A quick pre Bio-blitz check

A very busy day on the natural history front. Up at a ridiculously early hour  to check the moth trap as I then had two more to do at Gateshead, more of later.
The minimum overnight temperature was 10.4C following on from yesterdays 24.9, but the daytime temperature dropped by 14C compared to yesterday. In fact the maximum temperature today was only 14.4C and that was at 01:20hrs this morning, warmer than at any other time today.
The trap held 71 moths of 35 species including no less than 16 new for the year. Summer would appear to be here now. The new moths were -

Ghost Moth
Map-winged Swift
Brown House Moth
Metzneria lappella
Timothy Tortrix
Celypha lacunana
Cherry Bark Moth
Thistle Ermine
Grass Rivulet
White-spotted Pug
Mottled Beauty
Bordered White
Buff-tip
Swallow Prominent
Shoulder-striped Wainscot
Beautiful Golden Y

Ghost Moth - female 

Map-winged Swift

Cherry-bark moth

Thistle Ermine

Buff-tip

Another good day.  A Great spotted Woodpecker was calling, but there was quite a breeze (it snapped my prize Delphinium for starters) and was cool and dull and nothing was singing or buzzing around.

OFFH List this year

Flowering plants - 250
Birds - 105
Butterflies - 13
Moths - 110

Mammals - 10

The reason I had to go to Gateshead was there was a 'Derwent Valley Bio-Blitz' that had been organised by the council there and iSpot, the aim was to see as many species of natural history in 24 hours as possible, with 500 species the target. So somehow I had been volunteered to help.