Sunday 30 June 2013

Moth Night

A good haul (for 2013) last night, with 39 macro moths of 16 species. A scorched wing and green pug were the only new for year ones, along with a white plume micro.
white plume moth

scorched wing

green pug

Saturday walk

Lovely, peaceful wander yesterday morning before breakfasting at Little Hadham Farmers' Market. A red kite breezed its way along the Ash Valley and a family of coal tits were enjoying the local conifers near Home Farm.
Checks on the flower heads on the verges gave views of several bumble bee species, including Bombus terristris, Bombus pratorum and Bombus ruderarius (red tailed bumble bee) as well as Apis mellifera, the honey bee.

Bombus terristris


Bombus pratorum

Apis mellifera (honey bee)

coal tit

Saturday 29 June 2013

Few more moths

A burnished brass, straw dot and double square spot were all new for the year in, yet again, a very empty trap. Few heart and darts, buff ermine, white ermine and several yet to be identified micros were all that was present.
burnished brass

double square spot

straw dot

Friday 28 June 2013

Few moths

snout

heart and club

Pandemis cerasana (Barred fruit tree tortrix)
After a wet night a few moths new for the year: a snout, heart and club and barred fruit tree tortrix went on to the year list, whilst several other micros await identification. A setaceous hebrew character, brimstone, heart and dart, white ermine and  buff ermine were also present.

Thursday 27 June 2013

Good mothing

A good night last night with several new moths for the year; elephant hawkmoth, clouded silver, bright line brown eye, willow beauty, uncertain and mottled rustic taking the yearly total to 82, some 33 species less than 27th June 2012, which was considered by lepidopterists to be a very bad year!!
willow beauty
uncertain




elephant hawkmoth



clouded silver

mottled rustic

bright line brown eye

Kefalonia 18th - 25th June. A few insects and birds.

A week trip to the beautiful Greek island of Kefalonia. As I already knew, not a bird hot spot so very few species seen. However, plenty of butterflies, but with temperatures rising to 40C it was not always possible to be out to photo them.
Bird wise: kestrel, Eleanora's falcon, yellow legged gull, wood pigeon, collared dove, turtle dove, swift, hoopoe, greater short toed lark, crag martin, swallow, red rumped swallow, house martin, wren, robin, blackbird, whitethroat, olivaceous warbler, (ssp elaeica), chiffchaff, woodchat shrike, jay, hooded crow, starling, house sparrow, chaffinch, goldfinch, greenfinch.

On the butterfly front: cleopatra, southern white admiral, scarce swallowtail, wall brown + plenty of fast flying whites, probably southern small whites and several small brown jobs that refused to settle whilst I watched them.

Moth; a stunningly large surreptitious palm borer on the bonnet of a chevrolet. Just been informed only 2 records exist for the whole of Greece. Strange, as I saw 3 in 2 days, all at different locations, but I suspect, Kefalonia remains somewhat under recroded for moths.

Mammals; goats!! not even a donkey

Reptiles; an Ionian wall lizard

Not a great haul, but then this was a none nature holiday and I only saw what was about as we wandered short distances in high temperatures. Wonderful break and some glorious scenery. Oh, and thousands of cicadas.

Podarcis tauricus ionicus, Ionian Wall Lizard


Podarcis tauricus ionicus, Ionian Wall Lizard

Surreptitious palm borer

southern white admiral

cicada

swallow

wall brown

woodchat shrike

Myrtos beach, 1000 feet below

To the beach

Assos

Fiscardo

Drogorati caves


Tuesday 18 June 2013

Good moth haul

Best night of the year, with rivulet and buttoned snout new for the parish list whilst peppered moth, common footman and common wainscot new for the year.
Micros in the form of Plutella porrectella and Epiblema cynosbatella. Regulars came in the shape of herald, common marbled carpet, garden carpet, green carpet, rustic shoulder knot, setaceous hebrew character, flame shoulder, brimstone, mottled pug, common pug, nutmeg and large nutmeg.
rivulet

brimstone

common footman

common wainscot

peppered moth

Monday 17 June 2013

Moth round up

The return of cold evenings, so consequently, a drop off in moth numbers with nothing new for the garden or year being recorded.
A scorched carpet was the highlight of a poor haul this morning, with an, as yet, unidentified pug also being present amongst the 10 or so regular visitors.
scorched carpet
A trip to Kefalonia tomorrow will curtail updates for a few days, but I do hope to forward a few photos and maybe a round up via email. Hoping for some good butterflies and one or two good birds, although the island is certainly not a birding hotspot.

Saturday 15 June 2013

More new moths

Another reasonable night of trapping, with a buff ermine being new for the year whilst the highlight was this light brocade, a new moth for the garden list.
Also, several nutmegs, large nutmegs, a common carpet, a spectacle, small square spot, brimstone and several heart and dart moths. In all 31 moths.
light brocade

buff ermine

Friday 14 June 2013

Getting better

A red letter day today with a reasonable selection of moths, albeit mostly solitary representatives.Regulars were: 3 nutmegs, 3 rustic shoulder knots, 2 green carpets, 2 poplar hawkmoths, a treble lines, common swift, mottled pug, white spot pug, clouded border and white ermine.
New for the year were the expected setaceous hebrew character, v pug, light emerald whilst new for me were a good specimen of middle barred minor and a rarity in the form of a May highflyer. Only a handful of these have been recorded within Hertfordshire so an excellent record. This takes my garden total to over 260, not too bad in just 2 years constant trapping. Unfortunately, the May highflyer was far too active in the pot and when removed for a photograph it had become too worn to be of much use. However, I shall forward it for dissection as it will require confirmation.
middle barred minor

v pug

Thursday 13 June 2013

Another improvement

After another warm night, there was a continued improvement in moth numbers. However, this must be weighed up against last year, where an average haul per night was close to 100 moths. This morning 21 moths of 8 macro species plus 2 micros.
New for the year were common white wave, common marbled carpet, silver ground carpet and small square spot. Others that have featured before were large nutmegs, green carpets, red twin spot carpets and spectacles. The 2 micros were Celypha lacunana and  Agonopterix arenella, both common garden species.
common white wave

common marbled carpet

small square spot

silver ground carpet

Wednesday 12 June 2013

At last!!

At last, a moth night where more than just a few moths arrived at the trap. First in was a newly emerged lime hawkmoth, the first of a few new species for the year.
This morning, an early check on the trap showed what had been anticipated, the best total so far in 2013. 3 large nutmegs, several flame shoulders, 2 green carpets and a poplar hawkmoth made up the regular visitors. However, of more interest were a treble lines, small magpie, marbled minor and cinnabar moth, all new for the year. I noted that I had omitted the cinnabar from my list, therefore increasing my moth total for the garden to 258 species.
I look forward to another good night, as at present there is a good temperature and overcast skies. Worth an early rise again and perhaps a little time at the trap after dusk.
treble lines

lime hawkmoth

marbled minor

cinnabar


small magpie

This is me

This is me
At the end of another Norfolk Coastal footpath walk. 47 miles, 3 days 99 species of bird. September 2009

Caley Wood view

Caley Wood view
sunshine through the canopy 29.05.08

A walk along the Warta Valley, Poznan, Poland. Feb 2007

A walk along the Warta Valley, Poznan, Poland. Feb 2007
Best birds on this walk: black and middle spotted woodpecker and short toed treecreeper

About Me

My photo
A primary school teacher for 30 years, I retired from teaching in July 2009 to set up my own science enhancement and communication company. The Primary Works offers science clubs, workshops and staged science shows nationwide. I have always been interested in bird watching since my early years. Apparently my first tick was after inquiring about a chaffinch and then receiving the Observer book of birds. By the age of 9 I had moved on to Tory Peterson's collins guide and was now involved on YOC birding holidays to Northumbria, Essex coast, Slimbridge and Yorkshire. My twitching rule is that I will willingly travel 1km for each gram the bird weighs. However, I have had many rarities just by being in the right place. I have travelled widely throughout Europe and also visited Australia and Sri Lanka. In 2016 I spent time at Portland Bird Obs and two trips to Aviero, Portugal. 2017 found me back in Sri Lanka in Feb/March, then July and back for New Year's Eve celebrations in December. Also returned to The Camargue in May for a 4 day trip. Few plans for 2018, but nothing yet booked apart from a trip to the IOW.

Grey heron

Grey heron
Over the allotment 28.09.08

Southern Hawker

Southern Hawker
Ridge footpath 27.08.08

Juvenile green woodpecker (17.08.08)

Juvenile green woodpecker (17.08.08)
Note the stripes, denoting a bird fledged this year.

common blue

common blue
Ash Valley G.C. 15.08.08

Indian balsam (impatiens glandulifera)

Indian balsam (impatiens glandulifera)
River Ash

azure damselfly

azure damselfly
River Ash 28.07.08

marbled white

marbled white
Discovered at Westland Green 22.07.08

ruddy darter

ruddy darter
Bush Wood 21.07.08

honeysuckle 19.07.08

honeysuckle 19.07.08
growing in hedgerow in Chapel Lane

cinnabar moth caterpillar

cinnabar moth caterpillar
Photographed on ragwort 19.07.08

Bittersweet

Bittersweet
Study of petals 11.06.08

male yellowhammer

male yellowhammer
08.06.08

common blue butterfly

common blue butterfly
06.06.08

River Ash

River Ash
looking south from the bridge at Hadham Ford

Common poppy (papaver rhoeas)

Common poppy (papaver rhoeas)
in rape field 29.05.08

Caley Wood sunshine

Caley Wood sunshine
29.05.08

Millenium Wood fox

Millenium Wood fox
24.05.08

common comfrey (symphytum officinale)

common comfrey (symphytum officinale)
06.05.08 banks of the River Ash

Garlic Mustard or Jack by the Hedge,(Alliara petiolata)

Garlic Mustard or Jack by the Hedge,(Alliara petiolata)
flowers, leaves and fruit edible . Good in salad and pesto

April showers

April showers
Double rainbow 30.04.08

Caley Wood bluebells

Caley Wood bluebells
22.04.08

Yellow Archangel

Yellow Archangel
Chapel Lane (20.04.08)

sunlight 16.04.08

sunlight 16.04.08
looking south west from Bush Wood

snowy buds

snowy buds
06.04.08 in Bush Wood

Looking north west

Looking north west
05.04.08 evening shower approaching

Back Garden

Back Garden
Easter Sunday (23.03.08)

Brick Kiln Hill

Brick Kiln Hill
Looking east (23.03.08)

No play today

No play today
The 2nd hole at Ash Valley golf course

Teasel head

Teasel head
Bush Wood (21.03.08)

Reflections

Reflections
daffodils at Bush Wood pond (21.03.08)

Swollen River Ash

Swollen River Ash
The river at the bottom of Winding Hill 16.03.08

Daybreak over the chapel

Daybreak over the chapel
Thursday 13th March

Wild daffodils (narcissus pseudonarcissus)

Wild daffodils (narcissus pseudonarcissus)
growing in Bush Wood

January snowdrops

January snowdrops
Banks of River Ash, north of Much Hadham

Good Moon

Good Moon
From garden 24.01.08

Village Green

Village Green
Looking east towards Acremore Street

Looking south before Hadham Ford

Looking south before Hadham Ford
rare January blue sky

Useful sites

The following are some useful websites that may interest readers of this blog.
Firstly, Bishop's Stortford Natural History Society http://bsnhs.webplus.net/

Fellow birder, Gary Whelan's blog. Gives reports from our trips out together plus reports from his trips abroad. http://hairybirders.blogspot.co.uk
http://www.hertsbirdclub.org.uk/ The official herts bird club website. Frequently updated, listing bird sightings around the county. Offers links to many other websites. Both of these sites also offer links to yahoo discussion groups.
http://www.birdforum.net/ An international site. You can enter as a guest but become a member( free) to post comments, bird sightings and just about anything to do with wild birds. Good news updates, classified section for binoculars, cameras etc.
http://www.guidedbirdwatching.com/ A new site set up where you can contact people worldwide who will help you find good birds in their country. UK section being set up presently.
http://www.britainsbirder.co.uk/
Fellow birders blog. Strtford resident, Graeme Smith regulary birds the area south of Stortford as well as around Spellbrook and the River Stort from Spellbrook to Twyford Locks. Some superb bird photography: Graeme uses a digital camera attached to his powerful telescope to get detailled images of the birds he sees. Well worth a browse.
Two local sites that may be of interest can be found at
http://www.thehadhams.com/ www.thepelhams.net/content/section/12/139/

South Easterly walk

South Easterly walk
black, normal, red extended walk

South Westerly route.

South Westerly route.
Black usual, red extended

North Easterly walk

North Easterly walk
black short, walk. Red, extended

North West Patch

North West Patch
black route regular. Red route the extended wander