Local stuff... and some old stuff

 

These caterpillars on birch amounted to about 20 individuals yesterday and in the fullness of time will turn into Bufftip moths. I checked some other birch in the same area today but couldn't find any more caterpillars. 

The small pond and its surrounding scrub is now a temporary home to Migrant Hawker dragonflies - only two today struggling low down in the very windy conditions.

Curiously, Small Dusty Wave moth (above) is something I've never seen in a trap, only ever settled on fencing or in this case the glass panel near the front door, and not for the first time.

With such a cool and windy night the trap held little, three L-albums being the best and freshest - no migrant Covolvulous nor Small Mottled Willows for me - and just a Rusty Dot Pearl representing immigrants.

Locally, an increase in Tufted Ducks to over a dozen and the first five Shovelers of the autumn included two eclipse drakes.

Whilst trying to switch off flickr emails I realised I still had old pictures on there including these below- these two Wrynecks were much more obliging that Sunday's TH bird!!

Long-billed Dowitcher from Poole Park, LRPs from Blashford and Shore Lark from Cuckmere

An autumn speciality

Yesterday's visit to TH, the first for 10 weeks without access to the west side, was pretty uninspiring with just Kingfisher, some visible Water Rails on the river with several others heard and good numbers of hirundines, mostly Sand Martins.

By teatime it transpired that a Wryneck had been seen by a visitor but posted 6 hours later much to the chagrin of everyone else who was on site!

Luckily, the ever reliable MF was on site early today to refind the bird in the area of the ant hills which previous year's birds have favoured.

The bird showed on and off and, although its definitely a top-ten bird for me, its location between the road and the fence line ensured it would always be distant. Thunder and lightning were over the IOW and Southampton water and a waterspout was briefly off to the east but quickly dissipated. A coffee from the van was welcome and just in time, as the rain arrived and the thunder and lightning moved closer. Luckily, it  didn't come to much although there was torrential rain between Hill Head and the motorway. Back in Pompey it didn't look as if it had rained at all.

This Snipe popped out in front of MSH briefly and it was nice to see a few juvenile Black'wits.

And a few moths from yesterday morning.

A Beautiful Plume, a Garden Tiger egg laying on the fence and a Snout.

End of summer - autumn starts here.

 

(Toadflax Pug, Lesser Yellow Underwing, Angle Shades, Heralds, Agrypnia varia, Cypress Pug, L-album Wainscot, Marbled Beauty, Yellow Shell, Clancy's Rustic)

No birding to speak of in the last week and a short visit to Titchfield was a let down with only one hide open and the west side works still ongoing. Just as well SDOS cancelled their visit tomorrow; let's hope RSPB Pulborough volunteers dont have to next month!!

A 'surprise' raptor watch over coffee at Hilliers with M had 10-12 Buzzards and a Kestrel but sadly nothing more interesting, although one juvenile Buzzard, with the slightly different structure, did have me doing a double-take - but sadly, Honey-buzzard isnt going to trouble my list this year!!

Nowhere near other people's catches but a few interesting nights produced about 240/40 in total including some NfGs and a few I've not caught very often.

This caddisfly above was new and reasonably identifiable and confirmed by FB experts; the few Cinammon Sedge (Limnephilus species) were suggested as flavicornis or marmoratus. Otherwise bycatch has been very small with not a single wasp this year nor any beetles.

The Heralds above were both very fresh and, I think, roosting/hibernating/ diapaused(??) under a garden picnic table rather than attracted to light.

A brief visit to the art exhibition at the old Rookesbury school was something different but the only three pieces that took my eye were silly-money so I spent no more that coffee and bacon roll!!

And finally, another trap session was much reduced in numbers and variety but at least added another species to the garden list in the form of Dark Spectacle; although common, until now I've only a record of that species from Blashford.

 

Yesterday Titchfield was typically quiet with no access to west side still and now the balcony has been permanently blocked off!! One Wheatear, four Common Sandpipers, two Water Rails, two Common Scoters and one of this year's juvenile Marsh Harriers was about it.  A brief stop at Broadmarsh on the way home saw three Cattle Egrets heading east and an Osprey on its usual North Binness perch.

GWH last session

Taken from Alton Nat Hist Soc and CP.

Our final Moth Night of the year was last week. Chris Piper gave us a run down of his findings... 

"Unlike July, numbers were markedly down on the same day last year. In addition to the weather over Winter and earlier this year, other factors might have been at play including the temperature low of 12c cf 17c. On the night, guests saw and enjoyed a good variety representing what is flying at the moment, such as Angle Shades, Black Arches, Brimstone, Dingy Footman etc on this occasion finishing with the delight of an Elephant Hawk-moth. In the cooler morning, we counted 155 moths of 62 species (cf 409 of 86 last year). There were far fewer wasps, hornets and other insects around as well as fewer moths. We had two notable new species for the garden - (Neo)cochylis molliculana - on the one hand just another slightly differently marked tortrix on the other, another insect apparently on the move - still described as 'very rare inland' in the Field Guides. Also a Hoary Footman (Eilemma caniola) at the moment Nationally Scarce B but spreading now it seems. Some highlights for the recorder (!) and perhaps a taste of what we saw in the morning…. 

Yellow-tail - a bit shy to reveal the reason behind the vernacular name!  

A Canary-shouldered Thorn.

A fantastically fresh Angle Shades taking moisture from the picnic table! Haven’t noticed the articulated neck quite so much before. And a view to show the rather impressive crypsis. 

More on the species can be found https://www.hantsmoths.org.uk/index.php in addition to Field Guides and apps. "

And a members talk on Thursday night in the barn covering butterflies and transects and moths over the greater Selborne area was informative. In the early part two or three Roe Deer were quite close in although they melted away into the dusk as a late night dog walker strolled around the grounds!!

Sunday morning at home was dire with just the first Flounced Rustic (below) of the year and just six other moths; it was cold and windy overnight and next Tuesday looks to be the best opportunity for the week.

PS My purchase of 100 30ml screw top specimen tubes looks to have been overly optimistic; maybe I need to offload some!!

Moths - home and away

 

Home - Dusky Thorn, Gypsy Moth, Canary-shouldered Thorn x 2 and Noble False Widow. Nice in both gardens to FINALLY not get any Jersey Tigers! 

Away - well Selborne. And the last trap of the year with Chris and Kimberley - fewer moths but more pleasantly calm after the previous fortnight's BNA visit. All done and dusted before 9.am. which meant revitalising coffee was taken at Hilliers.

Orange Swift, September Thorn, Fern (new), Pandemis corylana, Ear Moth spp, Rosy Rustic close up, Prominent wrangling and the star-of-the-show, Pretty Chalk Carpet,  also new.

The common moth Six-striped Rustic passed me by and would have been new and a possible Hoary Footman needed more examination (P.S. recorded as such by CP).

A smart Copper Underwing was also left at spp although Obsidentify was confident it was Svenssons!!

Three Roe Deer were in the meadow but bird life was pretty much nil other than a flyover Tree Pipit.

Brief mid-chore stop

 

A brief look for Figwort Sawfly was successful but the only obvious individual disappeared almost immediately; all the other yellow and black stuff were these Median Wasps of which there were many also taking advantage of figwort. The best of the pond's Odonata were Small Red-eyed Damsefly, new here for me. This Golden-haired Robberfly was a unexpected new-for-year.

Elsewhere just a single Chalkhill Blue and one or two Common Blues, one above.

And a Volucella zonaria was on Hemp Agrimony by the pond.

 

A morning looking for HBs again  this time in cool cloudy and windy conditions produced 20+ Red Kites, 12+ Buzzards, three Kestrels, ten Ravens and two House Martin's. Sadly, a call from gorse was brief and not repeated but sounded more like Dartford Warbler than any other Sylvia.

At home mothing was poor but a first; a day when Garden Carpets outnumbered Jerseys 5:2. 

Agriphila tristella, the weevil Curculio glandium (probably), Hofmanophila pseudospretella and a Phycitodes spp saxicola/maritima.

And a poor session at TH, mostly bitching about continued closures with the usual suspects produced nil other than this female Volucella inanis. Even the good numbers of Common Terns had evaporated!!