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Monday, 17 August 2009

More Insects Than Birds...

...well it has been for quite a while on this blog hasn't it? Today though, it's not just moths...

An early afternoon visit to Lower Bruckland Ponds revealed that Small Red-eyed Damselflies are out in force. The top pond has plenty of floating weeds and stuff, this proved the best place to see them - this was also where I attempted to digiscope a couple of them. The results leave a lot to be desired for, but still...

A local speciality

Well named aren't they!?

To save an 'insect overload' I shall slip in my bird news from today now...

A mid morning Beer Head meander produced just two Lesser Whitethroats and two Willow Warblers. Blackhole Marsh gave a Wood Sand, a Blackwit and c13 Dunlin, but nothing new. The low high tides at the moment I'm sure are partially responsible for this. A Yellow Wag flew down the river at 11am and there seems to be big numbers of Swallows/House Martins about - all over the place!

Now to moths! It was a mammoth catch last night - god knows how many I would have caught if I'd put both traps out! The Robinson in the back garden gave me 309 moths of 41 species. The firsts for the garden were...

Lesser Swallow Prominent; compare with my first Swallow Prominent HERE

A rather moth-eaten Sallow Kitten; compare with my Poplar Kitten from the other day HERE

Marbled Beauty

Currant Pug

Cloaked Minor

The other 304 moths were: 67 Large Yellow Underwing, 49 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, 35 Willow Beauty, 20 Uncertain, 19 Flame Shoulder, 18 Shuttle-shaped Dart, 13 Common/Lesser Rustic, 8 Brimstone, 7 Double-striped Pug, 6 Dingy Footman, 5 Silver Y, 5 Riband Wave, 5 Rustic, 5 Straw Dot, 4 Yellow-barred Brindle, 4 Bright-line Brown-eye, 4 Setaceous Hebrew Character, 4 Jersey Tiger, 3 Lesser Yellow Underwing, 3 Square-spot Rustic, 2 Single-dotted Wave, 2 Red Twin-spot Carpet, 2 Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, 2 Iron Prominent, 2 Early Thorn, and singles of: Poplar Hawkmoth, Dunbar, Purple Bar, Garden Carpet, Flame Carpet, Small Fan-footed Wave, Knot Grass, Four-spotted Footman, Pebble Hook-tip and Nut-tree Tussock.

A couple more photos...

Just look at all those Willow Beauties!!! They love resting on the side of our flat

I had to take a photo of my second Four-spotted Footman - cracking moth!

Am off to the pictures now, via a farm gate vigil just in case a Marsh Harrier decides to drift up the valley...

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