Mallow Groundling

 

I would like to be able to trap moths in the garden throughout the year but the period from mid November to the end of March has traditionally proved to be a waste of time. I have tried but other than the occasional Light Brown Apple Moth all I have managed to do is to waste a lot of electricity.

This year with a cold wet spring things have been even slower with the first signs of life being a Waved Umber and Ruddy Streak in the trap on the 29th April.

Waved Umber - menophra abruptaria

Ruddy Streak - Tachystola acroxantha

May has been slightly kinder but with the nights still being on the cold side, the catches have been small both in size and variety

The late start to the season also introduces further complication to the Quakers, Uncertain and Rustics where "date seen" becomes a less reliable indicator. The moth below has the strong cross band between the kidney marks, that I am looking for on the Uncertain but the longitudinal white lines on the outer half of the forewing would seem to indicate Common Quaker.

 

Common Quaker - Orthosia cerasi

Not so easy with the next one. I'm still looking for the Uncertain as it is early in the season but there is no kidney cross band and it looks more like a Rustic or maybe a Vines Rustic. I think I will have to go for the Vine's Rustic.

Vine's Rustic - Hoplodrina ambigua

Treble Lines - Charanyca trigrammica

Pale Prominent - Pterostoma palpina 

Knot Grass - Acronicta rumicis

Hebrew Character - Orthosia gothica

Freyer's Pug - Eupithecia intricata

Early Grey - Xylocampa areola

Yellow-faced Bell - Notocelia cynosbatella 

Narrow-winged Grey - Eudonia angustea

Least Black Arches - Nola confusalis

A couple of Mallow Groundling in the trap on the 24th May were my best find of the year so far. At about 8mm in length, they are not much to look at but they are classed as Nationally Scarce B, so worth recording. Unfortunately not a new species for me as I had them in the garden a couple of years ago.

Mallow Groundling - Platyedra subcinerea

I also attended a mothing session at Woods Mills, being present when they opened the trap in the morning. Again the numbers were a bit disappointing following another cold and windy night but there were at least a couple of moths that I hadn't seen before.

Common Swift - Korscheltellus lupulina

May Highflyer - Hydriomena impluviata

and always nice to see, a Poplar Hawkmoth, my first of the year.

Poplar Hawkmoth - Laothoe populi

Whilst early May was a start to my mothing season, the nights ever since have been cold, clear and windy, not good for moths. Give me a few overcast, still and humid evenings to get things going again.

Kithurst Meadow

 

With the Pearl-bordered in the bag I needed my second spring priority, the Duke of Burgundy. Kithurst Meadow was an all but guaranteed location and it would give me some of the other spring butterflies.

It fills you with confidence when you walk into the meadow and see Cowslips the preferred egg laying plant and Bugle a good nectaring plant growing everywhere.

The Dukes were soon found with probably a dozen flying in the sheltered part of the meadow.

There were also lots of other species flying

Brown Argus

Dingy Skipper

Green Hairstreak

Grizzled Skipper

Orange Tip

Common Blues, Large and Small Whites, Brimstones, Red Admirals and Peacocks were also seen but were not stopping for a photograph.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

 

I have seen a few butterflies during the January to March period, mostly Brimstones and Peacocks, but for me the butterfly season does not really start until I see a Pearl-bordered Fritillary. That usually means a trip over to Rewell Wood at the end of April.

This year, with a cold and wet spring, everything seemed to be two to three weeks late. I made trips to Rewell Wood in the last week of April and also the first week of May but there was no sign of the Pearl-bordered. Even on the 13th May I was not having much luck. Four hours walking around the wood had not given me any sightings and it was only late afternoon walking back to the car that I took a detour down a previously unvisited track and came across some signs of Spring beginning to happen.

Three Pearl-bordered seen, only one of which I managed to photograph.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

The track also gave me views of a couple of moths, the Speckled Yellow which had shown at various places in the wood and the Treble-bar with about a dozen flying in one small area.

Speckled Yellow

Treble-bar

Also seen whilst searching for the Pearl-borders were Painted Lady and Orange Tips

Painted Lady

No Duke of Burgundy butterflies in the glades or in Fairmile Bottom but they are usually a week later than the Pearl-bordered. I will have to give Kithurst Meadow a visit.

White-crowned Sparrow

 

This blog is a bit late and the pictures are not particularly good but I thought it was worth recording my visit to Hope Gap, back in April, to see the White-crowned Sparrow.

There is not much kudos in adding this to my UK list. I didn't find it, I just tagged onto the back of the twitch and it was probably only staying in the area as people where putting bird feed down to keep it there.

Perhaps I should have gone back another time and tried for a better picture but the more I see of twitches the less I like being there.

Here is one from Canada last year. Unfortunately the picture is not much better but at least I had that bird all to myself. So, self found (not difficult in North America!), no twitch, and a life tick. That one was really well worth celebrating.

I also went to see the putative Iberian Chiffchaff on the Downs Link Footpath just north of Shoreham but I don't think the experts were convinced. I see there is now another being reported from Abbots Wood north of Eastbourne which is making a better case for acceptance.