Sunday July 14

Today was always going to be tricky. I decided that whether I would visit Morton Bagot would be determined by whether England beat Australia and reached the final of the cricket World Cup. They did of course, so the moth trap came out last night.

Dave on the other hand has no concerns about missing the cricket, and as I write this he is roaming the patch and has already heard a Grasshopper Warbler singing from the field behind the beehives, perhaps the bird which showed so well in the Spring.

Actually the moth-trapping went well. Approximately 130 moths have been found including three new for the garden, one of which is a scarce one (but increasing) in Warwickshire.

The rare one is Least Carpet, and was found nestling in the same egg box cup as a Clay, also new for the garden, but not particularly scarce (new for me though). The third new one is Scarce Footman, which is actually not scarce at all (I can even recall seeing one on a moth-trapping session in Worcestershire years ago).  I caught four of them, and 15 Common Footman.

Least Carpet (on right)

Clay

Scarce Footman

New for the year were Dingy Shears, Scalloped Oak, and the micros Bryotropha terrella, Eudonia mercurella, Dark Fruit-tree Tortrix, and Bud Moth (or Spilonota laricana).

One moth I didn't catch was a Swallow-tailed Moth, an example of which flew through the bedroom window a few nights ago.

Swallow-tailed Moth

I may be tempted to go to Morton Bagot this evening, or earlier if the cricket final is a disaster.

Late morning update: Dave had a cream-crown Marsh Harrier fly over him. It was heading for the Flash Field, but they tend not to hang around. The first for the site for about four years. I've managed to miss more than I've seen there, a trend which looks set to continue.

PPS The cricket was not a disaster, it had the most amazing climax i have ever seen, and a happy ending as England won on boundaries scored after the teams ended up tied after 50 overs, and still couldn't be separated in a Super Over.

This evening I headed down to the patch and duly heard the Grasshopper Warbler reeling exactly where Dave had heard it.

A Fallow Deer buck stopped to stare.