Little Hadham Birding: Mothing Night

The forecast looked good for an evening of leaving the 15 watt Heath trap out in the parish and then touring various sites with a head torch and net. Don't trust weather forecasts! An easterly wind had blown all day and whilst this subsided about 6pm the sky was clear and the crescent moon and stars were clearly visible as the temperature dropped from a day high of 18C to a miserable 11C.
Having sought and been granted permission from Steve, the local farmer to leave the trap on his land and use his private tracks to drive around some of the sites, it seemed a shame to waste the opportunity. Heath trap set by 7.30 and after a chat with Charlie, Steve's son who was just finishing harrowing, I set off to Westland Green to check the brambles: Nothing. On to Millennium Wood to do the same. Here, a reasonably large moth shot passed me and was netted after waiting for it to come to a height where it could be caught. A Brick, new moth for the year, so things looked better. A visit to Hadham Hall and the ivy gave up another blank, so off to the pub for a pint!
After this I checked ivy and brambles in the fields opposite the pub and by 10.45 returned along the unmade farm tracks to the heath trap. Nothing but 2 lacewings on the sheet but a reasonable haul of 6 moths inside of 5 species:
2 Chestnut
yellow line quaker
Rosy rustic
Setaceous hebrew character
spruce carpet.

I then returned to home, checked the trap and noted my 2nd Merveille du Jour, (a different specimen as yesterday's one flew off in Millennium Wood where I had tried to get good photos on lichen,) and an Acleris sparsana.
This morning I added, Large yellow underwing, Epiphyas postvittana, 6 Lunar underwing and 4 beaded chestnuts to the list.
Therefore, all in all, 21 moths of 12 species, not too tardy for October and some less regularly seen insects to boot.