I got an email from Kevin who lives nearby saying, last Tuesday he saw a Short-eared Owl whilst out jogging. Now this got me excited. I could not go and check the site, which is by the A167 until last night, but check it I did and got a surprise. To be honest I'm not 100% certain I ended up at the right place but within a few metres of where I though I should be I saw an owl. However it was not a Short-eared Owl but a
Long-eared. After watching it for a while two young started calling from nearby and the adult bird I was watching flew over to feed them with some small rodent I could not identify. Unfortunately something spooked them and they all flew out of site but what an excellent sighting. Now have I gone to the right place or is there a 'Shortie' out there still waiting to be seen by me? Time will tell .....
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| Everyone's favourite - the Garden Tiger - 1 of 15 that were new for the year |
The overnight temperature dropped to 8.2C but I put the trap out last night as it was the night for the National Garden Moth scheme. Despite the dip in temperature it was a very good night with 207 moths of 47 species counted (it took me a fair while to sort them all out I can tell you). No less than 15 were new for the year. The first micros of the year -
Bird Cherry Ermine, Helcystogramma rufescens, Blastodacna hellerella, Dark Fruit-tree Tortrix, Spruce bud Moth, Agriphila inquinatella and
Eudonia pallida were all present. The
Helcystogramma was my earliest by a month and it was only my 2nd Spruce bud Moth and possibly only the 4th for the county. The last and the earliest of either were on the same day - 1st August 2008, how's that for a coincidence?
Eudonia pallida was also my earliest ever.
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| Spruce Bud Moth - Uncommon but plenty of Spruces in the nearby woods |
The macro moths appearing for the first time this year were
Buff Arches, July Highflyer, Magpie Moth, Light Emerald, Garden Tiger, Purple Clay, Slender Brindle and
Straw Dot.
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| Light Emerald - the dark red tip at wing tip is diagnostic |
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| Buff Arches - One of the species expanding here in the north-east |
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| The Magpie Moth - particularly fond of currant bushes |
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Slender Brindle - not a common moth but another species
that occurs with regularity in the garden |
The moth list for the year is now 170
Well done with the Long-eared, Keith.
ReplyDeleteVery very envious of the Garden Tiger, i`ve yet to see one. Do you a swap with a Gatekeeper ;-)