Four more moths added to year list.

Friday 2nd June 2023

This May Highflyer was unexpected. I dont often get this species of moth in my garden often.

It was overcast when I ventured out in the garden at 4.45am this morning and this in turn produced a much better return of moths in and around my moth box. Hot coffee was close by and after putting out the Dried Mealworms for the House Sparrows, I got on and checked out what today had in store. Again, there was a northerly breeze blowing across the garden, which I thought would have put the moths off, but thankfully, I was wrong there.

White-point. This is a reasonably common immigrant moth that I get in small numbers in my moth trap. 

Another three nice macro  ‘year-ticks’ were added to my year moth year list that included a May Highflyer, Lychnis and a White-point moth. There were at least 34 moths of 17 species this morning which also included another Large Yellow Underwing, Turnip Moth and a Yellow-barred Brindle to add to the total. Much better than yesterday, so could be on the up?

Lychnis. Quite a striking looking moth of which they regularly occur in my garden throughout the warmer months.

Moths present this morning included the following:

• 1 Large Yellow Underwing
• 3 Pale Mottled Willow
• 1 May Highflyer (NFY)
• 2 Silver Y (1 deceased in a Spiders web)
• 1 Double-striped Pug
• 1 White Ermine
• 1 White-point (NFY)
• 1 Lychnis (NFY)
• 4 Heart & Dart
• 4 Vine’s Rustic
• 1 Yellow-barred Brindle
• 1 Turnip Moth
• 4 Shuttle-shaped Dart
• 2 Tachystola acroxantha
• 1 Brown House Moth
• 5 Light Brown Apple Moth   
• 1 Psychoides filicivora

To the birds now; and it seems that there was a good number of Black Terns in the Solent yesterday with up to 16 birds recorded. There was a frenzy of both Terns and Gulls within the Solent, feeding on a large shoal of small fish going through. Even my step son sent me some film footage from his mobile of a large flock of birds off Southsea beach! Sadly, I was too busy again to take advantage of seeing this, so I hope they might linger till today, fingers crossed. 

My step-son Russell sent me this film footage of the Gulls & Terns he saw off Southsea beach yesterday afternoon.

It was superb to see so many young Starlings in my garden a little later after checking the moths. I counted at least 10 juveniles following a couple of adults all around my garden hoping to be fed.

Some film footage of the young Starlings in my garden this morning.