What a great morning! I took my group on a Wallasea walk this morning. Straight away we had very good views of the female Peregrine. This big powerful bird seems to have become a resident of the island and I always look for her whenever I visit. By far the best sighting for everyone today was of a Merlin chasing a poor Skylark. We watched this spectacle for three minutes or more as the Merlin dived and turned on the Skylark obviously hoping to wear the smaller bird down. The aerobatics were simply stunning to watch. We can’t report the outcome of the battle however as the birds disappeared behind the farm buildings.
One other nice site just as we were leaving and one for which the RSPB at Wallasea cannot take any credit for (unless you arranged this for us Hilary!) was a lone Spitfire (Caroline Grace’s returning from the Southampton celebrations) flying fairly low from south to north across the island.
Graham MeeGroup LeaderSouth East Essex RSPB Local Group
Glad you had a good walk this morning . I'm afraid spitfires aren't in my repertoire, but did see the merlin myself later, as well as many other birds as the tide rose pushing them onto the upper marsh near us.
Hope it didn't take too long to thaw out - pretty nippy out there today!
Hilary