A Visit to East Mersea

25th November 2015

So great to be back on one of my favourite stomping grounds for a look across the floods and along the seawall, even if I did have to wait an hour for the high tide to clear The Strood. As my visit was a last minute decision I remembered to check the time of high tide but forgot to look at the height.

However, better late than never and I was soon viewing the floods where the numbers of Brent Geese and Wigeon were building up nicely. What was particularly noticeable was that many of the Wigeon were pairing up resulting in many mock skirmishes between the males.

On the beach on the receding tide were the usual suspects including this lone Redshank and a rather smart Grey Plover albeit in its more sombre winter plumage. But the treat today was the flock of Sanderling, which instead of being in a loose group as is normally the case, were keeping to a fairly tight group allowing some unusual shots.

On The Point a small flock of Linnets were fairly active but mainly keeping low amongst the Suaeda for most of the time. However, on a couple of occasions one or two birds broke cover and sat out for a few seconds allowing a couple of shots to be taken.

As usual the change of tide produced a lot of activity past the point with mainly Oystercatchers and Bar-tailed Godwits moving from their roosting grounds to their feeding areas in Pyefleet Channel and the River Colne. Luckily today the sun was shining giving the sea a lovely blue glow.

But the star of the show today was this rather confiding Sky Lark. Normally Sky Larks are easy to spook and therefore difficult to get close enough for a decent shot, not helped by the fact that they normally occur in wide open spaces where a stealthy approach is more difficult. East Mersea never disappoints.