Put the moth trap out last night and so started today with an early morning rummage through the egg boxes to see what had been lured in. The forecast was predicting a mild night so I was quietly optimistic of a good and varied catch, and ended with a haul of 45 moths of nine species, one of which I still have to identify.
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| Twin-spotted Quaker |
The most numerous species were Common and Small Quaker, with 12 and 23, respectively and singles of Small Brindled Beauty, Chestnut and Emmelina monodactyla adding to the numbers. A slightly tatty Twin-spotted Quaker was the third of the year, as was the single Clouded Drab.
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| Clouded Drab |
Three Hebrew Characters were also in the trap, including the individual below. As with most moth species, this species is quite variable, but it always shows the dark saddle mark, which on this individual looks more like a square edged C.
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| Slightly odd Hebrew Character |
After I had been through the trapped I popped down to Botley Wood for a walk around and check on last years net rides. I was intending to put some nets up too, but as there weren't many birds around I decided not to bother. I am glad I went though as I got some nice views of a dozen or so Lesser Redpoll, some Eurasian Siskin and a roosting Woodcock...before it took flight....they really are teasing me!!! Best of all though was a male Peregrine Falcon, which was another new addition to my patch list.
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