Tigers & plenty of migrant Moths this morning.

 

Friday 24^th July 2026.

Tigers are back. Left, my first Garden Tiger moth of the year along with a Jersey Tiger.

The Moth Box went back on overnight, and the weather conditions could hardly have been better. It was still and calm, with no cloud cover, yet it produced a good number of year-ticks and migrant moths from a relatively small catch. The children have now broken up for the summer holidays, so there will be no Pembroke Road sightings for the next six weeks. That should give me a little time for some birding.

The first summer Long-tailed Shrike is still present this morning in Gloucestershire and proving a big attraction for birders far and wide. It is only a couple of hours away and so I just might make the journey with the guys this weekend.

 

My Moth Box:

My first Portland Ribbon Wave of the year.

Although there were only 48 moths of 28 species this morning, the quality was excellent. Five more species were added to my year list, including another lifer: the micro moth Small Pine Shoot Moth (Clavigesta sylvestrana). My first Garden Tiger of the year finally appeared at the bottom of the Moth Box, joined by up to three Jersey Tigers.

My first Dusky Thorn of the year.

I have been doing well this year with Thorn moths and so with a Dusky Thorn turning up behind the Moth Box, I was very pleased and my first Portland Ribbon Wave that was sat on the white board. These are now becoming annual to my garden and were considered a real rarity many years ago. My second Marbled Green of the year was on one of the egg trays.

Above, my first ever Small Pine Shoot Moth and below, the migrant micro moth, Rusty Acorn Piercer.

Above, also new for the year was this Spindle Knot-horn.

Migrant moths: Migrants are still arriving, with Small Mottled Willow and Rusty Acorn Piercer (Cydia amplana) among the highlights. Micro moths: My first Spindle Knot-horn (Nephopterix angustella) of the year was also present, while my second Tawny-fronted Straw (Neocochylis molliculana) was settled on the rain guard.

 

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
Jersey Tiger x3	Bird-cherry Ermine x1
Garden Tiger * x1	Spindle Knot-horn * x1
Golden Twin-spot x2	Small Pine Shoot Moth * x1
Brimstone Moth x3	Garden Grass-veneer x1
Common Emerald x1	Light Brown Apple Moth x7
Cabbage Moth x2	Rusty Acorn Piercer x1
Common Rustic x4	Chestnut Tortrix x2
Small Mottled Willow x1	Mother of Pearl x1
Dusky Thorn * x1	Tawny-fronted Straw x1
Silver Y x1	Box Tree Moth x2
Marbled Green x1
Double-striped Pug x2
Large Yellow Underwing x1
Grey Dagger x1
Least Carpet x2
Pale Mottled Willow x1
Portland Ribbon Wave * x1
Shuttle-shaped Dart x2

 

The local Fox put in an appearance this morning, watching me going about checking the Moth Box!