No new moths today.

Friday 27 May 2022.

Shuttle-shaped Darts come in various guises and this one threw me a bit, though I was correct on the ID.  

A drizzly, yet bright, start to the morning and thankfully, it was a 5.10am start and the local Spadgers had not been attacking my moths yet. Phew! Unfortunately, nothing new in the moth box this morning for the year, but a nice variety nonetheless. The ornamental Rabbit I keep as a weight on top of my rain guard on top of the moth box, actually held a few moths, which I did not not notice at first when I took it off the box first thing this morning. When I put it back, there were 3 more moths hiding within it, including a Diamond-back Moth! This morning's moth present today were the following:

• 1 Willow Beauty
• 3 Lime-speck Pug
• 1 Double-striped Pug
• 4 Shuttle-shaped Dart
• 1 Common Marbled Carpet
• 2 Yellow-barred Brindle
• 3 Pale Mottled Willow
• 3 Heart & Dart
• 3 Vines Rustic
• 1 Garden Carpet
• 2 White Ermine
• 1 Bright-line Brown-eye
• 1 Diamond-back Moth
• 1 Brown House Moth
• 2 Tachystola acroxantha
• 7 Light Brown Apple Moth
• 1 Common Plume

Yesterday was fairly quiet for me, with a few Common Buzzards seen overhead including one over the M275 and another over The Oaks Crematorium. Two different Kestrels were seen hovering by the road along Portsdown Hill. Back over The Oaks Crematorium, yesterday's Buff-tip moth was still present by the Book of Remembrance building and what was probably an Iron Prominent moth was on the wall just above the exit doors, but was just too high to get a decent photo.

My second Diamond-back Moth of the year hiding on the ornamental Rabbit above my box!  

A female Red-necked Phalarope was seen on Salterns Marsh, Lymington, yesterday but flew off and was not reported again. Today, I was a bit disappointed that Portchester Crematorium held literally no moths at all. There was just one Common Marbled Carpet yesterday, but I could not find anything around the exit of the South Chapel and neither the Flower Bay. However, I was a lot more successful over The Oaks Crematorium where I found THREE Pale Tussock moths by Chapel exit and the Buff-tip moth was still present by the Book of Remembrance building yet again.

One of three Pale Tussock moths at The Oaks Crematorium and all relatively close to one another this afternoon.

A few Common Buzzards made the most of a glorious afternoon, sailing high within a clear blue sky as the temperatures climbed into the low 70’s. A House Martin was seen flying from a house as I was exiting Hayling Island this morning and when I was walking back home down my road, I saw plenty of Swifts overhead including one bird that actually flew into one of my Swift nest boxes. Yippee! A few top rarities are in the UK at present, including a stunning pale morph adult Eleonora’s Falcon at Worth Marsh in Kent and a Little Swift at Eltham in South-east London. I do hope both birds are around tomorrow as I am tempted to do a ‘twitch’!