Saturday October 1

With nothing to report this week, the rain today left me doubting that any post would be produced.

However, whilst answering the door to a neighbour I heard a Grey Wagtail call. Quite nice. 

Then the rain stopped and I wandered into the kitchen and for the first time in ages discovered that the garden actually contained some birds.

Up to six House Sparrows, a couple of Great Tits, two Dunnocks, and a Woodpigeon were at least considering using our feeder.

Next, a Goldcrest appeared before disappearing into the apple tree, followed by a Chiffchaff, which also nipped away within seconds. Blue Tits, a Blackbird, and a Robin followed by a few Long-tailed Tits and a couple of Coal Tits.

Coal Tit

This was a post-breeding Tit flock, the Chiffchaff and Goldcrest being typical hangers-on. The thing is, you never know what else might come through with them so to me they are compulsive viewing.

Saturday September 24

The lack of recent posts has been a reflection of my recent lack of effort. Despite commenting that I needed to start looking at birds, I have to admit that the birds noticed in the garden and its environs recently have been too unremarkable to be worthy of comment.

Instead, it is a moth which has sparked the blog back into life. If it had been a rare moth this would have been one of the all-time great intros; I was taking a shower when I noticed a small speck on the shower rail. I wondered if it could be a moth, so captured it to investigate further.

It turned out that it was a tiny moth, and also that it was a very common one. With the naked eye it just looked like a tiny black streak, maybe the leg of a small spider. But through the lens of my camera, which was having trouble focussing on it because I could not persuade the moth out of the pot, it revealed itself to have an interesting pattern of spots at its rear end, and to actually be fawn brown with white legs and antennae.

Apple-leaf Miner Lyonetia clerkella

The Apple-leaf Miner is probably the smallest moth I have ever identified. It's presence is not unexpected as we have an enormous apple tree in the garden. In fact I then investigated the leaves and quickly found several leaf mines which were probably made by the caterpillars of this species.

Leaf ones probably created by an Apple-leaf Miner

While I was messing about with the moth a party of six Meadow Pipits flew south calling.

There you are, some birds!

Wednesday September 7

After another few days of warmer than average nights, the bathroom window was thrown open in the hope that we would be inundated by moths.

In the event four moths did find their way in, but there was nothing new (or at least I don't think so).

First up was a Double-striped Pug on Sunday night.

Double-striped Pug

Then last night produced two noctuid in the bathroom, and one in the hall. One was a migrant, but a common one, in the form of a Silver Y.

Silver Y

No problem identifying them. The last two were the tricky dull ones I slightly dread. Eventually I decided they were both Square-spot Rustics. I did think of emailing the recorder again, but I suspect he is getting sick of seeing photos of common moths, so I will stick with my own identifications.

The Square-spot Rustic found in the hall

The Square-spot Rustic found in the bathroom

Its probably time I started looking at birds again.

Friday September 2

After a very quiet week, moth-wise, two turned up in the bathroom last night.

One was another Garden Carpet, but the other was a brown noctuid I was unable to name. However, an email to Michael Southall has produced the answer. It was a Flounced Rustic (great name), and was a moth tick for me and also for our bathroom.

Flounced Rustic

Garden Carpet

It seems that Flounced Rustic is an autumn-flying moth which is quite familiar to the local mothers (pronounced moth-ers).

Sunday August 28

This week initially saw a certain amount of repetition, with moths in the bathroom being Square-spot Rustics, but also a new grass moth for me, called Agriphila geniculea. After discovering the first in the bathroom, there was another on the front door, then another in the bathroom etc etc.

Agriphila geniculea

Square-spot Rustic

However, last night a completely new moth turned up. It was worryingly active in the pot, but I worked out it was a Flame Carpet. The following morning, I took a precautionary photo through the perspex of the pot just in case it made a sharp exit when I removed the lid.

Flame Carpet

Unfortunately the flaming Flame Carpet paused for just a couple of seconds before disappearing around the corner of the house, and I duly missed the shot.

Finally, some bird drama last night as we were about to sit down for an evening meal with my sister and brother-in-law. Lyn noticed a bird fluttering across the garden, and then a cat.  I shot out and shooed off the cat, but it was clear I was too late, as a damaged Woodpigeon scuttled away. By now it was nearly dark so I joined the others for the meal. Within ten minutes the Woodpigeon was fluttering pathetically against the window. I went back out and grabbed it. Its tail was gone, and its left wing was bloodied and damaged. I grabbed it and suck it in a cardboard box to roost it overnight.

This morning it was still alive so I took it to the Hollytrees Animal Rescue Centre. They took it off my hands and promised to attempt to nurse it back to health.

Normally, I must admit, I do not intervene and tend to let nature take its course. But we are very fond of our local Woodpigeons, so we couldn't help ourselves.

Tuesday 23 August

Since my last post the weather has warmed up again, and each evening has brought mini-beasts to examine and try to identify.

Beginning with Saturday evening I found a Hawthorn Shieldbug on the bedroom wall, and a boring little Brown House Moth in the bathroom. The following morning I photographed them with such mixed results that the moth, which quickly flew off, will not be shown.

Hawthorn Shieldbug

Shortly after the photo-shoot, I opened the front door to find a tiny little moth on it. This turned out to be the 25th record for Worcestershire of a micro-moth called Psychoides flicivora.

Psychoides flicivora

They apparently thrive on ferns, and its probably no coincidence that we have some right outside the front door. They are also an accidental introduction from Asia.

On Sunday evening a small macro-moth flew into the bathroom, and I was able to catch it and identify it as a Garden Carpet. Surprisingly, this was still a first for our house.

Garden Carpet

The following evening I caught a Cranefly which I think was Tipula oleracea, a Pug species, but released it when a common, but pretty, moth flew in. This was a Brimstone Moth, and a species I have recorded in several previous years.

Tipula oleracea

Brimstone moth

This morning, as I was supposed to be preparing to go to work, I noticed another moth on the kitchen window. I nipped outside and photographed it, deciding it was an Orange Swift.

Orange Swift

The reflection of the garden in the window makes for a very unusual shot. Finally, I arrived home to find that Lyn had entered into the spirit of it all as she directed me to a micro-moth in the utility room. This turned out to be Pyrausta aurata, although I may have released it a bit hastily as there are other Pyrausta species I should have considered. However, as I let it go I spotted a blue butterfly on the lavender.

Holly Blue

Not the first I have seen in the garden, but the first time I have photographed one here.

Thursday August 18

Since my last post the weather has been very warm and sunny, which is good, and I have been at work, not so good. However, Lyn has come into her own, grabbing my camera and photographing a dragonfly yesterday.

As far as I can tell it is a Common Darter, which I think is a first for the garden.

Other than that, the best beastly action came from our bathroom on Monday night, with two largish moths making it across the threshold. Ironically, the one I instantly recognised is technically a micro-moth, the Mother of Pearl.

Mother of Pearl photographed on a dying herb pot the following morning

The second moth was a macro-moth, but of the kind I slightly dread, a boring brown one. After thumbing through my moth book and checking the internet I couldn't come up with a name for it. So I emailed the shot to Michael Southall of Butterfly Conservation, who promptly replied to tell me it was a Square-spot Rustic.

Square-spot Rustic

The diagnosis was slightly disappointing because I believe I have seen one here before, so I should have been able to work it out. They are very common, and in bird terms its a bit like finding out that the exciting bird in your garden is a Dunnock. To be fair to me, they are quite variable (unlike Dunnocks).

Last night was just as warm, but only one small, but familiar, micro-moth turned up. The Twenty-plumed moth.

Twenty-plumed moth

Finally, our buddleia has attracted three Painted Lady butterflies. A migrant species, and very pretty to boot.

Painted Lady