Saturday January 13 - The dark arts

 To say it's been a quiet week is something of an understatement. My determination to keep visiting the less enticing parts of my Circle is taking its toll. 

On Tuesday I walked from Astwood Bank to Shurnock and back. The latter place was a site I had been given as a former Willow Tit location when I took part in the Willow Tit Survey a few years ago. I didn't find any then or on Tuesday. They've definitely gone. Instead I found a Coal Tit, a Treecreeper, a Nuthatch, and a Great Spotted Woodpecker in the scrubby wood which I could well imagine used to sustain some Willow Tits. The highlight of a freezing cold day was flushing a Green Sandpiper from a stream at the edge of Astwood Lane.

On Friday I went to Henley-in-Arden, and after a brief walk around the suburbs failing to find any Waxwings I walked west across a wonderful scrubby field (which is unfortunately a regular dog-walking route) to Hunger Hill. A few Meadow Pipits was a poor return, but it looked great as a potential Owl site. In a pathetic attempt to add a few year ticks I then drove to Wootton Pool and duly added Red-legged Partridge, Mute Swan, Coot, and Tufted Duck.

It's a marathon not a sprint, should be my mantra this year.

Meanwhile, Tony has been catching Jack Snipe (two) and Woodcock (two) at Morton Bagot (and not in the scrape field he assures me).

Which brings me to the Dark Arts. I refer to the taking of a few moth specimens during the year. I hate doing it, but its the only way to record certain species of micro-moths with any accuracy. This week Nigel, the Warwickshire Moth Recorder, contacted me with my 2023 results.

Of the twelve moths submitted, five were new for the garden, and two were the first to be confirmed ( I had identified Dichrorampha vancouverana and Anarsia inoxiella by photograph in 2018 and 2021, but specimens had been needed for full acceptance).

The new ones were; Eucosma hohenwartiana, Coleophora glaucicolella, Coleophora saxicolella, Elachista luticomella (the first in Warwickshire since 2011), and Bryotropha basaltinella.

Elachista luticomella - 09 August 2023

 Fortunately most moth-trapping is of the non-lethal variety.