Friday June 28

A sunny morning with a brisk easterly.

The wind made photographing stuff a bit challenging, but I managed a few new species for the lens. I tried walking along the road for a change, and the log pile on the walk down the slope from Bannams duly got me a chance to see an adult Field Grasshopper. 

Field Grasshopper

The butterfly numbers are on the rise; approximately 80 Meadow Browns, 30 Large Skippers, and 40 Small Heaths were supported by a dozen Small Tortoiseshells, ten Marbled Whites, two Common Blues, and 20 Speckled Woods.

Marbled White

A male Common Blue

The best species on view were seven Painted Ladies. This migrant was reported in large numbers on the east coast last weekend, and I even had one in our garden, so I was pleased to see a few.

Painted Lady

When I got to the flash pool I was slightly surprised to see that the water level remains high. However, the Shelduck family are still intact and there was just enough edge to support a Lapwing, three Little Ringed Plovers, and the first returning Green Sandpiper. Winter is coming!

The Shelduck brood in fattening up

Green Sandpiper

Back at the Dragonfly Pools I could see at least three Four-spotted Chasers and two Emperors, but none of showed the slightest inclination to land.

Sedge Warbler

A Sedge Warbler swayed in the grass as I decided it was time to call it a day.

But not a night. I put the moth trap out in my garden overnight hoping to take advantage of a warm night. I was rewarded with 102 moths of 35 species. These included 21 new for the year, of which five were lifers.

The most spectacular was a Lime Hawkmoth (new for year).

Lime Hawkmoth

The lifers were; Small Ranunculus, Shark, Epogoge grotiana, Rhyacionia pinicolana, and Turnip Moth.

Small Ranunculus

Shark

Rhyacionia pinicolana

Epagoge grotiana

Turnip Moth

Of these, I thought I'd hit pay dirt with Small Ranunculus. It doesn't feature at all in Moths of Warwickshire (2006), and the Internet stated "thought to be extinct in the UK until a small population was found in Kent and Surrey", but it then added "has since been expanding northwards." I now know that the expansion has reached Warwickshire, for example nine in 2017, and 18 in 2018. It's still a good record though. I don't know the status of the micros (although I have no reason to think they are rare), while the Shark is also a fairly common moth.

I managed one controversial record, i.e. I probably misidentified it, with what I thought might be a Sloe Pug, until JS counselled that it was actually the much commoner Green Pug (just not a green one). He did suggest that I might let David Brown (County Recorder) double check, but I think, on reflection, that JS is correct.

Green Pug

I really must start trapping at Morton Bagot.