A moth update!

Sunday 13th November 2022.

A Silver Y moth in my moth box yesterday. 

Moths in November, especially around my garden, are always at a premium, but this recent extremely mild weather is still bringing in a few moths to my garden that I would not have expected for this time of year. I never wrote about the moths in my moth box yesterday due to the superb birding at Black Down yesterday, so, this morning, I shall explain what was present yesterday and this morning. Please stay awake!

A late Vine's Rustic looking a bit worn to say the least.

It was a clear bright start to the morning here in Southsea and I wasn't expecting that many moths to be honest, but there were a few macro moths within the egg trays that got me a little excited. OK, I have seen the same species plenty of times this year, but as winter is approaching, it just seems madness that they are still turning up! Checking the Hants Moths website, all the moths below are recorded in November and a few there are most likely migrant moths too, of which some rarities are still being reported in the UK, including a Boathouse Gem at Dungeness, Kent and a Vagrant China-mark in Worminghall, Buckinghamshire and a l. I did have an unusually marked Light Brown Apple Moth which I wanted to be confirmed and so took a few photos of the moth and put them on the Hants Moths Facebook page and it was concluded it was one. I was hoping for my first Cydia amplana of the year. Never mind.  

A Turnip Moth. Most likely a migrant moth.

The moths present yesterday morning included the following:

• 1 Lesser Yellow Underwing
• 1 Silver Y
• 1 Vine’s Rustic
• 1 Turnip Moth
• 2 Rusty-dot Pearl
• 4 Crocidosema plebejana
• 2 Beautiful Plume
• 1 Common Plume 
• 1 Light Brown Apple Moth

While checking the moth box, a few notable birds were heard flying over including a Grey Wagtail, a couple of Redwing and I was pretty sure that I heard a Brambling go over too. When I got to Andy’s house, all looked very promising for a nice selection of moths within his moth box, but there was not a single moth! And that is now two weeks running!

Above, a Lesser Yellow Underwing and below, the micro moth, Crocidosema plebejana.

This morning, it was looking a bit bleak out there with heavy cloud overhead and it looked as though it had been raining. Thankfully, it was dry when I checked the moth box, but this morning, there was not one macro moth to be seen within the moth box. The best it could throw up was 4 Rusty-dot Pearl, 1 Light Brown Apple Moth and 1 Beautiful Plume.

Above, the unusual looking Light Brown Apple Moth and below, Andy and I faced this fog to find the Great Grey Shrike on Black Down yesterday!

While topping up the bird feeders, the resident Grey Wagtail put on an appearance as it flew low over the rooftops.  A Greenfinch was heard but not seen and as soon as I turned my back to go indoors, the local House Sparrows were on the feeders in a flash! I think I have already mentioned about a lot of sightings in Hampshire yesterday, but checking over some of the reports, one chap had nearly over 20,000 Wood Pigeons through in just two hours early in the morning at Weston, Southampton! Even while I was driving up to Andy’s house along the A3, I saw several huge flocks of Wood Pigeons going over and probably a lot of them are migrant birds from the Continent as per usual at this time of year. No Black Redstarts were reported yesterday by the Bandstand at Southsea, but a pair were at the Daedalus Airfield again and another female type was found at Sandy Point, Hayling Island. 

This magnificent Short-eared Owl was gracing Southmoor late yesterday afternoon. Photo by Graeme Loader.

Late this morning, I was tidying up the garden and noticed our local House Sparrows bathing in my neighbour's gutter which I thought would make a nice photo or two. At least 8 House Sparrows bathed in the guttering at one short spell, before resuming going onto my feeders again. There were other House Sparrows pecking away at the brickwork on another neighbour's house wall, using the bits of brick for roughage I assume to break down the seeds in their stomachs.

Above and below, the House Sparrows enjoying a late morning bath in my neighbour's gutter.

I also discovered an interesting form of fungi (sorry all you birders out there!) that was growing at the back of my garden and on closer inspection, it looks like it is from the family Gomphaceae; but to narrow it down to an actual species, which could possibly be Ramaria stricta, Strict-branch Coral. l I am waiting for the experts on the British Fungi, Toadstools and Mushrooms Facebook page to ID.  

I am just waiting for an accurate ID on this fungi species, but my guess would be Strict-branch Coral.