Monday July 24

Most of the action recorded in this blog occurred on Sunday. Overnight I caught a couple of moths. One was another Blastobasis adustella, but the second was a macro-moth which I thought would be straightforward to identify. Today I realise it is actually not identifiable to species without an examination of its genitalia.

Common Rustic ag Mesapamea sp

The problem is that Common Rustic is vary variable, as is Lesser Common Rustic, and a species called Remm's Rustic, which the book I use doesn't even illustrate and which may not actually be a species at all.

Easier species included two Peacocks, three Red Admirals, a Comma, and a Holly Blue which all appeared in the garden yesterday. Also the local Robin has brought its surviving fledgling to the garden.

Peacock

Just fledged

Last night two small macros turned up. One was instantly identifiable as a Straw Dot, so I released it. The second was a pug sp, but I have now decided it is a dull example of Double-striped Pug.

Double-striped Pug

Friday 21 July

Yesterday was a bit of a disappointment. I had a couple of pre-work hours in the morning and had planned to use them looking for dragonflies at Ipsley Alders. That was before I woke up to the sound of heavy rain. By 09.00 am it was showing signs of abating, but it was cloudy and cool, so my only option appeared to be a circumnavigation of Arrow Valley Lake looking for birds.

This did produce one interesting sighting, but it wasn't a bird. It was a mammal. A Weasel bounced across the path carrying prey of some sort. Unfortunately I only had time for a quick look through the binoculars to rule out Stoat, and then it was gone.

The birds consisted of about 150 geese (Canadas and Greylags), and smaller numbers of moulting Mallard and Great Crested Grebes. The pair of Oystercatchers was still present.

The rain pepped up and I gave up.

The moth activity has also been a bit slow, just repeat appearances of single Silver Y, Large Yellow Underwing, Holly Tortrix, and Blastobasis adustella.

Finally, Lyn now has the record for Long-tailed Tits on the feeder, with an impressive seven. I'm trailing in a poor second with these five.

Wednesday July 19

In an earlier post I showed a photograph of a bee I thought was Willoughby's Leaf-cutter Bee. I also submitted the photograph to irecords where it was assessed by a bee expert as "plausible". Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but I like to think it simply meant that the photograph didn't show enough for full acceptance.

At the time there was no evidence of the activity in the garden, but yesterday I discovered this:

Holes blocked by leaf-plugs

Clearly there is a species of leaf-cutter bee in the garden. Bees scare me, not because of the sting, but because the species are numerous and many are very similar to one another. However, I will try to see, and perhaps photograph, the comb on the underside of their bodies which can be very useful in sorting out the leaf-cutters.

Just two moths last night, both micros, and both tricky.

One was a tortrix which I believe to be Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix, while the other was a stronger candidate than the moth I photographed a week ago on the bathroom ceiling, and decided was Blastobasis adustella. This time I was much more certain.

Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix

Blastobasis adustella

Turning briefly to birds, I saw four Swifts this morning, which reminded me how poor it has been for them around here this year. On the other hand our feeders were deluged in Blue Tits, Long-tailed Tits, Great Tits, and Coal Tits this morning. The activity being so frenetic that Lyn and I abandoned the telly and ate our breakfast watching them come and go.

Hungry juvenile Blue Tits

Tuesday July 18

Another warm night inevitably resulted in two more moths to identify.

A micro called Tachystola acroxantha was grabbed from the kitchen window. I have recorded this adventive species in a previous year, and it is an easy species to recognise.

Tachystola acroxantha

The bathroom produced a Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing. This morning I tried, and failed, to devise a way of photographing the upper side of its underwing without killing it. The poor thing still had a rough time of it as sticking it in the fridge for five minutes slowed it down but not enough to let me gently lift its forewing, while shaking the pot to make it fly had limited success. I promise not to do this again.

Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

Underside view

A hint of the upper surface of the underwing pattern

It flew away strongly, apparently none the worse for the experience.

Monday July 17

Yesterday afternoon the sun came out and the Buddleia bush added to its tally of butterflies, the count being two Red Admirals, two Large Whites, and a Comma.

Comma

I can't help thinking that we ought to be getting more than this. Meanwhile on the lawn, another Small Fan-footed Wave rested.

Small Fan-footed Wave

So much for the ones I could readily identify.

A striking Ichneumon Wasp landed on the front window. A quick bit of research revealed that there are about 2,500 UK species of Ichneumon, and even the brightly coloured ones can be very tricky.

Ichneumon sp - possibly Ichneumon suspiciosus

I will be having a go though. My research revealed that it was definitely a male. I have added a name to the caption, but I clearly do not have enough knowledge to come to a firm conclusion.

Also tricky was a little moth which made it into the bathroom last night, and which I successfully potted.

Crambus pascuella

I think its either another Crambus pascuella, and probably not a similar species Crambus uliginosellus. I was leaning towards the latter, but that is described as local in distribution. I now think its the former.

Saturday July 15

Last night's bathroom capture was a single Silver Y. This migrant moth turns up every year, and is quite easy to identify.

Silver Y

There were two juvenile Woodpigeons on the lawn this morning.

Juvenile Woodpigeons

They can of course be identified as juveniles by the lack of a white ring on their necks, whilst their large size gives them away as Woodpigeons.

Friday July 14

Despite a slightly cooler night the moths keep arriving, and they are not getting any easier to identify.

Last night's arrivals were two micros and a macro.  I immediately identified one of the micros as Ypsolopha scabrella and did not detain it as I caught one last week. The other looked a toughy, so more about that later.

The macro was actually resting on the outside of the window, but in reaching around to try to pot it I caused it to fly in, where it was quickly detained. It was a small wave type moth, and it has taken me a considerable amount of time to identify it as a pale example of Small Fan-footed Wave.

Small Fan-footed Wave

Small Fan-footed Wave out of the pot

An apparent extra spot on the left forewing is I think a hole in the wing, the moth being rather worn.

The micro turned out to be a clothes moth and, I think, it is Case-bearing Clothes Moth Tinea pellionella, although this is a species which cannot be safely identified without examining their private parts. Further proof that it was a clothes moth came when it was released as it fluttered straight towards me and may still be nestled somewhere in my Moleskin trousers.

Tinea pellionella

Having recently discovered several holes in my favourite birding shirt, I am currently under wifely pressure to apply moth spray to the bedroom carpet. I may have caught this moth just in the nick of time.

During a morning of meetings and an afternoon  of shopping the birding time got squeezed out and I was left to glance occasionally at the buddleia, noting two Red Admirals and a Large White.

Large White

We are once again the custodians of my sister's tortoise. It found itself being mobbed by Magpies this afternoon, and was then sharing the lawn with the first juvenile Woodpigeon of the season.