Saturday 24 December 2016

BRENT ON SHORE

A flock of 100 brent geese were feeding near the park beach as the tide began to recede first thing on Friday 23rd, also 15 sanderling here. Offshore a Slavonian grebe and 3 common scoter were on the sea. Later on the mudflats 400 golden plover and 1000 knot were seen.

The water rail was feeding along the edge of the park pond again on Friday 23rd. It had been videoed the previous weekend by Andy Field as it bathed in the open for a few minutes.

A female pochard, on the right, was with six tufted duck on Friday and still present on Saturday on the pond.
Three fieldfares flew away from the car park on Friday morning.

Three goldcrests were quietly checking out all the trunks and branches alongside one of the wooded paths at the park on Friday morning.

On Saturday 24th a peregrine flew high over the park mudflats following a big flock of 500 knot. Two days previously a common buzzard perched in a tree at the back of the grazing fields and a male marsh harrier flew over the Point towards the Langenhoe roost.

The first woodcock at the park this winter flew out of the hedge on the north side of the main part of the park, and then flew across the grazing fields, seen by Ian Black late on Wednesday.
At West Mersea a black-necked grebe was seen offshore from the Esplanade by Martin Cock on Wednesday and also a red-throated diver too. Along the Pyefleet 3 common scoter were present and the four white-fronted geese were with some brent geese on Reeveshall.

A barn owl perched by the side of the East Mersea road near Bromans Lane early on Monday 19th was seen by Andy. The day before 12 marsh harriers were counted by Andy roosting on Langenhoe, while 500 avocets were seen in the Pyefleet. A little gull was seen off West Mersea on Sunday by Martin while a Lapland bunting and stonechat were noted along the Strood on Sunday by Lawrence Drummond.

A big flock of 300+ fieldfares flew west over the Lane in West Mersea on Friday 16th, some of them crossing the Hard while others landed in trees by the Firs Chase caravan site.

A belated report from Clive Pickering who watched a late swallow flying around the beach end of Kingsland Road on 5th December.

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