of it in Essex, and none in the last decade. Thank you to Tony Boniface for this last bit
of information. But it is spectacular when you find it! We were away when Daphne
rang, and by the time I was back it was not easy to go, but I saw it much later when I met
Daphne again at a meeting. I also have to apologise sincerely for the error in the January
issue which wrongly attributed Brian's photo of another fungus on Plate 2 to my husband,
who was not present at the foray; luckily the text had it correctly.
In February I met David Bloomfield, who is a naturalist and a farmer near Brentwood.
David spoke to me about the prevalence of parakeets, following up my mention of them
in this column (Newsletter number 54, Sept 07). David said he grew some Sweet Corn
in about 1985 and loads of parakeets descended and devoured much of his crop in the
late summer. At the time, he knew there were some numbers in Kent, whence, presumably,
his ones came. So they have been around some time, and do indeed damage crops by
eating them.
Wednesday 27"' February brought an earthquake around lam. Although not wildlife,
this was definitely active geology. The epicentre was Market Rasen, North Linconshire,
but it was felt over much of Britain. My daughter and her family in Leicester were all
awoken by rambles and shakings, and my brother in Shrewsbury felt something similar.
We do not have relatives in Market Rasen!
In Suffolk on the first of March we saw two Herring Gulls dancing: jumping up and
down using both feet alternately. We were at a jazz weekend, so we wondered for a
moment if the birds were responding to the music. Some bird-watching friends told us
this was a courtship display. A stranger courtship display I could not imagine!
A farm near us often has a strip of Phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia, from California)
between larger strips of Sweet Corn. We thought this strange, as the Phacelia attracts
bees and many other insects, so is often planted to encourage pollination of nearby
plants, but Sweet Corn, being a grass, is wind-pollinated. Today I met the farmer and
asked him about this. He said that the Hoverflies love the Phacelia too, and will arrive
from miles around. And these insects eat the assorted tiny insects (Aphids etc) that
otherwise damage the Sweet Corn crop, so he does not have to spray the crop with
insecticide any more.
And we had a white Easter. Snow sprinkled everywhere, but hardly enough to make a
snow man.
6
Essex Field Club Newsletter No. 56, May 2008