Barnacles and Quakers

I put the trap out again last night as it was garden moth night again and the result was fairly similar to the previous nights but a couple of different species. Both Red-lined Quaker and Yellow-lined Quaker were present, the latter was new for the year and in total there were 29 moths of 11 species plus a large Geometrid moth that flew off from the outside of the trap before I got near it. The one that got away .. I hate it when that happens because I'm not sure what it could have been.

Yellow-line Quaker

Red-line Quaker

There were 4 species of Hoverfly on the Honeysuckle and Japanese Anemone in the garden late morning including 20+ Syrphus ribesii  plus a Common Carder Bee but no butterflies even though there was a Speckled Wood on the Common Ivy flowers just around the corner.

At 12:07 a Skylark flew over SW calling and whilst I watched it, I heard a barking noise in the distance. Grabbing my binoculars I scanned the skies and found a small skein of 30 Barnacle Geese coming towards me and heading due west. There were a lot seen at the coast last weekend and I saw a skien at Sunderland on Thursday, so this is an excellent time to try and snatch a glimpse of them. I checked their course on Google maps and if they continued in a straight line they would head over Consett and the south end of Derwent Reservoir, over the north part of the Lake District hitting the west coast at Silloth, directly opposite Southerness Point on the Solway Firth. Slap in the middle of their wintering ground!