day sun, very close to the water's edge. Also on the pond were several gadwall, shoveler and a couple of tufted ducks.

Beside the car park a mixed flock of tits worked their way through the bushes and trees. Amongst the long-tailed tits, great and blue tits were a couple of goldcrests calling out to each other with their high pitched calls.

Many trees have already dropped their leaves although some like the oak trees still have many leaves showing the full range of autumnal colours. Lots of yellows, browns, greens and many colour shades in between, can often be seen just in a single leaf, as above.

Rowan berries can still be seen on some of the trees round the park which seems unusual for mid- November considering how tasty the berries are for the birds. They have stripped most other rowan trees but this small tree has so far escaped the attentions of the local mistle thrushes, chaffinches, blackbirds and starlings.

Along the East Mersea road, the male sparrowhawk perched high in a poplar tree as I passed beneath it. In the large winter wheat fields, lots of lapwings and golden plovers were seen in small flocks with the main group of 700 birds feeding beside Chapmans Lane.

The main birds of note seen in recent days has been 2 long-tailed ducks first seen by Martin Cock at West Mersea Hard on Tuesday along with 15 red-breasted mergansers and 20 great crested grebes. Martin noted the long-tailed ducks again on Thursday and also three common scoters in the Hard. Bruce Brown also saw the long-tails near the Dabchicks on Wednesday along with an eider, while at the Esplanade there was a Mediterranean gull. Michael Thorley saw the first great northern diver for the winter off the Esplanade on Wednesday as well as a red-throated diver.

Richard Brown saw a water rail and a jack snipe in a pool beside the Coopers Beach caravan park on Wednesday.
Hugh Owen was able to watch six short-eared owls flying over the old coastal grazing marshes of Langenhoehall, to the north-east of the Pyefleet Channel. The owls appeared to be flying about in three pairs in different parts of the marshes.