Skip to main content

The week past, and some Moths to look at.

Blyth's Reed has to be the toughest bird I have ever twitched! I expected a tough time of it, and got off lightly compared to some. This was of course Saturday 10th, and after news broke and some dithering I set off solo for this elusive acro. The bird began to sing not long after I arrived, various whistles and peeps interspersed with some top Tit mimicking. Eventually, a few glimpses as the bird moved quickly through the undergrowth. A 'decent' view of 5 seconds in the pit was as good as it got! Not a looker it has to be said, but worth it for the song alone.
Surlingham was actually decent this last week, a couple of visits provided good views of Kingfisher, Cuckoo, Marsh Harrier and the Lapwing chicks (3). The forecast for the week ahead doesn't look too bad, so hopefully some glorious evenings in the sun. 
                                                                             Cuckoo!

Stayed with the parents last night, so despite the wind the Moth trap was set up and scrutinized this morning.
One or two ID issues as usual (part of the fun) but so far the relatively light haul included:
Common Swift 3
Marbled Minor 3
Privet Hawkmoth
Dusky Brocade
Setaceous Hebrew Character
Silver Y
Heart and Dart
Treble Lines.

                                                                 Common Swift (Thanks Jonny).

                                                                  Privet Hawkmoth

                                                                 Treble Lines

Comments

  1. Anonymous18 June 2012 at 06:56

    Hi Jim,

    I think your Orange is a Common Swift. Orange is a lil different and flies later in the year...

    Very jealous of your Privet Hawk!

    Cheers,

    Jonny

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jim18 June 2012 at 11:01

    You are spot on Jonny, not sure why I thought it was an Orange Swift now! I do love the Moth trapping, but don't get to do it with any regularity so mistakes are still made.
    The Privet Hawk was awaiting right at the bottom of the barrel, what a beast! Cheers.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Everything is about edge

Hardley, where it is often confusing to define where the garden ends and the marsh begins. Tumble-down houses and rickety shacks, away from any bus route and Team Sky sorts wrapped in lycra, this is a village that by choice is cut off. The secret is out, and pre-storm Ciara as many as 10 large lenses littered the river bank firing at will. Their target- Winter ghosts. First, the classic Scooby-Doo type, as a Barn Owl responds to an ill-advised squeak in the grass and heads towards the onlookers. Another quickly joins the hunt, their formation a picture of double-edged stealth. But these year-round residents are not the key objective today, that honour is given to the Short-eared Owl. 3/4 of these can be seen from the staithe at the minute, floating like giant moths over the tussocks and edges.  In a recent article in The New Yorker, Jake Fiennes states "Everything is about edge". Hedges, ditches, scrub, forgotten tracts of land that link nothing and no-one. Fiennes, now ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Grey Phalarope- a new patch bird

The 7th of April was another bitterly cold Spring day, hats and gloves in prime position on pegs and in bags ready to be deployed. A few brave Garganey have been reported north of the river, but it was a bird from the north itself that had me rushing for the thermals and the telescope late in the day.  I was thankful for the local Whatsapp group who were quick to report that a Grey Phalarope had been seen on Rockland Broad. This tiny Wader would have come in on the northerlies over the last few days, although to grace one of the broads is a real surprise, since most stick pretty close to the coast before moving on. Indeed, my experience of the birds has usually been on a sea watch in the Autumn, waves crashing and foam flying, my eyes straining to pick them out as they fly low just above the surf. They are fantastic birds, and now one was here on the patch. I had a brief panic when I realised my scope was in my car at the garage (thankfully I do have a much older spare) but once th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Claxton-on-sea!

 Although it was not quite the Christmas we wanted here in the valley, the rain has bought its own gift. A grim vision of the future, perhaps. But right now, the patch is peaking and is alive with birds, and for that I am thankful. On Christmas eve, it was a job to navigate away from the village due to standing water that had left abandoned cars and undelivered presents in its wake. The rain had been persistent and unforgiving, the ground, saturated. Over on the marsh, where there had once been a muddy puddle amongst the pasture, a city had sprung from the leak, with a plethora of new occupants noisily laying claim to a patch of sodden marsh. Wigeon and Black-headed Gulls in their thousands now wheeled and whistled over and amongst the newly formed pools, accompanied by smaller numbers of Teal and Shoveler. A flock of two hundred-strong Lapwing enjoyed feeding on the less damp spots where green grass was still exposed, and thrown in for good measure have been a couple of Ruff, the ...
4 comments
Read more