MAY SPRAYS

The month of May started with the usual colourful display from the many hawthorn -or May bushes around the country park. You can see why this common tree is named after this month when many of the hedgerows are blanketed in white flowers. As both the pictures above and below show, there is hardly any room for any of the green leaves as they have to take a back seat this month.

Closer look at some of white "May-sprays" display a delicate pink tinge to some of the flowers. Many of the flowers were buzzing with all sorts of insects. One of the most noticeable insects drifting around in the slight breeze were the large and hairy flies known as St. Marks flies, which fly about with their long legs dangling down. These flies appeared about two weeks earlier than usual this sunny spring as they normally swarm in early May, usually missing the actual St. Marks Day on 26th April.

Mothing carried out on Tuesday night was thin on species but interesting for variety with about 18 moths of 9 species. Several new ones for the year included this comical looking chocolate-tip moth which looks like my Jack Russell Monty, when he wants to play!

Like waiting for London buses, I've waited for 20 years to see the adult emperor moth here - and then two turn up in the space of a fortnight! This is a different female to the earlier one as both have different edges missing. This one started to lay eggs so I shall monitor their progress if they like the cistus bush they have been placed in.

The strange camouflage and mimicry must work for this coxcomb prominent for it to have survived over time. The coxcomb refers to the similarity of a cockerel's comb on it's head.

Other moths included a waved umber and a yellow-barred brindle.

Whilst driving along the East Mersea road at dusk, I had to brake sharply to avoid running over a little owl who was standing in the middle of the road, possibly it had swooped down to catch a moth.

Martin Cock during the day had a pair of avocets feeding in the shallow lagoon near East Mersea Point, where they've never been seen before. Two spotted redshanks were also still here.