Saturday 24th August 2024.
My first Nutmeg moth of the year. They are almost annually in my garden.
A wet start to the morning as rain came in overnight and so I had to hurry in checking the Moth Box to avoid a good soaking. Some of the moths flew off sharpish on my approach and a couple looked quite interesting too; but there were plenty to check that remained in and around the Box. A good selection this morning, which included 46 moths of 27 species that included my first Nutmeg moth for the year and my second Brindled Poplar Tortrix for the year. Rain is forecast for the day and as the morning wore on, it got heavier.
A typical Autumn moth, the White-point, can turn up in good numbers and below, my second Brindled Poplar Tortrix moth of the year.
I really had to put my skates on to record the moths as the rain got harder the longer I was out by the trap. A lone Garden Tiger was a bit of a surprise as I thought they are all gone now and two Setaceous Hebrew Characters and my first White-point for the month. Autumn moths are coming through now and so there should be a lot more additions to my year list……hopefully!
Narrow-winged Grey micro moths are returning again.
The Moths recorded this morning included the following:
MACRO MOTHS:
- Yellow-barred Brindle
- Nutmeg (New for Year)
- Double-striped Pug 4
- Garden Tiger
- Shuttle-shaped Dart
- Lime-speck Pug 3
- Willow Beauty
- Setaceous Hebrew Character 2
- Uncertain 4
- Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing 3
- Large Yellow Underwing
- White-point
- Bright-line Brown-eye 3
- Pale Mottled Willow 2
- Square-spot Rustic
MICRO MOTHS
- Ruddy Streak
- Rusty-dot Pearl
- Broom Shoot Moth
- Chervron Grass-moth
- Narrow-winged Grey
- Light Brown Apple Moth
- Apple Leaf Miner
- Box-tree Moth 3
- Beautiful Plume 2
- Brindled Poplar Tortrix 2
- Common Plume 2
- Garden Pebble
As soon as I got back from shopping and lunch with my wife, I took the dogs out for a walk around Highland Road Cemetery. It was bright and sunny when I arrived home after this morning's persistent rain had put paid to any birding this morning. However, I did notice a lot of nasty big grey clouds heading our way and sure enough, when I got about 100 yards into the Cemy, the heavens simply opened. Thankfully, there were some rather large trees available to shelter from and so, me and the boys took shelter.
I got caught in a heavy rain shower and so we took shelter under the Lime trees.
Above and below, the Goldfinches in the Cemy.
And then the sun eventually came out!
Above and below, the 'black & white' Carrion Crow. Obviously, the bird was lacking pigmentation in many of the feathers, which makes the bird quite striking. This is a juvenile bird that has parents that also have the same condition, but nowhere near as striking as this bird.
Above, the Great Black-backed Gull doing a tour of duty over the Cemy. Below, I flushed this yellowish moth and after a while, it settled and identified it as a Yellow Shell moth.
Above, some of the Grey Squirrels within the Cemetery are sporting a reddish tinge. Below, a Lusitanian Slug making its way over a damp Gravestone. The Breathing Pore can clearly be seen on this individual.
No migrant birds in the Cemetery yet again, but the Jays were calling deep within the leafy canopies of the nearby trees and the only other bird of real note was the ‘black & white’ Carrion Crow seen on a rooftop in the north-east corner of the Cemy. An adult Great Black-backed Gull circled a few times over the Cemy and a small flock of Goldfinches were flapping about within some bushes over on the east side. The rain eventually departed and after a while, the sun poked out through the clouds and it was sunny all over again. Throughout my walk with the dogs, the distant noise of the Victorious Music Festival near the seafront was constant, though I could not identify what band was playing!
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