WATCHING WASP SPIDERS

Found a couple of wasp spiders at their webs amongst the long grass in the park on Friday 12th. It's the first one I've seen this summer and I'm sure there are plenty more hiding in the long grass. Despite the name and its big size, the spider is harmless to humans and feeds on crickets and grasshoppers. It appears to have become a widespread spider in Essex in recent years and has been resident at the park for eight years now.


There have been lots of the common 7-spot ladybirds around the park over the last fortnight but there seemed to be many more of them all over the park today. As in previous early Augusts, the biggest gatherings were on the tops of posts and palings on the clifftop fence.


Lots of brown butterflies such as this hedge brown, were enjoying the increasingly humid conditions during the morning. Also noted were meadow brown, small heath, speckled wood, common blue, red admiral and small white. Dragonflies seen were the southern hawker, migrant hawker and the ruddy darter. A common lizard was seen basking in the long grass.

On the park pools 20 teal, 24 lapwings, 10 black-tailed godwits and a little egret were seen in the early evening. At the pond 10 teal, 4 tufted ducks, 5 little grebes and 20 mallard were present. On the mudflats in the distance 300+ black-tailed godwits fed along the outer edge while 20 dunlin and 5 little egrets were also noted. Three yellow wagtails flew over the park during the day, 6 mistle thrushes fed on the rowan berries and a least two nightingales called from opposite ends of the car park.

George Brown saw 2 eider offshore from the park as well as one or two common and little terns and also a peregrine near the entrance into the Pyefleet.


The moth trap was operated during Wednesday night for the fiftieth night of this year's season. It has operated regularly since early March this year with an effort to trap at least twice a week. Hopefully weather permitting in the coming autumn to notch up a further 20 sessions - or even more before the year's out!

The picture above shows the once scarce white-point moth which is now a regular here at the park with ten noted on Thursday morning.

The rosy rustic is a common moth in mid / late summer with a similar pinky-brown colour to the white-point.
Other moths on the two nights which averaged about 80 moths each night, included chinese character, common carpet, willow beauty, single-dotted wave, riband wave, scarce footman, brimstone, swallow prominent, pale prominent, lesser broad-bordered yellow underwing, flounced rustic, copper underwing, straw underwing, common rustic, common wainscot and dusky sallow.

Hugh Owen reported catching the nationally rare white-spotted pinion moth at his Langenhoe garden a couple of nights earlier.

Martin Dence reported seeing a water vole at the pond at his Bromans Farm in East Mersea - his first sighting there.

TANNED ADDER

Enjoying the sun at the country park on Wednesday 10th was this regular brown adder. It has a very distinctive tan colouring as if it's been sunbathing a bit too much this summer. Most adders here have a much darker zig-zag band along the back with a much greyer background colour too.
This individual has been noted for about three weeks basking beside a track.


Before the breeze picked up in the middle of the day, a number of butterflies were on the wing in the morning including this small tortoiseshell pictured on the buddleia in the car park. Three were noted on the budleia the day before, all fresh specimens. Others noted today were red admiral, comma, meadow brown, hedge brown, speckled wood, small heath and small white.
Southern hawker and ruddy darter dragonflies were flying beside some of the paths in the park.

A male marsh harrier spent a bit of time near the grazing fields in the morning, scattering some of the 30 teal from the pools. As it flew round the copse by the pond a number of wood pigeons clattered away from the trees. The harrier dropped down into the grass field to do a spot of preening, to the consternation of the local magpies. A kestrel flew over the fields to land in it's nesting tree.

The hedgerows by the pond seemed full of warbler activity with at least 20 common whitethroats popping up in one section of hedgerow. Also willow warbler, chiffchaff, blackcap and lesser whitethroat were also feeding in the bushes. A yellow wagtail flew over the park calling loudly.

Yesterday 100 golden plover dropped onto the mud near the Point, 2 eider were seen offshore and a sparrowhawk flew low along Bromans Lane on its way to the park. A weasel ran across the East Mersea road near the pub yesterday too, while 70+ swallows flew around Chapmans Lane near West Mersea.



The moth trap revealed about 80 moths on Wednesday morning which was a low count probably due to the bright moon and the clear sky. This widespread straw underwing pictured above is the first of the season here, although it never turns up in any numbers.


The flounced rustic pictured above, is the most numerous moth at the moment in the trap with almost half the catch during the night being this species.


This lesser broad-bordered yellow underwing is just showing a bit of its "yellow" colour on the hindwing. This is a moth that has been regularly noted in small numbers for a few weeks here.

Other species noted included willow beauty, brimstone, common carpet, least carpet, treble brown spot, swallow prominent, pale prominent, scarce footman, uncertain, common rustic, common wainscot and white-point.

The strikingly marked wings of the gold-spot moth were found lying on the floor in the park toilets, having been discarded during the night by a feeding bat. For the last week various moth remains have been found on the floor in the mornings which might be an indication that a long-eared bat is using the building for a rest during the night. After many years of a long-eared bat using the building, there was no sign of it during the last two summers - but has it returned?

MASS CRAB MOULT

One of the recent high tides had deposited the empty shells of thousands of shore crabs along the side of the Reeveshall seawall at East Mersea on Monday 8th. All along the tideline were lots of these tiny crab-shells, discarded by the growing crabs that have needed to move out of their old shells and grow newer and bigger ones.



It stayed dry but breezy during the hour along the seawall early in the afternoon. Around 200 swallows were hawking low over various fields beside the seawall. This flock may involve local birds but is probably made up of swallows that have finished breeding elsewhere and have got together here on their journey south for the autumn. One house martin was also seen with the swallows.

A male marsh harrier was seen over the Reeveshall reedbed and there was also one over the Langenhoe reedbed too. The water levels have risen recently on the pool and the only waders here were the two broods of 7 avocet chicks, one brood fledged over a fortnight ago. Three mallard were also seen while a grey heron and a calling greenshank flew over.

Along the Pyefleet with the tide out, 9 whimbrel, 180 black-tailed godwit, 70 avocet, 70 redshank, 4 turnstone, 25 lapwing, 10 curlew and 20 oystercatcher were the waders noted. Two common terns flew along the channel, 4 little terns were seen near the Point, a female pochard drifted down the channel, while a group of 8 little egrets fed beside the Colne.

Andy Field saw a wheatear, 2 yellow wagtail and sedge warbler at the country park while offshore were 2 eider with 10 dunlin, 100 golden plover and 100 turnstone seen amongst the usual godwit numbers on the mud.

RETURNING WHEATEARS

It was nice and sunny on Friday 5th for several butterfly species such as this common blue to be on the wing at the country park. Amongst the other species noted were small heath, small white, speckled wood, meadow brown, hedge brown and red admiral.

Two adders were also basking alongside their regular track with one adder a very brown colour.


One green sandpiper, black-tailed godwit, shoveler and ten teal were noted on the pools which have been topped up again after the heavy downpour on Thursday morning. A sparrowhawk was seen flying to the north of the park.
Along the park beach a wheatear here was the first one to return to the park this autumn. Offshore on the mud 150 black-tailed godwits, 10 dunlin, 5 grey plover and a few bar-tailed godwits were the main waders of note as well as two little egrets and three eiders offshore.


A walk along the Strood seawall on Friday afternoon provided views of three wheatears that were trying to stay ahead of the various walkers along the seawall path. It was nice to see about 100 house sparrows in some of the bushes at the back of one of the fields. Also kestrel and sparrowhawk seen while a little egret and one or two common terns were noted along the Channel. There was the very confiding common seal only about 10 metres away from the number of young folk crabbing on the hammerhead causeway by the West Mersea hard.

On Thursday evening two young sparrowhawks could be heard calling from trees in the Lane in West Mersea, so good evidence that the pair bred in this area again.

On Wednesday at least 50+ swifts were probably part of a larger passage seen passing west over the park in the evening as the wind freshened up. The rowan berries are still attracting several mistle thrushes and up to 200 starlings at times to the trees in the park. Two yellow wagtails flew over the car park calling on Wednesday morning.

The moth trap operated at the park on Monday and Tuesday nights and with a number of moths attracted to the nearby area, some of the birds have gathered hoping for easy pickings. A nightingale was one of the cheeky ones that sneaked into the back garden to snatch one of the yellow moths , maybe a scalloped oak or a brimstone. A reed warbler has been present for a few days too, as have the resident blackbirds, robins, great tits and dunnocks.


It was nice to see this small tree lichen beauty resting in the trap on Wednesday morning. This is the first record this summer of this scarce immigrant but it's now the fourth summer running that the species has been seen here. Interestingly three tree lichen beauties were also noted on the east side of the Colne estuary on the same morning by Clive Atkins, so maybe a small influx during Tuesday night.


Two copper underwings were noted although not at the trap but resting on the side of the buildings.


The second knotgrass moth, pictured above, of the summer was seen on the Wednesday morning, one of the regular visitors to the trap but only one or two records each year.

Over the two nights about 45 species were noted including oak eggar, poplar hawkmoth, fen wainscot, twin spotted wainscot, white point, white-line dart, purple bar, drinker, magpie, oak hook-tip, riband wave, least carpet, lime-speck pug, Chinese character, willow beauty, coxcomb prominent, swallow prominent, brown-tail, scarce footman, dingy footman, shuttle-shaped dart, flame shoulder, lesser broad-bordered yellow underwing, dark arches, light arches, dun-bar, bright-line brown-eye, uncertain, snout, common rustic, clay, smoky wainscot, flounced rustic, rosy rustic, scalloped oak, spectacle and dusky sallow.

ADMIRALS AND PEACOCKS

There has been a good showing of red admirals, photo above, and peacock butterflies at the park especially on the flowering buddleia. The park missed out this June on the normal good showing of red admirals that usually feed on the cotoneaster flowers. Instead the best counts so far this summer appear to be coinciding with the buddleia flowering. Over the recent weekend there were 10 red admirals, 4 peacocks and 2 commas feeding on the buddleia. Also noted on Sunday 31st were brown argus, common blue, small copper, small heath, large white, small white, speckled wood, meadow brown, hedge brown and Essex / small skipper.

Also enjoying the sunshine near water were emperor dragonfly, migrant hawker, common darter, ruddy darter, small red-eyed damselfly and blue-tailed damselfly.

An adder was found hiding along the usual hedgeline by the gravel track in the park but proved to be very shy. An adder was also found on Sunday sadly run over by a car on the East Mersea road near Bromans Lane.

There was the great but increasingly rare sight at the park these days of a noisy feeding flock of about 350 starlings. Groups descend on the rowan trees or the bramble bushes quickly stripping off as many berries as they can with as much twittering as they can.

In the park fields on Sunday 4 little egrets roosted for high tide in the kestrel's oak tree, while in the pools 20 black-tailed godwits fed and there was a yellow wagtail flew near the cattle.

A hobby raced over low over the car park on Saturday afternoon where 5 mistle thrushes fed on the rowan berries and a nightingale called from the bushes. A sedge warbler feeding in one of the hedges near the park pond was a visitor to the site. Offshore 4 eider were seen close to the shore of the park.

On Friday 2 crossbills flew high north-east over the car park calling loudly. A turtle dove purred from the edge of the car park early in the morning but not heard after that.


The moth trap operating through Sunday night caught just over 100 moths including this common brown-tailed moth pictured above. The season is just about at an end for these brown-tails with numbers probably peaking about a month ago.


This twin-spotted wainscot wasn't the most eyecatching moth in the trap but it was one I hadn't seen at the park before. The photo above was taken just before the moth scuttled into a gap in the top of a picnic table. Each white spot on the wing has a second white dot close-by but I needed my glasses on to see the second dot. The species is listed as an Essex red data book species with previous county records being mainly beside marshes and along the coast.


There haven't been many chocolate-tip moths at the park this summer with this one only the second or third record this year.


This pale pyralid moth caught the eye as it sat on the edge of the trap. There's no common English name for this micro-moth Evergestis extimalis although it's a close relative of the garden pebble moth. It's a scarce resident in the south-east of England and sometimes a migrant and it's listed as an Essex red data book species with most previous records close to the coast.

Amongst the usual 30 species of macro-moth were poplar hawkmoth, least carpet, early thorn, flounced rustic, white-line dart, white-point and a drinker.

The annual moth trapping session at Hugh Owen's at Langenhoe took place on Friday night in the hope of finding the nationally rare white-spotted pinion moth. Sadly the skies were clear and there was no sign of the pinion. Some of the other moths noted were lesser-spotted pinion, latticed heath, straw underwing, white-point, rosy rustic, bulrush wainscot, red twinspot carpet and least carpet.


A walk around the Rewsall marshes on Saturday produced a willow warbler in sub-song, greenshank, 7 golden plover 25 linnets and a big flock of 400 starlings.


This female drinker moth was found along one of the grassy paths hanging from a grass stalk having laid a handful of eggs.

Both Martin Cock and Steve Entwistle visited Maydays over the weekend and noted a wheatear on Saturday along with 2 common sandpipers, 2 greenshank, 7 knot and good numbers of black-tailed godwits and avocets. Five common seals were also seen in the Pyefleet, the highest count this year so far.

MERSEA MAMMALS

Managed to see a variety of mammals on the Island over the last few days with this hedgehog being one of them. It was found on Tuesday 26th by Sami and Andrea Murray in a vulnerable location by the roadside of Empress Avenue in West Mersea. It looked like it was a well grown youngster and quite lively when touched. Instead of curling into the ball, it would jerk its head back if it got touched. It was suggested that the best place to release it away from traffic was in an overgrown corner of the grassy Willoughby "car park", which is just a few streets away from where it was found.


Charlie Pollard found this dead pipistrelle bat lying in his Shop Lane garden in East Mersea. There was no sign as to how it died but it did look like a young one and not fully grown in size. There is a small population of pipistrelles often seen hunting along Shop Lane during summer at dusk.

The previous night on Wednesday, the annual Brockwatch event was successful with several folk managing to see 6 badgers and 3 foxes at dusk near the park pond. When one of the badgers trundled across the field towards its regular hole in a hedge, one of the waiting fox cubs playfully chased it and was immediately rebuffed by the badger.

Continuing the mammal theme, the harbour porpoise was seen in the river Colne at two different times during Thursday. In the morning it was seen from the seawall near the Golfhouse and then it was seen in the evening whilst walking the Shop lane seawall but looking east to the Colne. This porpoise appears to be still feeding in the same area since it was first seen 11 days earlier.

As well as enjoying the porpoise a common seal swam just offshore from the park on Thursday too.

Lots of waders were feeding along the Pyefleet Channel on Thursday evening with the tide slowly coming back in. Although 14 species were seen the main waders seemed to be either avocet, black-tailed godwits or redshank. Some rough counts were 1 spotted redshank, 200 redshank, 50 curlew, 2 common sandpiper, 10 dunlin, 10 knot, 8 turnstone, 4 ringed plover, 70 grey plover, 10 lapwing, 50 oystercatcher, 250 avocet, 300 black-tailed godwit and 50 bar-tailed godwit. One group of 170 avocets were gathered in the Reeveshall bay near to the pool where 4 youngsters were still being supervised by their parents. Also on the pool were little egret, mute swan, 2 mallard, 10 greylag geese and 2 lapwing. Two male yellowhammers were singing from Reeveshall hedges.

On Langenhoe 30 little terns were gathered on the Point, 4 common terns along the Channel but only two marsh harriers seen over the Langenhoe marsh. Two grey herons stood along the edge of the Pyefleet and a brood of 10 large shelducklings were noted.

Earlier on Thursday the green sandpiper flew low over the park pond and the nearby pools where there were 10 black-tailed godwits feeding. Five yellow wagtails were noted along the seawall either in the fields close to the cattle or on the saltmarsh. Offshore from the park were the sub-adult male eiders with one or two little terns and common terns flying past. A little owl attracted the attention of lots of little birds as it perched in a tree just north of the park.

The sunshine in the afternoon brought some of the butterflies out to feed on the car park buddleia with 7 red admirals, 2 peacocks, 2 comma, meadow brown, hedge brown, small white along with several appearances by a hummingbird hawkmoth.



The moth trap was put out during Tuesday and Wednesday nights with about 70 moths on the first night while 250 individuals on the following night was more productive. The nut-tree tussock pictured above is a widespread moth over most of Essex but is surprisingly absent on Mersea - until this one appeared!


A couple of white-line darts, one pictured above, were found in the trap at dawn on Thursday. Although it has been recorded before here, normally only one individual each year, so not a common moth at the park.



This nicely marked small blood-vein is the first one of the year and was in the trap after Tuesday night's trapping session.

Some of the 48 species of macro moths noted during the two nights were oak hook-tip, riband wave, blood-vein, clouded border, least carpet, red twin-spot carpet, July highflier, lime-speck pug, willow beauty, coxcomb prominent, brown-tail, ruby tiger, scarce footman, common footman, dingy footman, shuttle-shaped dart, flame shoulder, large yellow underwing, lesser yellow underwing, lesser broad-bordered yellow underwing, least yellow underwing, dark arches, light arches, dun-bar, brown-line bright-eye, bright-line brown-eye, lychnis, knot grass, uncertain, snout, common rustic, white-point, clay, smoky wainscot, flounced rustic, rosy rustic, shaded broad bar, buff ermine, peppered moth, scalloped oak, early thorn and dusky sallow.

BUTTERFLY WATCHING

It was a good day for watching butterflies with a good number of various species around the country park on Sunday 24th. It's not often two species bask side by side on the same leaf but this picture shows a hedge brown and a comma enjoying the sunshine together.

Some very rough estimates of butterflies around the park in the morning included 5 purple hairstreak, 4 common blue, 1 small copper, 4 brown argus, 100 hedge brown, 70 meadow brown, 1 small heath, 1 large skipper, 30 small skipper / Essex skipper sps, 4 speckled wood, 1 large white, 2 small white, 1 green-veined white, 5 comma, 3 peacock and 15 red admiral. Also on the wing were 5 six-spot burnet moths and shaded broad-bar, while on the buddleia in the car park a hummingbird hawkmoth made a brief appearance.

Steve Entwhistle and Martin Cock both managed to see a few ringlets along the footpath east of Meeting Lane in East Mersea. Seven purple hairstreaks were also seen on oaks here too.


Sheltering on the south side of some bushes were a few dragonflies with this male ruddy darter enjoying the warmth on some bare ground.


There were several common darters noted along one path with this female resting on an oak bush. Others noted in the area and over nearby water were emperor dragonfly, small red-eyed damselfly, blue-tailed damselfly and various azure/common blue damselflies.

The main bird highlight was a pair of hobbies that flew over the park in the morning, sending 50+ sand martins into a flock high in the air. Whilst watching one hobby spiral upwards to gain height, a second bird appeared and was immediately mobbed by the first bird, which called as it launched each dive. Later in the afternoon a sparrowhawk was seen gliding west from the park with swallows and martins seeing it off.

The nightingale was heard calling from bushes in the car park whilst a handful of mistle thrushes enjoyed the ripening rowan berries. On the park pond the tufted ducklings, mallard and a few teal were the main wildfowl here while on the nearby pools a little egret and black-tailed godwits were noted. No sign of the green sandpiper that was seen the day before although it was probably hidden inside the thick dock growth.


A change of scene for an hour with a late evening walk along the Reeveshall seawall on Sunday. Two hobbies passed overhead with one bird mobbing the other, a repeat of the morning's action over the park. Both birds headed to the back of the Reeveshall fields.

The tide was only just starting to recede with the main wader on show being avocets. Three youngsters from the pool seemed to have crossed over the seawall and were feeding on the mud, while the other brood of four young were still feeding on the pool. Both sets of parents were very anxious and vocal as I walked along the nearby seawall. Along the tide-line in the nearby Reeveshall bay were 160 avocets with various other avocet flocks dropping down elsewhere along the Pyefleet Channel. Also on the mud was a mixed godwit group of 50+ bar-tails and black-tails as well as 50+ redshank.

Over Reeveshall 300 rooks and jackdaws flew off north-east to roost with one rook catching the eye with big white wing-tips. Also little egret, 50 sand martins heading to roost and 25 curlew feeding in the grass field. A yellowhammer was singing from a hedgeline near the Oyster Fishery.

On Langenhoe 4 marsh harriers were flying over the marsh and there were about 20 little terns and a common tern seen near the Point.


Dave Bragg found this striking vapourer moth caterpillar in his Broomhills Road garden n West Mersea. The moth is reasonably common and widespread although it hasn't been recorded at the country park for about five years. The caterpillars feed on the leaves of a variety of tree species.