THE THRIFT SHIFT

Lots of the pale pink flowers of thrift caught the eye whilst walking past the saltmarshes along the Strood on Friday 16th May. There was no hint of the flowers when I last walked along here a fortnight ago but now the plants are really showy. Even scanning the saltmarshes on the far side of the Channel on Ray Island, there were large pale pink carpets on display. Having enjoyed the white flowers of the scurvy grass during April, the month of May is the turn of the sea pink - or the thrift shift!

The tide was on its way out so a couple of pairs of little terns and 2 pairs of common terns were flying up and down the channel, diving into the water for fish. Very few waders to see with only 3 grey plovers, 3 ringed plovers, 2 turnstone, 8 oystercatcher and a curlew seen.

On the Ray Island a distant cuckoo was heard and eventually spotted on a tree-top. Two little egrets and about 8 shelduck were the only other birds of note other than various gulls herring gulls and black-headed gulls.

Whilst walking along the Strood seawall the songs of at least 5 different corn buntings were heard, as were 5 reed warblers, 3 reed buntings, sedge warbler and 2 whitethroats. A pair of yellow wagtails were present in one of the fields and in the air above were a few swifts and swallows.

At the back of the fields a little grebe was heard calling, whilst flying over to the reservoirs at the bottom of the Strood hill were a pair of pochard.

This colourful cinnabar moth was found in the moth trap at the park on Thursday morning. This moth is often seen in the daytime and one even fluttered under my tractor whilst grass-cutting, two days ago. The moths are searching out the ragwort plants on which to lay their eggs.

Just over 30 moths of about 16 species were noted in the trap including latticed heath, light emerald, marbled minor, chocolate tip, swallow prominent, green carpet and sandy carpet.

The first dragonfly of the summer, a freshly emerged four-spotted chaser, was seen fluttering weakly across the grass on the park on Wednesday.

The reeling song of the grasshopper warbler was heard again by the Cosways field at dusk on Thursday evening. Further along the East Mersea road near Meeting Lane, I had to brake sharply to allow a brown hare to cross the road safely.