First Moths of the Year

 

I have put the moth trap out a few times during the winter months but so far with a zero catch. I can only assume that any species of moths that are flying are out in the countryside and woods, rather than frequenting my urban garden.

My only winter catch was on the 16th February, not to the trap but from one landing on my shirt whilst I was out in the garden moving some plants around.

It looked unusual, obviously a Plume moth,  but with colours and patterns that I had not seen before. Checking the field guide confirmed that it was just a darker brown version of the Common Plume showing  typical spots and lines for that variant.

Common Plume

I tried again at the weekend but as before there was nothing in the trap in the morning, so I modified the trap adding a second 20 Watt BLB bulb and hanging a white sheet behind the lights. Success, of sorts, an Early Grey and what I think was a worn Bloxworth Snout in the trap, with a second Early Grey and a couple of Common Plumes on the sheet.

Early Grey

At least identification didn't take too long, the Early Grey being one of the more common moths at this time of year.

Bloxworth Snout

With the second species being an obvious member of the Snout family, overwintering Bloxworth seems to be the best fit. I had three or four at the end of last year with the last two being on the 8th and 9th of November. It was well worn but the markings although faint seem to map onto those shown in the field guide. 

On reflection perhaps not my most successful mothing night but it's a start and worth recording.

Little Bunting

It always feels good when you see a bogey bird put to bed and for me the Little Bunting is one such bird. 

Back in 2015 Dave and I went to look for one that had been reported at Old Lodge Nature Reserve. It wasn't one of our most successful days and we ended up coming home without seeing the target bird. Later that evening Dave e-mailed me a picture he had taken of a small flock of Reed Buntings and sitting in the middle of it was the Little Bunting. I had seen the flock but a quick check of my shots for that day confirmed that I didn't have the picture.

There was no choice, it would be a life tick, I had to go back the next day for another go. Then the day after that and the one after that, seven successive days in all, with no luck even though others were reporting seeing it. Ridiculous really but I couldn't give it up, it was an eighty mile round trip and a waste of seven days with no result to show for it.

I did eventually get to see a Little Bunting but even then it was disappointing. I only managed to get a couple of pictures, they were poor and although I can look back at them now and know that it was a Little Bunting, I did at the time have my doubts.

Little Bunting

Today Warnham Nature Reserve delivered the goods, a Little Bunting sitting out in the open, if only for a few seconds. Just long enough to get the picture above before it moved behind cover and stayed there for a frustrating ten minutes or so before it dropped down on to the ground and started foraging.

It was surprisingly difficult to see and to follow whilst moving about in the leaf litter and twigs on the ground.

The picture below has a number of small out of focus twigs in front of the bird but it is worth including as it shows the head crown stripe which along with the straight culmen (upper ridge of the bill) are the key identifying features.

Other birds seen, a Marsh Tit, this one being ringed and a different bird from the one I saw in the same location a couple of weeks ago.

Marsh Tit

and a male Siskin

Siskin

I would have liked more and better pictures of the Little Bunting but I did at least come away a lot happier than I had with the Old Lodge bird. 

Yellow-browed Warbler

 

I went looking for the Yellow-browed Warbler at the Patching Sewage Works on Tuesday. It was part of a hyperactive flock consisting of two Firecrests, probably half a dozen Goldcrests and a number of Chiffchaffs including at least one possible Siberian. Seeing it was easy enough but getting a good shot was near impossible.

Checking my pictures later that evening I think I did get one picture of it, as below. Yellow supercilium, dark eye stripe, brown legs rather than the Chiffchaffs black and the hint of a pale wing-bar, but without getting the double wing bar in the shot, I cannot be sure. There was a good picture of it published on Twitter which was a close match, even showing the thin brown line breaking the supercilium just behind the eye.

Am I happy - no - I want a better record shot. If it stops raining I will have to go back for another go.

Possible Yellow-browed Warbler

One bonus from the visit was that I picked up a half decent shot of a Firecrest. Another bird that I see often enough but rarely manage to photograph.

Firecrest

Other pictures taken recently

Marsh Tit

Siskin

Skylark

Spotted Redshank

Wren

Red-legged Partridge

And a couple more of the Barn Owl from  a revisit on Tuesday evening.

Barn Owl

Barn Owl

It was good to see the Barn Owl again but the lighting was not so good and most of the pictures were blurred or grainy.

Barn Owl

 

A walk on the downs north of the Burgh had not proved to be very rewarding. A small flock of Yellowhammers, lots of Chaffinches, the rear ends of a few Grey Partridges and some distant Red Kites and Buzzards. Poor return for the distance covered but on approaching the dew pond, on the return leg, a Short-eared Owl perched in a distant tree did at least offer picture opportunities.

Short-eared Owl

Distant it was and distant it stayed, quartering the field but not really coming any closer. Fortunately the photographic session was rescued by a much more obliging Barn Owl that appeared on the scene.

Barn Owl

The owl made a number of passes hunting along the hedge lines and the edges of the set asides. Barn Owls are said to have poor eyesight but on daylight hunts they always seem to favour the sun coming over their shoulder, so perhaps using sight to supplement their usual location of prey by sound. 

Whatever the reason I usually end up with about ninety percent of the photographs with burnt out wings and bodies and with faces in deep shadow. Fortunately this one stayed around long enough for me to get a few reasonable shots.

The picture above had to be included. The owl got the pose just right but the picture does not quite make the grade. The eye and claws are sharp but the wings are blurred on the top edges and the picture will not stand much enlargement.

It is also amazing to see how small the owls body is in comparison to its head and legs, although I guess the head, as seen here, is mostly made up of feathers.

Barn Owls are the most widespread species of owl in the world. Twenty to thirty subspecies are recognised by the various authorities, with the one found in Western Europe being Tyto alba. Strange then, that the owl is recognised as being a nocturnal feeder in Europe but is regularly seen feeding during daylight hours in the UK. 

Whatever the reason for its daytime appearances, it is a welcome sight and a great bird to photograph.

Blinged up Redshank

 

Given the lockdown and the restrictions on travel, the bird list for this year, sitting at 98 half way through February, doesn't look too bad. It is perhaps more interesting for what is missing from it, than for what is in it. No Greylag Goose, no Owls, no Great Spotted Woodpecker and lots of other common birds missing, Blackcap, Jay, Water Rail, Bar-tailed Godwit, Snipe, Kittiwake, Fulmer, Spotted Redshank, Fieldfare. I know where to look for them and would probably have seen them all by this point in a normal year but I am just not getting out to see them.

I have, however, managed to get a few pictures whilst out on exercise walks. That being despite the only days with decent light for photography, being so cold that it was difficult to hold the camera. The metal casings just seem to suck the heat out of your fingers.

It was good to capture this Redshank just off the seawall at Farlington Marsh. Pete Potts who ringed it at Farlington back in September 2020 supplied a history which showed that it had been seen at Farlington twice more during that September but then not again until my sighting on the 22nd of January.

The secret life of birds. You have to wonder where it has been for the past four months.

Redshank with colour rings.

One bird that I did go looking for was the White-fronted Goose. This is not a bird that I see every year and I usually have to go over to Pett Levels or Scotney Pit to see it. This year it was to be found in big numbers all along the south coast. That is everywhere and big numbers except for all the places I visited. I always seemed  to be a day late but I did eventually manage to catch up with a family group. One benefit of the pandemic is that this is the first time I have ever recorded it on what I would consider as my home patch.

White-fronted Goose

And a Kestrel from the same walk

Kestrel

The River Adur offers another interesting birding walk close to home although the paths can get a little crowded with dog walkers and family groups. It offers the usual dilemma, travel further and find isolation or exercise close to home and dodge the crowds.

It was a bit grey and murky that day but I did see a few good birds and add a few year ticks to the list.

Common Sandpiper

Female Goosander

Little Grebe launching into the wind.

Ringed Plovers about to be dislodged by the rising tide.

Unfortunately there was no sign of the Peregrine(s) sitting on the cement works chimney. That will have to be one for another day.

I also spent a couple of hours on the coldest morning of the year on a sea watch. The idea was to get a few pictures of passing birds to take home and work on my identification skills. Not the best choice of days. In two hours I had two Cormorants, three distant Gannets and a couple of black dots that proved to be pixel size on the pictures.

Not a lot learnt in the way of identification skills but an interesting experience and I will be trying it again.

Cormorants

The weather forecast is for warm winds from the Mediterranean areas so we could see a few early migrants over the next week or so. I hope they don't come to early, the last cold spell will have already taken a heavy toll on some of the overwintering birds.