The Milton Mk VII, 125w MV moth trap has been the focus of my natural history studies over the bank holiday weekend, some nice moths being recorded - although nothing particularly unusual. A couple of Pug sp. of dubious parentage (very worn) have me stumped, but I'll get over it. Yellow-barred Brindle, Common Marbled Carpet, Small Dusky Wave, Chinese Character and Muslin Moth all appeared on the egg boxes, for the first time in 2015, this morning, so there's variety aplenty when added to the regulation Heart & Darts, SSD's, Setaceous Hebrew Character, BLBE's, Vine's Rustic, Common Swift, Dark Spectacle, etc......! It hasn't taken the local House Sparrows and Great Tits long to discover this potential food source, so it's the alarm set for 04.30hrs - up, out into the garden to switch off the light and cover the trap, thus averting moth trap carnage, before a swift return to the comfort and warmth of the duvet.
This morning's highlight was a rather smart male Pale Tussock, not quite annual in the garden, which provided a nice opportunity to play around with the extension tubes and produced a very pleasing, alternative, image (in my personal opinion).
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| Common Marbled Carpet |
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| Common Swift |
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| Male Pale Tussock - as depicted in the majority of id literature. |
I had a wander around the farm, first thing, and it was obvious that birding was a waste of effort. The two Common Whitethroats, apart, there was nothing to report! Breakfast in "Ship Shape Café" in Ramsgate Harbour was very enjoyable and highly recommended. Bev, her Mum, Dad and brother headed off towards the delights of Rye, I'd other plans - a reckie down to The Stour, near Minster, for a search for carp swims? There was also the added incentive of a couple of year ticks, which were duly added, in the form of Nightingale and Turtle Dove.
I've not been to this particular area for a couple of years and was amazed at how much it has changed. With traffic access removed, it is now a bloody jungle! No fly tipping, no overnight camping by litter happy undesirables, thus the habitat has benefitted from the restrictions. A Lesser Whitethroat sang from a small patch of scrub with Cuckoo, Reed, Sedge and Cetti's Warbler, Chiffchaff and Reed Bunting providing the backing vocals. All in all, a rather enjoyable weekend. Oh: and I added Orange-tip to the butterfly year list (now on 11)
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| Let's have it! A Pale Tussock looking angry, if that's possible? |
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