Saturday March 30 - Rare moth

 Before I get onto the subject of moths I should report that I went to Earlswood Lakes on Thursday hoping a female Pochard which had been on Terry's Pool might still be present. It turned out that I had played it too cool and it had gone. Compensation came in the form of my first Swallow of the year which was flying somewhat distantly over Engine Pool when the rain arrived late morning, an Oystercatcher asleep on a raft, and a few Linnets which I saw because I accompanied John Oakes to Pound Green Farm where he had seen a much larger number a few days ago. After we separated John went on to locate a Wheatear for good measure.

Oystercatcher

Now, regarding the moth, I've been itching to put my garden trap out for nearly two weeks, but its just been too chilly. Last night it was still too cold but I could wait no longer. Around 10.15pm I went out to see if there was anything obvious and immediately spotted a Frosted Green on the fence. I'd only seen two before, so I potted it, took a photo and released it. 

I then noticed there was a micro moth on the fence close to where the Frosted Green had been, so I potted that too. I quickly realised it could be a good one, so took its photo and popped it in the fridge for the morning. I had decided it was a Dark-streaked Tortrix Acleris umbrana, so I posted the photo on a local Whatsapp site. I got a thumbs up from John who had checked it with an on-line app.

This morning I was up early. My trap only contained five moths (the Frosted Green was not among them) all of which were species I'd already caught this year. So I got the Dark-streaked Tortrix out of the fridge and persuaded it to crawl onto a leaf to have its picture taken. It made a break for it shortly after the photo was taken, but I recaptured it and returned it to the trap for a safer release tonight.

Acleris umbrana

This species occurs in Herefordshire and along the south coast, but is extending its range north. There have been several records in Worcestershire, including from Redditch, in the last few years. However, I understand this is only the third or fourth for Warwickshire.