Friday May 31 - Morton Bagot

 I've been to Morton Bagot twice this week. The first time was on Wednesday with Linda and Mike. It was rather a shortened walk across a very damp site. We had good views of a pair of Stonechats and two Little Egrets before watching the local House Martins collecting mud.

We did slightly better for butterflies, seeing my first Common Blues and Meadow Brown of the year, and also the moths Burnet Companion, and Agapeta hamana. 

Female Common Blue

It's probably fair to say that insects were not Mike and Linda's bag, so it's probably just as well I was on my own this morning.

Obviously I was hoping to see a few birds, and I certainly found a fellow birder. Tony was on site hoping to ring the Stonechats, and I gather he had some good views of the inquisitive male before giving up and going home to make adjustments to his catching mechanism.

Meanwhile I ploughed my own furrow, heading off to see what else I could find. There was not much that was new, although I did count four singing Reed Warblers (three in the reedbed at the Dragonfly Pool, and one in the bulrushes of the scrape field), and at least five Reed Buntings including a pair which were clearly feeding young.

Female Reed Bunting with a beak full of flies

My main focus gradually shifted to insects. New moths for the year were four Yellow Shells,  a Pea Moth Cydia nigricana, and my first Spectacle for Morton Bagot. This is a moth I catch every year in the garden, but I'd never seen one actively feeding on flowers in the daylight before.

Spectacle fluttering on a flower (Dog-rose?)

As I ambled back, my progress got slower and slower as I became captivated by the sheer abundance of insects in the hedgerows and particularly on umbellifers such as Hogweed.

At least seven or eight species on this plant

The image above contains at least: Batman Hoverfly, several Longhorn Beetles of the genus Grammoptera, I think they were G ruficornis, three Greenbottles Lucilia ag, a Flesh Fly Sarcophaga ag, a Flavous Nomad Bee Nomada flava, a Yellow Dung Fly, and an Ichneumon Wasp (unidentifiable).

And the thing was, every umbellifer I looked at was similarly jam-packed with insects. Since I've got home I've spent several hours going through my photos to see what I could identify. Successes include:

Chloromyia formosa (A Fly)

Chrysophilus cristatus (A Snipe Fly)

Volucella bombylans (a bee mimic hoverfly) - The big one on the right

Volucella pelucens (another Bee mimic hoverfly) - on the right

There were also some extraordinary insects which turned out to be unidentifiable from photographs. The most impressive of these was an Ichneumon Wasp which might well have been Buathra laborator, but apparently other species are so similar that a microscope and a specimen are required.

Ichneumon Wasp (possibly Buathra laborator)

I could go on, but I think it's time to call a halt.

The main point is that staring into the vegetation in the summer can be absolutely fascinating even if it is impossible to identify many of the species encountered. It can save any birdless day.

Sunday May 26 - Morton Bagot (the Stonechats fledge)

 This morning Morton Bagot was very damp following overnight rain but my late arrival coincided with an improving situation. 

The Reed Warbler at Netherstead dragonfly ponds was actually showing for the first time this year, and it foretold a reasonably successful visit.

I decided to vary my normal route by tackling the ridge field first. This was largely because the grass was mown along the footpath so there was less chance of wet legs. A Lesser Whitethroat was singing from the hedge adjoining the dragonfly pool field, but remained impossible to see. I had more success with a male Stonechat near the top of the ridge, while a singing Willow Warbler showed some mixed singer tendencies. That's now three local Willow Warblers at three sites doing at least some mixed singing.

A brief sighting of a Falcon sp had me doubling back to the ridge field in a failed attempt to establish what is was. However the search led to the discovery of at least two recently fledged Stonechats apparently attended by two males, neither of which had been ringed.

Juvenile 1

Juvenile 2

Male 1

Male 2

The important thing is that this is the second time Stonechats have been confirmed to have bred here. The story in the rest of Warwickshire is evolving slowly, but it may be that still barely more than two sites within the current boundary have confirmed breeding success.

There may well be three males on the site because there was a colour-ringed individual in a different section earlier in the month. I didn't see any females today, so its conceivable that another breeding attempt is underway. Stonechats can have multiple broods in a season.

Once I'd torn myself away from the Stonechats, the rest of the site produced only the usual birds. Four Mute Swans remain in the flash field, and a pair of Canada Geese now have goslings there. Two singing Sedge Warblers and at least two pairs of Reed Buntings (one of the latter carrying food) also suggested a successful breeding season.

However, it's not all good news. Tony has been checking nest-boxes and had found two out of three broods of  Blue Tits were dead, presumably a result of the wet spring season.

The dampness on the path at Netherstead suited the local House Martins and I watched up to five collecting mud for their nests.

House Martins collecting mud

Other hirundines seem to be a little down in numbers, with maybe just two pairs of Swallows flying around today. I did at least see two more Swifts, but have still yet to see any over the Winyates area of Redditch this year.

Saturday May 25 - A quiet week

 Much as I'd like to go birding every day, that is not an option for me and this week was even more non-birdy than normal.

The only day I had free was Wednesday, remember that? The day it rained from dawn till dusk. I tried anyway, reasoning that the inclement weather might produce a passage wader or tern. It did deliver Sanderlings and similar delights to various waters in the Midlands, the ones with a shoreline, but I could find nothing more exciting than a pair of Gadwall. They were at Mappleborough Green.

This morning I had a little window of opportunity and decided to try Bannam's Wood. I had a plan, and it has to be said it worked out perfectly. My target was Spotted Flycatcher, the last regular summer visitor I had yet to see this year. There was one here last year, and I'm pleased to report it was back in almost exactly the same spot.

Spotted Flycatcher

This species was so much commoner as little as ten years ago, but now they take some searching for. It doesn't help that their song is right up there with House Sparrow in terms of melody. "Tzick"         "Tzick"        "Tzick"  that's about all they do. So finding it was quite a coup.

I was joined by Tony, and after an anxious 15 minutes we relocated it. Bannam's Wood is a very nice wood to walk through (although further into it the footpath gets very muddy) and we proceeded to winkle out a singing Garden Warbler, a Red Kite high above the trees, and possibly a second Spot Fly although we couldn't confirm whether the "tzick" heard was that species or just a young Wren, which has an annoyingly similar call.

At least it wasn't raining, so insects could be looked for. A Brown Silver-line moth fluttered out of the undergrowth, but the only new one for the year was the micro moth Plum Tortrix.

Plum Tortrix

This is one of a number of small moths which hide in plain sight cunningly disguised as a bird dropping. They are quite common so it obviously works.

I must get out more.

Sunday May 19 - Morton Bagot (and a few other sites)

 I must admit that I have waited until today to add a post because birds have been hard to come by. Morton Bagot was visited today and had just about enough birds to be worth mentioning.

The highlight was a very good view of a fast moving Hobby, too fast for the camera but it was initially nice and close. The site remains a mecca for Whitethroats which seemed to be singing everywhere we went. We didn't log them, but there must have been over a dozen. Other warblers included two pairs of Willow Warblers, and two singing males each of Sedge Warbler, and Reed Warbler.

It's been a struggle to see Swift this year (I still haven't had one from the garden), but we did see two shortly after we arrived. A single male Stonechat was fly-catching from the reedbed. It was not the colour-ringed bird, so I'm guessing it is the bird from the ridge field. 

Stonechat

The rest of the story of today and the latter half of the week is very insecty.

Today, I photographed a new moth (although I didn't realise it at the time). A male long-horn moth in the hedge near the flash field turned out to be Lesser Banded Longhorn Adela croesella, and not the commoner N degeerella I had assumed it was.

Adela croesella

I realised what it was when checking the Field Guide at home, then my old photos of degeerella, then on-line photos and finally obsidentify (which I must admit only gave it 69%, but gave degeerella 31%). I'd be disappointed if I've got it wrong.

Other insects seen were much commoner and more familiar: Mother Shipton moth, and Broad-bodied Chasers were new for the year.

Mother Shipton

Broad-bodied Chaser

On Friday night I put my garden moth trap out and caught 42 moths of 29 species. These included my second ever Pine Hawk-moth and second Mottled Pug for the garden.

Pine Hawk-moth

Mottled Pug

Alder Moth (not annual in the garden)

The main talking point was a micro which I think was the very scarce Crassa tinctella. Views were sought, and although most were supportive there was sufficient uncertainty to render it necessary for a specimen to be taken.

Crassa tinctella (or an early C unitella)

I'll find out what it is early next year when the recorder does his rounds. He also thought it might be tinctella but was glad it can be checked. He told me he has nearly 1000 records of unitella and only three of tinctella.

Going back to last Thurday, I paid a visit to Windmill Naps Wood just south of the M42. Away from the motorway it was a very nice mature oak wood but contained no unexpected birds.

Roe Deer in the wood

I did have some interesting insects though. A micro moth was new to me, called The Minister by my latest moth guide, its latin name remains Eulia ministrana.

Eulia ministrana

Notocelia cynosbatella (Black Cloak) other names are available

A recent edition of the excellent Field Guide to the Micro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland is responsible for the addition of English names which often differ from previous on-line naming attempts. The confusion is a bit annoying.

Talking of new names for things, I also photographed a hoverfly which I was delighted to discover has been given the name Common Batman Fly because the pattern on its thorax is said to resemble the signal used to summon Batman.

Common Batman Fly

Hmm, yes I can just about see what they mean.

Tuesday May 14 - Mappleborough Green and the Arrow

 After steady overnight rain a cloudy dampish day was forecast, leaving me unsure where to go. I decided that Mappleborough Green was worth a look as it at least has some potential wader habitat.

Unfortunately its also very small, so I suspect most migrating waders just don't see it. There was virtually no change since my last visit. At least the three Little Ringed Plovers were still in residence, a couple of near-adult Mute Swans had turned up, and a Shelduck had made the short trip from Morton Bagot.

Little Ringed Plovers

I decided to drive to a bridge across the Arrow near Studley and explore that area. This at least brought a few surprises.

I'm used to searching for moths in the undergrowth, but rarely find caterpillars. Today however I was lucky and spotted a rather impressive one among the nettles munching away on the vegetation. Naturally I hadn't a clue what it was, but fortunately the obsidentify app on my phone pointed me to Drinker moth caterpillar. 

Drinker Moth caterpillar

A nice selection of the usual warblers singing included Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Reed Warbler, and Cetti's Warbler. Most remained out of sight, but one Willow Warbler showed well.

Willow Warbler

I was also pleased to see a few Swifts. They seem to be scarcer than ever this year.

The highlight came as I peered up the river through the branches of the overhanging willows. A female Goosander was floating nervously, aware of my presence. This species seems to have colonised suitable rivers in the West Midlands, having previously been strictly a winter visitor. I suspect a breeding attempt was in progress but I could see no ducklings.

Goosander

The only way I could get a shot without alarming the bird was to zoom up to the maximum to eliminate the intervening leaves and stems. Unfortunately this also meant that the image was slightly out of focus (or more so than usual).

I gave the stretch of river it was on a wide berth, and don't think I disturbed the bird.

Finally, Mike Wakeman has kindly shared some of his local records stretching back to 1973, so I've added those to my History of the Circle page. Thanks mate.

Sunday May 12 - Morton Bagot (and more garden moths)

 So here we are, early May is turning towards mid May and most of the migrant birds are now settled down on their breeding grounds and not planning to move again until about August. As a result I should be suffering from writer's block.

The Sunday visit to Morton Bagot was predictably steady, adding just a briefly singing Reed Warbler to the year list and an ever so distant Hobby as bird of the day. Admittedly a pair of Avocets has reappeared along with a pair of Black-headed Gulls and a Little Egret, but that was about it.

Avocet and Little Egret

Thank goodness for insects. Just as the birdlife gets a bit blaah butterflies, moths, and dragonflies step up to do the heavy lifting.

New for the year were a Small Heath (possibly my earliest ever, but I've no intention of checking), numerous Azure Damselflies, a few Large Red Damselflies, and a Four-spotted Chaser.

Small Heath

An immature Azure Damselfly

Large Red Damselfly (male)

Four-spotted Chaser

All these insects appear in a predictable sequence through the summer ensuring that interested is maintained until about August (when the birds start migrating again). Hurrah.

And then of course there are moths. About twenty to thirty species of dragonflies and butterflies, but 2000 species of moths, they are the gift that keeps on giving. At Morton Bagot on Sunday most moths are hidden away in daylight, but its still possible to disturb one or two micros. I added two to the year list Common Marble Celypha lacunana, and the tiny Cocksfoot Moth Glyphipterix simpliciella which I thought was going to be something new but was actually common and not even new for the site. However, I did pot a tiny little moth which I took home for further research and discovered it was new to me; a Speckled Grass-miner Elachista rufocinerea. 

Elachista rufocinerea

Incidentally, for micro moths the "English names" are a relatively new contrivance so most moth-ers don't know what you are talking about until you add the Latin name. That probably includes me.

Finally, to take advantage of the last of the warm spring weather I put my trap out in the garden and managed to attract 38 moths of 27 species. These included eight new for the year plus two which were lifers.

The latter were a Poplar Lutestring (the Warwickshire records are clustered around woodlands bordering Redditch), and a Scalloped Hazel, which the books suggest is common but experience tells me they avoid our garden.

Poplar Lutestring

Scalloped Hazel

The wind was south-easterly last night and our garden lies about half a mile north-west of a nice stand of Poplars. so there was a bit of a theme going with regard to some other less than frequently seen moths.

A Poplar Hawk-moth was my first since the council chopped down a circle of mature Poplars on an island which is slightly closer to us, so that's since 2019. A Poplar Kitten was only the second for the garden.

The enormously impressive Poplar Hawk-moth

Poplar Kitten

Another unusual visitor was my first Red Twin-spot Carpet since 2018, although strictly speaking it should be aggregated as Red/Dark Twin-spot Carpet as they can be indistinguishable. Dark Twin-spot is a lot rarer, and is usually in a dark patterned form.

Red/Dark Twin-spot Carpet

I could go on, but I think I'll stop there. Suffice to say it was another good moth night.

Friday May 10 - Woods, birds and especially moths

 Today's venue was the woods of the Ragley estate which spill into the southern edge of my recording circle. Specifically, Asplands Husk, Three Oak Hill Wood, and Coldcomfort Wood. A public footpath (and a road) borders Asplands Husk and runs through to Coldcomfort Wood. For the other one I had to tresspass, but was discovered and politely chucked off.

Coldcomfort Wood

To be fair to the woods' owners there was evidence that they were opening some of them up by judicial forest management, and they looked good for birds (if only you were allowed to roam). Their principle focus may be deer management though, as the gamekeeper I met was keen to explain.

I did see some decent birds. The best was a very distant Hobby, my first of the year. Other notables were singing Garden Warblers, Cuckoos (two), and a Lesser Whitethroat by the road. Unfortunately none of these presented a photo opportunity so I had to rely on a Skylark which landed on the footpath between the crops and was presumably trying to lead me away from a nearby nest.

Skylark

I thought I'd better get that in because the rest of the post concerns moths.

In Three Oak Hill Wood I stumbled across several Brown Silver-lines, a common woodland species which has yet to turn up in my garden, and also Common Carpet, with a Green Carpet at Asplands Husk. It's nice to see moths in their natural habitat rather than in and around a moth trap.

Brown Silver-line

However I cannot finish this post without mention an epic moth-trapping session in my garden on Wednesday night.

Normally in early May I barely get double-figures, but the warm weather of the last few days has made all the difference. I caught 59 moths of 23 species, of which 16 were new for the year and one was new for the garden (and also a lifer).

The new one was a Dewick's Plusia. This is a species which is expanding its range northwards after only being recorded in the UK for the first time in 1991. For the next twenty years it was regarded as a south coast migrant, but then started breeding and reached the West Midlands maybe five or so years ago. Apparently they can be attracted to a pheromone lure for a related species and are not particularly drawn to light. So I counted myself doubly lucky when I saw it resting among the egg boxes.

Dewick's Plusia after being placed on a leaf.

The year-ticks were largely ones you might expect in spring, but an honourable mention should go to the five Least Black Arches (I've never previously caught more than one a year), and a Waved Umber which was my first for three years (although it flew off when I tried to persuade it to pose in a better setting than the egg box).

Least Black Arches

Waved Umber

Almost all the moths were macros, but one of the few micros caught was probably a Vetch Moth Aproaerema anthyllidella. It is a very small one which cannot be safely identified to species level without taking a specimen (and I didn't).

Vetch Moth (probably) second for the garden.

I've added all the year-ticks to the 2024 moth list page.