Back Home For The Day

Long-term readers of this blog will probably have noticed a lack of moth-related posts so far this year. Is that a good or a bad thing? Well for me a bad thing, but I'm sure some of you are pleased about it!

Throughout the spring I kept reading on Twitter about disappointing number of moths across the UK, so just didn't bother. Recently though I've been seeing plenty of moth photos about, that coupled with promising looking conditions (little wind, plenty of cloud cover and night-time temps in double figures) on Sunday night had me digging out my Robinsons at Mum and Dads. Really pleased I did too!

On Monday morning I had 72 moths of 27 species. Heart and Dart was the most numerous species (12) and a Silver Y the only immigrant. Some of the rest looked like this...

Puss Moth - only the second I've ever caught in the garden, a big and stunning moth.

Peach Blossom - I always go 'wow' when I see one!

Green Carpet

Buff-tip - not doing a very good job of blending in though!

Purple Bar

Scalloped Hazel

Treble Lines, the usual 'classic' form on the left and a example of the obscura form on the right

Whilst I was up Mum and Dads, I put a net up in the front garden too.  Two more Bullfinches ringed made it 43 trapped and ringed here now, although this was only the second time I've netted here in the 12 months.  I only ringed one Bullfinch here in 2013, ten in 2012 and an amazing 30 in 2011!   The best bird ringed though was this beautiful just fledged Coal Tit....

Such lose juvenile body feathers - I love a nice fresh '3J'!

Must just mention that I learnt more about Bee-eater sightings after my last post.  James M had the one past Charmouth at 09:20, but a message came out the next morning that four flew past here almost at the same time.  The bird James saw looked to be on its own, so the four must have taken a different route or gone through just before he got there - so it looks like it was a four and a single that joined up here on patch.  There's currently five lurking in Hampshire somewhere, so possibly after they flew off on Sunday afternoon, they dropped down into the valley and then followed it inland before turning back east?

If whoever saw the four over Charmouth reads this, olease drop us a email or comment as it would be good to learn more....

Two Moth Nights

Well it is certainly about time I got round to writing this post!

My Friday night mothing continues, although the week before last I had to trap on the Thursday night (28th) - with excellent results, but it was certainly a case of quantity and not quality. In total there were 350 moths of 55 species;

91 Dark Arches
46 Riband Wave
20 Large Yellow Underwing
16 Heart and Dart
16 Uncertain
14 Common Rustic
11 Willow Beauty
10 Bright-line Brown-eye
9 Rustic
9 Clay
7 Shuttle-shaped Dart
7 Dingy Footman
6 Common Footman
5 Jersey Tiger
5 Rosy Footman
4 Double-square Spot
4 Brussels Lace
3 Magpie
3 Common Carpet
3 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
3 July Highflyer
3 Scalloped Oak
3 Fanfoot
3 Small Fan-footed Wave
3 V-Pug
2 Peach Blossom
2 Pug sp.
2 Single-dotted Wave
2 Dunbar
2 Ruby Tiger
2 Buff Ermine
2 Poplar Hawkmoth
2 Early Thorn
2 Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
2 Light Arches
2 Coronet
2 Spectacle
2 Nut-tree Tussock
2 Small Fanfoot
1 Common Marbled Carpet
1 Scorched Carpet
1 Flame Carpet
1 Swallowtail
1 Brimstone
1 Barred Straw
1 Buff Arches
1 Pebble Prominent
1 Iron Prominent
1 Lesser Yellow Underwing
1 Knot Grass
1 Sycamore
1 Marbled Green
1 Bordered Sallow
1 Mottled Rustic
1 Rosy Minor

And here's a few pics....

I always know it's been a good moth night when the adjacent wall to the trap looks like the above!

Marbled Green

Ruby Tiger

Rosy Footman

Peach Blossom

Bordered Sallow

Two very different Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

And then there was the following week, Friday 5th. Much few moths about with 172 of 36 species;

33 Dark Arches
22 Willow Beauty
14 Common Rustic
13 Shuttle-shaped Dart
11 Rustic
10 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
7 Riband Wave
5 Single-dotted Wave
5 Heart and Dart
5 Nut-tree Tussock
4 Early Thorn
4 Jersey Tiger
3 Small Fan-footed Wave
3 Common Carpet
3 Common Footman
3 Buff Ermine
3 Clay
2 Small Waved Umber
2 Minor sp.
2 Spectacle
1 Maiden's Blush
1 Phoenix
1 July Highflyer
1 Poplar Hawkmoth
1 Sallow Kitten
1 Pebble Prominent
1 Swallow Prominent
1 Lesser Swallow Prominent
1 Rosy Footman
1 Buff Footman
1 Dingy Footman
1 Pebble Hook-tip
1 Dunbar
1 Crescent Dart
1 Setaceous Hebrew Character
1 Bright-line Brown-eye
1 Uncertain

And here's some more pictures...

Maiden's Blush

Magpie Moth

Sallow Kitten

Pebble Prominent

Swallow Prominent (I think - or is it a faded Lesser?)

Lesser Swallow Prominent

Now I think I deserve a nap - I was in Beer before 6am this morning! To find out how I got on ringing/birding, you will just have to check back here whenever I get round to writing the post...