Five new moths for the year.

Saturday 28th May 2022.

Maiden's Blush.

I was up around 4.45am this morning and although it was a cold night with temperatures dropping to around 8 degrees, I was ever hopeful in getting something special in the moth box first thing. In fact, though there were 5 new moth species for my year list, that something quite special did not materialise, but there were at least 66 moths of 29 species for me to check out. A bright and clear morning, with a near cloudless sky overhead bodes well for today.  The following moths were present this morning:

• 7 Lime-speck Pug
• 3 Double-striped Pug
• 1 Green Pug (NFY)
• 3 Bright-line Brown-eye
• 4 Garden Carpet
• 7 White Ermine
• 3 Willow Beauty
• 1 Pepper Moth
• 3 Shuttle-shaped Dart
• 2 Yellow-barred Brindle
• 3 Vines Rustic
• 1 Maiden’s Blush (NFY)
• 3 Common Marbled Carpet
• 1 Buff Ermine
• 1 Freyer’s Pug
• 1 L-album Wainscot (NFY)
• 1 Heart & Dart
• 1 Brimstone Moth
• 1 Common Wainscot (NFY)
• 2 Common Pug
• 1 Pale Mottled Willow
• 1 Marbled Minor (NFY)
• 2 Common Plume
• 1 White-shouldered House Moth
• 6 Tachystola acroxantha
• 3 Light Brown Apple Moth
• 1 Celypha striana
• 1 Platyedra subcinerea
• 1 Diamond-back Moth

Common Wainscot.

L-album Wainscot.

Celypha striana.

Marbled Minor.

Freyer's Pug.

Green Pug.

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’!

Quieter in the moth box.

Wednesday 25th May 2022.

One of two White Ermine moths this morning by the box.

Another early rise (it gets earlier, 4.35am!!) and I really do hope I last the day at work, but one must suffer for their art it seems and to avoid the local House Sparrows devouring a lot of my catch, one must get up early before they raid my garden. Becky kindly bought me a new bird feeder for the garden, one that takes the sunflower hearts of which the Sparrows, Goldfinches and tits adore and will hopefully deter some of the Sparrows from my moths.

The immigrant moth, Dark Sword-grass was a welcome addition to my year list.

There were three moths that were new for the year, White Ermine, Dark Sword-grass and the micro moth, Pyrausta aurata; but numbers were much lower than Monday with just 24 moths of 17 species recorded. The following moths were recorded:

• 3 Bright-line Brown-eye
• 2 White Ermine (NFY)
• 1 Yellow-barred Brindle
• 1 Willow Beauty
• 2 Vines Rustic
• 1 Double-striped Pug
• 1 Brimstone Moth 
• 1 Shuttle-shaped Dart
• 1 Dark Sword-grass (NFY)
• 1 Chrysoteuchia culmella
• 1 Tachystola acroxantha
• 3 Light Brown Apple Moth
• 1 Ephestia woodiella
• 1 Agonopterix arienella
• 1 Pyrausta aurata (NFY)
• 2 Lime-speck Pug
• 1 Common Pug

Pyrausta aurata.

Away from moths, a Vixen Fox was seen walking away along the back wall of my garden and onto a neighbours shed roof and away south! Some cracking birds recorded in the country yesterday including a superb Roller in Cornwall, the White-tailed Plover in Norfolk and a few Great Reed Warblers reported in the country including a probable in Hampshire, at the Hook-with-Warsash site; though it was not seen, it was picked up by its song.  

This magnificent Roller was at a place called Praze-an-Beeble. just south of Cambourne, Cornwall. I have only ever seen one Roller and that was a distant bird many years ago at Broxhead Common in North Hampshire. Photo by John Manley.

I found this Buff-tip moth by the Book of Remembrance building at The Oaks Crematorium this morning. There was also a Pug species present, but I think it was just a Common Pug. Not many birds of note in windy and drizzly weather, though a Common Buzzard was seen struggling against the wind and a Little Egret was seen flying near our Leigh Park branch off Dunsbury Way. Thirty years ago, this would have been classed as an amazing sighting, but they are simply everywhere now.  

More immigrants moths pour in.

Monday 23rd May 2022.

My first Pepper Moth for many a year.

I was up again very early (4.50am!) to go and check on my moth box and my God, I did not want to get up at all! Aching from a load of gardening and getting it all straight was tough on this old body and as this morning wore on, I felt a tad ‘under the weather’, but I persevered and went to work anyway, only to be yawning nearly all day!

I rarely get a Delicate moth in the Spring time; much more of an  Autumn moth. 

A Pearly Underwing moth was also a nice surprise, proving there must of been a lot of immigrant moths around last night.

There was another superb collection of moths this morning, which included 5 new for the year, though one moth eluded me on its identity and so I put a photo on Hants Moths Facebook page and sure enough, the Author of the site quickly came back with a Pearly Underwing. There seems to be a large influx of immigrant moths coming into the UK with a lot of Striped Hawk-moths being reported. This morning, immigrant moths I had in and around my moth box included Silver Y, Delicate, Rusty-dot Pearl and of course, the Pearly Underwing. 

The very common Chrysoteuchia culmella micro moth.

The Pepper Moth was a nice surprise as I have not had one in my box for a few years and my first Chrysoteuchia culmella of the year will probably signal an avalanche of this very common Grass Veneer species. The following moths were present in and around my moth box: 

• 3 Bright-line Brown-eye
• 3 Vines Rustic
• 1 Pepper Moth (NFY)
• 5 Brimstone Moth
• 8 Lime-speck Pug
• 2 Ephestia woodiella
• 3 Tachystola acroxantha
• 1 Delicate (NFY)
• 1 Yellow-barred Brindle
• 1 Common Marbled Carpet
• 1 Bee Moth (NFY)
• 5 Willow Beauty
• 1 Chrysoteuchia culmella (NFY)
• 1 Eudonia angustea
• 1 Pearly Underwing (NFY)
• 1 Garden Carpet
• 1 Agonopterix arenella
• 1 Brown House Moth
• 1 Heart & Dart
• 1 Silver Y
• 1 Double-striped Pug
• 1 Pale Mottled Willow
• 1 Garden Pebble
• 1 Shuttle-shaped Dart
• 1 Angle Shades
• 1 Buff Ermine
• 1 Rusty-dot Pearl

Over at Portchester Crematorium today, I really struggled to find any moths around the Flower Bay and exit of the South Chapel. Singles of Garden Carpet, Eudonia angustea and Common Plume were all I could find. Even the birdlife was somewhat quiet with only a Green Woodpecker heard only in Kingston Cemetery that was of note.