Monday 20 November 2017

RESTING REDSHANK

This redshank rested briefly on a lump of mud as the tide came in along the Strood channel on a sunny Friday 17th. Other birds noted during the brief visit included a green sandpiper heading to the borrowdyke, a common buzzard over the fields, a marsh harrier flying along the Feldy seawall on the Peldon side and a rock pipit calling over the saltmarsh.

Conditions on Friday were flat calm along the Strood Channel on Friday. Dotted along the edge of the channel were 100 brent geese.

A flock of twenty goldfinches was feeding on alders near the entrance to the East Mersea Youth Camp on Sunday 19th. A grey wagtail on the pond by the Youth Camp entrance was unexpected. A pair of stonechats was on the Rewsalls marshes near Coopers Beach, as were 6 little egrets and 8 little grebes on the pond.

Sixty curlew, two golden plover, 6 red-legged partridge, 3 kestrels and a common buzzard were seen in or over some of the nearby fields.

Eighty sanderling were feeding along the beach by the Youth Camp on Sunday as were a few turnstones and a ringed plover.

Also on Sunday a kingfisher was seen at the park pond and 14 red-breasted mergansers in the Pyefleet by Andy Field. Eleven ruff were seen by the Strood by Charlie Williams on Sunday.

A walk along the Strood seawall on Monday 20th provided views of a peregrine being forced by some crows to drop its recent catch onto a field where a buzzard then flew in to steal it for itself. Two marsh harriers were seen flying over the Ray Saltings.
Two ruff and a green sandpiper were seen flying over the Strood fields and a pair of stonechats was by the seawall. Twenty little grebes were feeding in the Strood Channel, while four juvenile brent geese were noteworthy amongst 25 brent geese by the Hard.

Two eider and a Slavonian grebe were seen off the Esplanade on Monday 20th by Martin Cock.
At East Mersea 500 brent geese, 6 red-legged partridge and 2 muntjac deer were in a wheat field by Bromans Lane on Monday afternoon.

This male red squirrel with the nice ear tufts made another of its regular appearances at the nut feeder in the Firs Chase garden on Sunday 19th.

No comments: