afternoon wander 14.08.11

A walk over to Hadham Hall lagoon this afternoon was not too productive. Hoping for a good show of insects, but only large and small white, gatekeeper and meadow brown around the lagoon. Here, the grass had been strimmed, hence the scarcity of insects. Returning to the hall, however, a fly by small heath was a good record. Emperor and black tailed skimmer dragonflies were seen in small numbers along with 25+ common blue damsels roosting on the lily pads
Singles of reed bunting, pied wagtail, lesser black backed gull and green woodpecker were observed along with a party of linnets, family of coots and moorhen as well as a solitary yellowhammer. 2 red legged partridge were also witnessed on a recently ploughed field.
Also of note: a hobby was seen over Ash Valley Golf Club yesterday at noon, chasing a large migratory group of swallows and martins. Their alarm calls attracted my attention to the bird as I had a disasterous round of golf!

Moths 12.08.11

A quiet night at the trap, with not too much of note. An hour was spent observing the comings and goings, with several unidentified micros as well as the regular macros. Another spectacle turned up: shown here head on to show how it got its name. other entrants were plenty of lesser broad bordered yellow underwing (25+), 3 large yellow underwings, 5 mother of pearl, 1 riband wave, several shuttle shaped dart, 1 heart and club and those shown below, yet to be positively identified. Could be another, slightly worn straw underwing and another lesser yellow underwing. Now confirmed as these species.



straw underwing




lesser yellow underwing



Chapel Lane/Westland Green walk 11.08.11

Brooding sky from Chapel Lane looking towards Home Farm

Gatekeeper.

An evening wander up Chapel Lane last night, under darkening skies did not give up too many bird species. Migration appeared to be well under way with 4 swifts, 9 house martins, 20+ swallows, and 3 late sand nmartins. These, along with recently arrived black headed gulls (8) herring gull (1) and lesser black backed gulls (14) were all recorded heading south over the chapel. A wing flapping, begging juvenile goldfinch, seen in the garden, still gave the impression of the breeding season. Other birds were few and far between, with a male sparrowhawk, 3 mistle thrushes and calling nuthatch and treecreeper evident. A party of 6 long tailed tits were observed at Westland Green, but on the whole a quite birding time.

another new species in the trap 11.08.11

A reasonable catch last night with: yellowshell, lesser yellow underwing, lesser broad bordered yellow underwing, mother of pearl, common wainscot, bordered straw, large yellow underwing, setaceous hebrew character, spectacle, rustic, riband wave and the new species: purple bar.

red form of common wainscot



gold triangle (previously misidentified as pyrausta purpuralis)



sickly grey heron

juvenile grey heron

lesser yellow underwing

purple bar

spectacle

I received a call this moring regarding a grey heron that had taken up residence in a large garden in Westland Green. It had been present for 3 days and appeared unwell. Upon arrival it was clear things weren't right. It was approachable and I threw a blanket over it before picking it up. It was unable to walk properly, was clearly ill and unable to fly. On closer inspection it obviously had some poisoning and was bleeding from the nostrils. I took it down the lane to a nearby wooded pond, but upon arrival it was fading fast, unable to keep its head up. I put it down and it was unable to stand. I took the decision that sadly, the best thing was to put it out of its misery, which I did swiftly.

More new moths 10.8.11

A quiet night again at the trap, cold conditions with showers. However, 2 new macros, in the shape of a superb pebble promient and an orange swift. Also present, heart and club, common wainscot, riband wave, straw underwing, lesser broad bordered yellow underwing, shuttle shaped dart, rustic, uncertain, yellowshell and a few micros, especially chequered fruit tree tortrix.


double striped pug



underside of copper underwing showing diagnostic lack of copper colouring. This separates it from the very similar svensson's copper underwing

orange swift

orange swift. Splendid moustache!

pebble prominent

pebble prominent in a more normal habitat.

yellowshell

chequered fruit tree tortrix.

On the bird front, a long parish walk is required to check on migration and late breeding. Goldfinches have returned to the garden in good numbers, whilst yesterday a solitary female bullfinch flew over. A female sparrowhawk has taken up local residence. Her presence announced by the screaming of the swallows and martins. This alarm normally signifies the presence of a hobby. Also, whilst driving home today a splendid male sparrow hawk led the way down Chapel Lane before disappearing into the monkey puzzle tree at Home Farm, scattering both collared doves and the resident house sparrows.

new moth and cricket 7.8.11

 Complexities of identifying moths can become quite tricky at time. Plenty of mistakes can be made and much time with head in field guides required. Many moths are very similar until studied closely. These 2 examples show similarities. Top one is a straw underwing, (my first record) whilst the one below is a dark arches, a common garden species.
Weather over the weekend has been damp and rather chilly after dusk, so not good for a full catch of moths. A dark bush cricket was also in the trap along with either a wasp or spider as the base of the trap was littered with remains of eaten moths, especially the wings. Tipped the trap out but no sign of the predator.

Insects 4.8.11

lesser stag beetle

orange ladybird

2 beetles were also in the trap this morning: an orange ladybird and more impressively, a lesser stag beetle. For more info  click here

Garden update 4.8.11

black arches

lime speck pug

nicrophorous investigator



gold triangle




dark barred twin spot carpet




common carpet



small waved umber

waved black

A good collection of macro moths in the trap recently, with over 40 species on Tuesday morning, including several new ones: common carpet, lime speck pug and a spectacular black arches. Two of the nationally scarce waved black were in the trap this morning, one shown above.

Scarce moth in Little Hadham

A very busy moth trap this morning, with a wide variety of usual and irregular visitors. However, the undoubted highlight was finding a single specimen of the natioanlly scarce moth "waved black". First found in Hertfordshire in the 1950's it had been recorded only 35 times by 2008. Apart from this there were examples of dark barred twin spot carpet, latticed heath, lesser broad bordered yellow underwing, dingy footman, large yellow underwing, brimstone moth, poplar hawkmoth, setaceous hebrew character, riband wave plus a selection of , as yet, unidentified micro moths. The waved black record and photo has been forwarded to the county recorder.

acleris holmiana

bee moth

grey or dark dagger

setaceous hebrew character

waved black

white satin

latest garden moths 28.07.11

2 brimstone moths

nut tree tussock

cloaked minor



 



copper underwing

dusky sallow

large yellow underwing

lesser broad bordered yellow underwing

magpie

ruby tiger

scarce footman

yellowshell and red barred tortrix

shuttle shaped dart

single dotted wave

Attached are a series of photos from recent new moths found in the trap. Tuesday night/Wednesday morning was particularly productive with several new species coming to the trap.