Archive for May, 2012
Hartlepool Headland – Mega Mecca!
Yesterday I was working in the south of Cumbria carrying out some woodland bird survey work. It was a very pleasant day, despite the fact that there was a Bee-eater present in the west of the county. I casually checked my mobile for bird news, only to discover that a Western Orphean Warbler had been discovered [...]
More Moths…..!
The last couple of days, the moth trap has been fairly productive. Three Poplar Hawkmoths have been great to see. The strikingly camouflaged Buff-tip was a very welcome surprise. Green Carpet, Brimstone Moth and Spectacle were all very nice to see again! We never tire of seeing Bright-line Brown-eye [...]
Butterflies & Moths
The contents of the moth trap were a bit sparser this morning. 2 Hebrew Character, 4 Clouded Drab, 2 White Ermine, 3 Mottled Pug, 5 Brimstone Moth and a Clouded-bordered Brindle were not to be sniffed at! A Marbled Minor agg was also a new one for me and the garden! We (meaning Kath, [...]
Moths and moths…..
We checked the moth traps this morning as usual! Erin was very excited to find only our second ever Poplar Hawkmoth! We also located the expected Hebrew Characters (4) and Clouded Drab (3). Two Least Black Arches appeared amongst the egg boxes! We also had our second Coxcomb Prominent and our first Clouded-bordered Brindle (thanks again [...]
Moths, Orchids & Nomads….
The contents of the moth traps were sparser this morning; though an epic two Elephant Hawkmoths and a Heart & Dart (thanks Les) were great bonuses! We had an early(ish) start; Peter arrived and we (Shannon and me included) made our way to the amazing reserve of Gait Barrows! One of the first [...]
Last night I trapped an Elephant….
A check of the moth traps this morning was very productive. There were two of the ubiquitous Hebrew Characters a couple of White Ermine, a Setaceous Hebrew Character, three Mottled Pug and another Herald. There was also only my second Bright-line Brown-eyes. A Brimstone Moth was a new one for the garden as was a Garden Carpet. The next [...]
Massive Moths!
We checked the moth traps this morning and we had a reasonable haul. 2 Hebrew Characters, 2 Clouded Drabs 2 White Ermine and a delightful Flame Shoulder were a very nice start! However the best was yet to come! The first striking moth we found was a Peppered Moth. The next was the very [...]
Beautiful Moths
Today I checked the moth traps and found the usual Hebrew Characters and the now very worn Clouded Drabs. However there were two stunning White Ermine present; these are the first records for my garden! That is three new species in the past three days; hopefully more tomorrow
Sand Martin & Little Gull
I had a nice walk along the River Esk with Kath & Thea today. We saw the usual birds expected here including great views of many Sand Martins; these were typically trick to photograph! The biggest bonus here was a superb 1st summer Little Gull. This bird was feeding high above the fields [...]
Moth Time!
With the improving weather I decided it was worth running the moth traps again last night. Not the greatest haul, but along with 3 Hebrew Characters, 2 Clouded Drab and a Shoulder-stripe I had two new species! These were the subtle Bright Lined Brown-eyes and the stunning Pebble Prominant! Moth [...]
