Thursday June 21

The start of the longest day dawned with sunny intervals and a chilly north-westerly. Technically I missed the dawn because I was down to empty the moth trap at 05.30, have removed two Heart and Darts from the bathroom.

As usual the area surrounding the back door provided plenty of interest before I even got to the trap. A rather large grey moth reminded me of Early Grey but its forewing was 22mm long, pointing to something new. I eventually concluded it was a Sycamore.

Sycamore

Also nestling against the brickwork were two dark moths which also looked to be something new. They were easier to identify than the Sycamore and turned out to be Coronets.

Coronet

Coronet

The fun really began when I checked on their status locally and both my Warwickshire book and my Worcestershire book suggested they were very scarce indeed. In rising panic I texted JS asking if they were rare. It turned out that they put on a population surge around 2005 and they are now not so unusual.

When I had opened the back door a small moth, probably a carpet moth sp, fluttered away across the garden. A little later another, or the same, flew past and landed. I potted what turned out to be a very attractive moth called a Blue-bordered Carpet.

Blue-bordered Carpet

I finally turned my attention to the moth trap, and could immediately see a Magpie moth type on the perspex. A quick bit of research showed me it was actually a Clouded Border. Quite a common moth but probably another garden tick.

Clouded Border

Also obvious in the trap was a beautiful Buff-tip, quite possibly my favourite moth.

Buff-tip

The outside of the box played host to a Common Plume, while an all white moth on the inside of the perspex proved to be a White Satin Moth.

Common Plume

White Satin Moth

Rather trickier was a pug on the underside of the perspex overhanging the edge of the box. I was afraid that by removing the perspex I would disturb the moth so I ended up lying on my back to try to photograph the moth from ground level.

Double-striped Pug

The result wasn't very satisfactory, but I think it shows a Double-striped Pug. My contortionist act was vindicated as the moth did indeed fly off as I tried to move the perspex from the box.

The next half an hour was spent carefully removing egg-boxes from the trap. Each one contained several noctuid moths for identification. Most were Heart and Darts, but I also recorded at least four The Uncertains plus one less well patterned one which I decided was a Rustic, a Bright-line Brown-eye, a Heart and Club, a Large Yellow Underwing, a Flame Shoulder, and a Small Fan-foot.

The Uncertain

Heart and Club and Heart and Dart

Bright-line Brown-eye

Rustic

For once I was not having to squint at loads of confusing micros. Just a handful were present, and they were all species I have seen in the garden previously this year.

The outside of the box harboured another year-tick in the form of a Garden Carpet.

Garden Carpet

I started putting the equipment away thinking I had seen everything, but I had missed a micro which was another tick. I say missed it, I had actually placed the perspex on top of it without realising my error. Fortunately it was so small that it survived the experience and I was able to pick it up. It was a Bird-cherry Ermine.

Bird-cherry Ermine

I was probably fortunate it wasn't less spotty as it may have been impossible to identify. There are several very similar species which can only be identified under a microscope.

Finally, while I was processing the moths, a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew into the apple-tree. Token bird !