With glorious sunshine and temperatures in the high twenties this weekend, sky-watching came up trumps!
Late morning on Sunday a red kite was picked up heading west over RSPB West Canvey Marsh. While 15 minutes later at Wat Tyler Country Park, while looking for the kite a honey buzzard flew in from Holehaven Creek, Canvey direction and headed straight out across RSPB Vange Wick in a north westerly direction. This more than compensated for not seeing the red kite! Also a large peregrine falcon almost certainly a female was seen hunting over Vange Wick, watched from Wat Tyler Country Park. A common buzzard, hobby and sparrowhawk were also seen, and it didn't end there as a second honey buzzard drifted over Wat Tyler Country Park mid afternoon having been seen 10 minutes earlier over Hadleigh Downs. A real red letter raptor day with seven different species seen including kestrel.
Also seen at Wat Tyler were two cetti's warblers, turtle doves and a mediterranean gull. At West Canvey Marsh the warm sunshine tempted many butterflies to the wing, the highlights were, 2 wall, 4 small heath and a small copper.