MOONLIGHT MOTHS

The new week started with this view above, of the sun rising to the east of the country park at about 5.30am on Monday 3rd. The last few days have been very warm and muggy at times.
The moth trap was run on both Sunday night and Wednesday nights with catches generally rather low but probably due to the bright moonlights and clear skies.

The most interesting moth was this small tree lichen beauty pictured above, which was in the trap on Thursday morning. It used to be a rare immigrant to Essex from the continent but appears to be more regularly recorded in recent summers. Last summer three turned up here at the park on the night of the 7th August while this year's beauty was just two days earlier on the 5th.

This great silver beetle has been annually recorded at the moth trap over the last 3 years. It's become scarcer in the south of England in recent years although it seems that quite a few are still turning up at various moth trap locations in the county.

The silver-Y moth pictured above, has been giving the moth trap a wide berth in recent nights and yet the nearby buddleia bush pictured in the previous posting has been teeming with them at night. Nearly 20 silver-Y moths were seen over the bush one night, disappearing during the day to be replaced by 20 painted ladies - and lots of other butterflies.


The swallow prominent pictured above was one of the larger moths seen along with poplar hawk, oak eggar, drinker, ruby tiger, magpie, coxcomb prominent, pale prominent, copper underwing, bulrush wainscot and large yellow underwing. Other moths included single-dotted wave, riband wave, peacock, white-spotted pug, mother of pearl, brimstone, latticed heath, clouded silver, blood vein, dingy footman, scarce footman, turnip, dark swordgrass, cloaked minor, rosy rustic, flounced rustic, rustic, uncertain, flame shoulder, shuttle-shaped dart, bright-line brown eye and scalloped oak.

The butterflies around the park in the last few days have been the varied selection of painted lady, comma, red admiral, small tortoiseshell, peacock, large white, small white, common blue, meadow brown, hedge brown and speckled wood. Dragonflies hunting around the park have been emperor, migrant hawker, southern hawker and ruddy darter.

On the pools on the grazing fields 2 green sandpipers were present on the 6th with a single on the 5th. A handful of black-tailed godwits are also on the fields although on the nearby mudlflats there have been at least 100 birds at low tide. Also on the fields have been a couple of lapwing, 6 teal with a pair of stock doves nearby and 3 green woodpeckers on the 6th.

A hobby flew over the pond as it headed westwards on Wednesday morning, while a couple of days earlier a juvenile marsh harrier crossed over the East Mersea road near the church, passing just a few metres above the car.

Passage waders heard in the last couple of days from the park have been greenshank, common sandpiper and whimbrel, while yellow wagtails have flown over on a couple of days.
Andy Field on a visit to Reeveshall on Wednesday noted a ruff as well as the usual number of waders there. He also reported seeing 2 hummingbird hawkmoths in his West Mersea garden on Tuesday.

LADYBIRD INVASION

On my visit to Reeveshall in the evening of Sunday 2nd, I was shown this dead female sparrowhawk beside the Shop Lane wood by Charlie Pollard. Neither of us could work out why it had died, although it had already been dead for a few days. There was no outward signs of damage to the bird or signs of blood.

The sparrowhawks appear to have nested in this wood this year as well as several other places on the Island. The family at the country park are still present and there is a report they may also have bred near the East Mersea church. In West Mersea young have been heard in the Reymead Wood area and also in the area of the Lane.

The evening walk along the Reeveshall seawall with Martin Cock provided views of 18 species of wader in the two hours - not a bad tally! The usual mid summer selection of waders included 10 common sandpiper, 2 green sandpiper, 1 spotted redshank, 2 greenshank, whimbrel, knot, 70 avocet, ruff, 120 black-tailed godwit, 5 bar-tailed godwit, 200 redshank, 25 curlew, 10 lapwing, 10 grey plover, 3 golden plover, 20 oystercatcher, 50 dunlin and 8 turnstone.

Also noted were lots of terns roosting on Langenhoe Pt with about 50 common terns and 50 little terns. Six marsh harriers were seen, also 3 shelduck broods, 3 grey herons, 10 little egrets and a common seal.

On Reeveshall 4 stock doves were noted and 8 brown hares, while Martin watched a hobby and a peregrine together from Maydays earlier in the day.

At the country park in the morning, a hobby passed by followed by lots of sand martins and swallows. On the pools a snipe, green sandpiper, 5 teal, 10 black-tailed godwits and a dunlin were present.

Two small tortoiseshell butterflies graced the buddleia bush in the car park throughout Sunday. These butterflies have become scarcer in recent years so it was nice to see these two.

I wasn't the only person enjoying the variety of species and numbers of butterflies on this one buddleia bush, as the picture above shows. Many folk passing by this bush stopped to admire the colourful and very obliging butterflies. Around 20 painted ladies stole the show, along with a number of peacocks, red admiral, comma, large white, small white, meadow brown and hedge browns.

The beach may've been empty in the morning but it was very busy in the afternoon. A willow warbler heard in the cliff-top bushes would appear to be a migrant stopping off. The sparrowhawks and green woodpeckers have been very vocal in the trees along the top of the cliff.

Thousands of ladybirds could be seen around the park but especially along the beach and clifftop. All along the wooden paling fence on the clifftop were masses of ladybirds, with three of them pictured above. Hundreds of them could be seen flying about and several would land on you with the occasional one giving you a little nip on the skin. One lady with a yellow top was swatting them madly away as she tried to walk down on the beach. There were reports elsewhere in East Anglia of millions of ladybirds plaguing visitors to the coast on Sunday especially in north Norfolk.

This speckled bush-cricket is quite a common cricket around the park, but remains well hidden amongst the low vegetation. The tiny speckled markings can be seen all over the body and legs.

Matthew Thorley reported the large and striking red underwing moth recently at his house alongside the East Mersea road. Steve Entwistle saw a clouded yellow butterfly at Maydays Farm a fortnight ago - the first report on the Island this year.

RUBY TIGER

One of the more colourful moths found in the moth trap early on Friday 31st at the park was this ruby tiger. From the underneath the rich brick red colours of the body can be really appreciated. The moth is often seen in small numbers between mid July and early August here at the park.

The haul of moths in the trap was a below average but then Thursday night had been clear sky and a cool breeze blowing. About 55 individuals of 25 macro-moths were noted with poplar hawk, rosy rustic, copper underwing, drinker, red twin-spot carpet, cloaked minor, least carpet, riband wave, single-dotted wave, amongst the various moths found.

The sunshine brought out the butterflies onto the buddleias and it was nice to see a small tortoiseshell feeding amongst the 20 or so painted ladies. Red admiral, commas, small white, large whites, meadow browns and hedge browns have also been on this one bush in the car park.

The young sparrowhawk chicks are still noisy in the corner of the park, especially when the female was seen arriving with a small bird in its talons. A yellow wagtail flew over the park calling, while in the hedgerows by the pond lesser whitethroat, whitethroat and blackcaps were seen feeding amongst the berry bushes.

On the fields 2 green sandpipers and 15 black-tailed godwits were seen feeding around the muddy pools. Along the beach 60 turnstones and 20 dunlin were waiting for the tide to uncover the mud in front of the park. Andy Field noted 20 little terns in the river Colne in the morning.

An evening walk along the Pyefleet Channel provided views of waders forced closer inshore by the incoming tide. The picture above shows mainly redshank with some dunlin also shelduck and black-headed gulls. The gathering of waders included 120 black-tailed godwits, 2 bar-tailed godwits, 150 redshank, 100 dunlin, 3 ringed plover, 1 red knot, 12 avocet and a whimbrel flying over calling.

On the Reeveshall pool were the mother and fledged avocet chick, 4 spotted redshank, green sandpiper, 2 little grebes, lapwing and 2 teal. On the big grass field 40 curlew were seen feeding and 8 brown hares lay close to the ground.

There seemed to be lots of little terns around with a group of 20 in the Colne feeding by Langenhoe Point, then two flocks of 20 each flew east along the Pyefleet. Only a few common terns were seen. On Langenhoe 5 marsh harriers were seen flying around or sitting on the seawalls.

A sparrowhawk was seen dropping this half-eaten wood pigeon pictured above, as I walked through the Shop Lane wood. A second sparrowhawk was heard calling from the nearby trees. By the seawall a juvenile green woodpecker clung to a lone bush calling and nearby 200 starlings were feeding.

GROVE AT DUSK

After a mixed day with sunshine and showers, Thursday 30th ended at the country park with a clear sky and a golden glow just after sunset. An evening walk around Cudmore Grove produced the usual selection of interesting birds, although the high tide meant there was nothing offshore.


At the park pond a new brood of tufted ducklings have appeared with three little brown balls joining the first brood now about 6 weeks old. Three pochard, 10 mallard, little grebe chick, mute swans with 3 cygnets, coots and moorhens were the other waterfowl seen.


A fox in the grazing fields was the only mammal seen other than lots of rabbits. No sign of any badgers for the second night running although 8 were noted on Tuesday and 5 seen on Saturday 25th.


The colour-ringed black-tailed godwit was still present in the fields along with about ten others and 2 lapwing, also 2 teal and 4 mallard. Earlier in the day 11 whimbrel flew over the fields, heading to the mudflats, while 2 green sandpipers flew over the day before.

A group of 25 sand martins were flying over this cliff-top path in the evening with several pairs still with families to raise. The young sparrowhawks are still very noisy in the clifftop trees and green woodpeckers have also been very vocal too. The nightingale was heard calling late in the evening near the park entrance while just to the north of the park a pair of little owls called to each other. A marsh harrier glided over the car park earlier in the evening as it headed east.

The butterflies enjoying the sun earlier in the day included lots of painted ladies and peacocks, both enjoying the buddleia bushes. Also large white, small white, comma, red admiral, small white, large white, speckled wood and a couple of common blues. Several six-spot burnet moths were on thistle heads in the park.

Dragonflies hunting around the park included southern hawker, migrant hawker and ruddy darter while the emperor was seen over the pond, along with azure and blue-tailed damselflies.
An adder was noted resting under a sheet of tin, while another one had been seen on the seawall on Wednesday afternoon.

Alongside Chapmans Lane on the edge of West Mersea the first mistle thrush flock of the summer was seen with 10 birds noted in a horse paddock. No sign of the small flock of 25 house sparrows seen the previous week here, feeding on the ripening wheat crop.

SUNNY SHOWERS

Managed a walk along the Strood Channel on Monday 27th in the early evening just after another short sharp shower had passed by. The sun soon came out and a rainbow briefly appeared against the black cloud. During the walk the tide was just starting to uncover some of the mud and waders and gulls were arriving in numbers.

The most interesting waders were 2 greenshank, common sandpiper, green sandpiper and a whimbrel. The commonest wader was the redshank with several curlew and oystercatchers too, while flying off some nearby fields were 50 lapwing.

A couple of hundred gulls gathered along the water's edge too with black-headed, herring, lesser black-backed the main ones seen. Four little egrets stood on the brushwood sea defences as the tide turned with a further 4 seen later on. Small numbers of common terns and little terns flew up and down the channels.

Other birds seen inside the seawall included 50 house sparrows enjoying the ripening wheat, 6 linnet, a family of sedge warblers, 5 reed warblers, a singing corn bunting and a kestrel.

During one of the short sunny periods this Essex skipper sat in the sun soaking up the evening's warmth. There weren't many other butterflies seen except for a couple of meadow browns.

The warm and damp air seemed to enhance the aromatic smell of the sea wormwood plants growing along the seaward side of the seawall.


After a day of dodging the downpours, the evening ended on a dry note and the wind had died down too.

At the beginning of the day Steve Entwistle saw the yellow-legged gull at the Strood, also 3 whimbrel too. Martin Cock on his walk along the Meeting Lane footpath in East Mersea had good views of 4 purple hairstreak butterflies.

Received a report of a hummingbird hawkmoth feeding in a garden in West Mersea last week - the first report this summer of one.

BUTTERFLIES ON THE BUDDLEIA

Numbers of painted lady butterflies have been building up in recent days at the park and this one pictured above was enjoying a buddleia bush in the car park on Saturday 25th. At least ten were seen on this bush with another handful on another buddleia, whilst in total there could be about 50 painted ladies on the wing.


Joining the painted ladies were the big colourful peacocks with similar numbers and usually feeding on the same plants like buddleia, thistle and brambles. The white buddleia bush also had numbers of large white, meadow brown, hedge brown, comma and red admiral present.


There wasn't much beach for visitors to use in the afternoon because the high tide had most of it covered. It probably gave the sand martins a bit of peace as a few of them are still raising broods in the cliff. On the pools in the grazing fields 12 black-tailed godwits were noted.



A walk along a path near Meeting Lane in East Mersea provided good views of more butterfly activity in the sunny conditions. Of the regular species seen the most notable sighting was of a purple hairstreak fluttering around an oak tree, as they haven't been recorded away from the park in the last 12 years.



A couple of common blues were seen along the grassy path and amongst an area of long grass where this one above was feeding on some fleabane.



Only the one small copper was seen pictured above, feeding on the bramble flowers in the hedgeline.



Just this one green-veined white butterfly was noted although there seem to be good numbers of both small white and large whites everywhere. Also seen on the walk were meadow browns, hedge browns, red admiral, comma, painted ladies, peacocks and large skipper.

It was very quiet on the bird front with song thrush, common whitethroat, chiffchaff, green woodpecker being the only ones noted on this hot morning. More gulls were swarming after the flying ants above Chapmans Lane with 2000 black-headed gulls in the air.

ENJOYING THE BUTTERFLIES

Amongst the many butterflies seen around the country park in recent days, several brightly marked commas have caught the eye. The sunshine on Thursday 23rd brought the butterflies out in numbers and the buddleia, bramble flowers and the thistles have been the most popular plants.

One white buddleia bush in the car park was host to several painted ladies, peacocks, red admiral, meadow browns, comma, large white and small white butterflies. Elsewhere around the park hedge browns, speckled woods, small skippers, Essex skippers and the colourful six-spot burnet moths have all been on the wing.

On the mudflats offshore from the park in the late afternoon 70 black-tailed godwits, 5 dunlin, 10 golden plover, 50 redshank, 2 little egrets and a few curlew were seen. On the grazing fields the limping "Portuguese" black-tailed godwit was still feeding on the pools along with 5 other godwits and 2 lapwing, 10 mallard and 5 moorhen. The pochard family of 4 ducklings were still present on the dyke.



This strange brown marbling effect on this small-leaved lime leaf at the park is a pattern I've not noticed before.

In the early evening the regular little owl perched up by the East Mersea road at Weir Farm. Above the fields and houses on the east side of West Mersea were thousands of black-headed gulls flying round feeding on the masses of flying ants. Amongst the gulls was an adult Mediterranean gull fading out of summer plumage swooped over the road as I drove along.

Martin Cock had a close view of a common buzzard flying low over the wood in Shop Lane on Wednesday. On the Reeveshall pool there were 2 avocets and a few black-tailed godwits but little else. A male yellowhammer was singing near the Shop Lane wood.