Over the line

 After almost nine months of anxiety, Bev has completed her final radiotherapy session of her breast cancer treatment. Some of the side effects might take a couple of weeks to subside before she gets back into some form of routine, eat and sleep wise, although the Macmillan nurse reassured us that this was completely normal for patients undergoing this procedure. We left the hospital in possession of  a prescription for medication which will assist the recovery process, so everything seems to be headed in the right direction.  

Juvenile Honey Buzzard photographed last September on Corfu.
The very old Sigma 170 - 500 mm lens wasn't up to the task hence, I am hoping the 
new Canon kit will produce much improved images?

We're now hopeful that, within the next three weeks, we'll be headed to Corfu for a long awaited holiday. Because of what I'd experienced last autumn, whilst at this same location, I've been doing a bit of research, via the wonders of "Google", looking at the pros & cons of purchasing a 1.4X teleconverter for use with my 100 - 400 mm IS lens. I have to say that the majority of what I've seen and heard has been very positive about the combination. It would seem that a visit to Park Cameras, in Burgess Hill, is likely to happen in the not too distant future? Humming-bird Hawk-moth and Honey Buzzard have avoided my gaze, thus far in 2024, yet I'm hopeful that this will be rectified during our time on this stunning Greek island?

It seems ridiculous that I've not set eyes upon a "Hummer"
thus far in 2024. Sadly, I am not alone, many Kent "moffas" are in
a similar position.

Because of what's been going on in our little world, blogging has taken a back seat of late. I did manage to grab a couple of hours, down at the local club water, yesterday, where I enjoyed myself landing seven, or eight, small Carp using the split cane Mk IV and ABU Cardinal 44X combo. The garden moth trap continues to provide my daily source of  head scratching, as I struggle to get to grips with the id's of many of the micro visitors to the egg trays. My inabilities detract not one iota from the enjoyment of looking at (and pointing the macro lens towards) these fascinating creatures. 

Pale Maple Slender - Caloptilia honoratelia
I'll never know for certain as gen. det. is required for a positive id.
Thankfully this individual flew off after I'd taken five images

Nettle Tap - not a regular garden visitor. I caught this one, in a pot, during an afternoon
gardening session.

Having been through Bev's medical saga, it quickly becomes clear how totally unimportant getting a moth id, or targetting specimen fish, really is within the bigger picture of simply enjoying life's journey?

Scarce (aka Tufted) Oak Knot-horn (Acrobasis tumidana)
A very smart visitor to the egg  trays

The second Golden Twin-spot this week - a stunner!

Getting there - slowly!

Bev has now had her first two radiotherapy sessions, with just three more to go before the treatment is completed. However, because it is a Bank Holiday weekend, we're not back to the Kent & Canterbury Hospital until Tuesday, thus have to return on Wednesday and Thursday before this saga is completed. Once through this caper, we're are hopeful that a break on Corfu will be possible, although we've not made any arrangements due to simply not knowing how Bev will react to the treatment? Hopefully, the Irene Apartments in Agios Gordios will be able to accomodate us for a fortnight, or more, after mid-September.

Benno has really started to get into the rhythm of fishing at Stonar Lake, taking some nice Rudd and Bream, plus a couple of (very) small Eels for his efforts. Me? Just a single Bream! It would appear that my angling efforts, for this Summer, are doomed to failure purely because of other priorities. I simply can't spend hours away from Bev when her anxiety levels are causing real issues. Fortunately, the C&DAA venues down at Minster are close enough for me to spend a couple of hours with a bait in the water, confident that there is a realistic chance of getting some action whilst also having the ability to get back home within twenty minutes should Bev need my assistance. This afternoon, I arrived a Brook Lake just before 14.00 hrs and, having soaked my landing net and un-hooking mat, was fishing within half an hour. By 16.30 hrs, I had landed a dozen, or so, small Carp using free lined floating wholemeal cubes,, the best one being an absolutely stunning linear Mirror of 11 lbs 8 oz (or there abouts). 

The fact that I took this photo in dappled sunlight is a magazine editor's nightmare.
I actually quite like the result.

The garden moth trap continues to provide the majority of my daily wildlife fixes, with the Hedgehogs putting on a very nice sideshow most evenings. I am indebted to the contributors at  Folkestone Birds and Sandwich Bay Obs websites for their regular, moth related, up-dates. Not that I'll ever be able to compete with them with my pitiful lack of id skills, I simply enjoy seeing what species might be possibly attracted to the trap knowing what's being recorded elsewhere around the Kent coastline. A few decent moths have graced the egg trays recently. Golden Twin-spot is obviously top of the pile, yet Maple Prominent and Yellow Belle were also new for the year.

Golden Twin-spot 

I have to admit to being quite taken by Ian Hunter's assessment of the impact the recent "Blue Moon" had on the effectiveness of the Obs moth trap. On that same night, and admitting that diversity was certainly depleted, I recorded over 200 Common Wainscot (agg) plus good numbers of Setaceous Hebrew Character and Straw Underwings. All very strange as our locations are probably five, or six, miles apart - as the crow flies!

Yellow Belle

Maple Prominent

Easy does it

With Bev's radiotherapy treatment starting on Thursday, I am getting as many sessions in, out on the bank, as is possible before this begins.Today, I had a couple of hours at the local club water using very simple free-lined wholemeal bread cubes (a sliced loaf cut into baits using scissors) presented on a "Dick Walker" split cane Mk IV Avon rod with an ABU Cardinal 44X reel loaded with 5 lbs b.s. line and a size 12 Nash "Floater Claw" hook. Absolutely non-stop action, provided by this ravenous hoard of scamps, and exactly what I wanted. The best fish was a gnarly old Mirror which tipped the scales at 12 lbs 7 oz and provided the fitting climax to my time at the venue. Benno and I are back out Eel chasing tomorrow evening/into dark before I have to ensure that Bev is OK prior to arranging any further outings.

Compulsory "silly hat" and sun-glasses

The moth trap was fairly quiet, over night, yet still managed to attract the first garden Olive-tree Pearl of 2024. A couple of Silver Y and a lone Pearly Underwing was about the only other signs of migrant activity.

Olive-tree Pearl

Signs of change

The recent run of decent weather has certainly impacted in a positive fashion upon the numbers, and variety, of moths being attracted to the garden MV trap. Although I am still struggling to get positive id's for many of the smaller micro species, it is a Knot-horn sp. which has caused a few issues this morning. My copy of the 2nd edition Field Guide to the Moths of GB & Ireland is on order and should, hopefully, be able to further assist my pathetic efforts?

I'd have thought that a moth so obviously a Knot-horn and this well marked would be easy to id?

I was out in the garden, around 21.30 hrs, last night, attempting to get an image of the "orange tinted" August "Blue Moon". Whilst outdoors there was a small passage of Sandwich Terns, away to the west, headed down towards Pegwell Bay. 

The usual morning routine is switching off the trap, at around 05.30 hrs, before going back to kip and checking the contents much later in the day. Today, however, there was the first Convolvulus Hawk-moth of 2024 sat in the funnel, so quickly potted up and placed into the fridge, before going through the ritual of covering the trap and moving it away from where the local Magpies can cause any issues. 

The first Convolvulus Hawk-moth of the year - always a welcome garden visitor.

An inspection of the egg trays resulted in a couple more additions to the garden year list in the form of Scarce Bordered Straw and a female Gem. There were also a couple of Silver Y, Diamondbacks and another Vagrant Piercer which just added to the feeling that insect migration is afoot. 

Scarce Bordered Straw

The Gem - female

The garden Hedgehog feeding station remains a constant source of entertainment, once the light has faded, and there are at least six individuals visiting the garden on a regular basis. I haven't seen a Fox for quite some time, yet there was a male barking away somewhere out in the darkness late last night. The Barn Owl was calling again on Saturday night, so might have taken up temporary residence in the buildings over at Newlands Farm?

It remains an absolute privilege to have these animals sharing our space.

A new venue and garden jewellery

 On Thursday, after much chat with Benno, I finally decided to renew my C&DAA membership for 2024/25. With many external factors coming into play, we needed a venue where we could go Eel fishing without the hassle of two hours plus driving time being involved. So Stonar Lake will be where we will be focusing our attention until Pike season comes into the equation. Don't get me wrong, Stonar is a completely new venue for me and, although there are rumours of big Eels, we have never seen any evidence to suggest that it will be easy to target these enigmatic fish. However, before I get onto my first visit to the fishery, on Thursday afternoon I did manage to grab a split cane, an ABU Cardinal 44X and a loaf of wholemeal bread and head down to Minster for a very short, ninety minute, session after the Carp. I landed five fish, missing many, many more, in the time available, the best being a very fiesty Mirror of 13 lbs 9 oz. I would love to share a photo but a schoolboy error meant that I didn't have the autofocus switched on and my self-takes were a blurred mess as a result. Lesson learned and a good job that it wasn't a fish of more merit?

No need for a barrow or any moaning about stresses on my
arthritic joints. Parking is ridiculously close for every swim on
this venue.

So onto Friday's efforts and my first visit to Stonar Lake, as an angler - I used to visit regularly during my time birding, and I have to say that I was very pleasantly surprised by set-up of this fishery. Access is first class, yet swims are very secluded and allow scope for the occupants to do their own thing without impacting on those in adjacent positions. For Benno and I it is a completely blank canvas and we are looking forward to the challenge of getting the pieces of the puzzle to fit into place. We fished from 18.00 - 23.00 hrs, last night, and didn't manage to tempt anything with our offerings, although I did land a small Bream on a raw prawn thus avoiding the dreaded blank?

Benno sat in our swim, the view looking south towards Sandwich 

The view, from my position, looking north towards The Discovery Park

As the sun goes down

The moth trap has obviously been central to my enjoyment of the local wildlife encounters so far this year, yet the feeding stations, be they for avian or nocturnal mammalian visitors, also provide plenty for me to get excited about.  The one aspect of offering food has to be the importance of also having a supply of water available to the various garden visitors.and today provided further evidence of this with the appearance of a Pied Flycatcher at the bird bath.

Thankfully the bird hung around for an hour, or so, allowing me to grab a few images which are worthy of sharing. 

Another garden first

After receiving a very obnoxious comment (see my previous post) from someone I don't know, have never met, I thought it might be worth taking a day, or two, to think over the situation before getting another post together. I published the comment purely because he was willing to put his name to such drivel and therefore I respected his right to hold this opinion, as much as it differs from my own. The lack of manners is only matched by the paucity of intellectual and grammatical talent required to engage in communication at anything beyond nursery school? I can only think that it is my stance on lethal recording techniques which has caused such angst? Yet if that is the level that these folk operate at, it is only to be expected that using Victorian technology remains at the cutting edge of their IQ range?  That is all I have to say about this incident and it won't be mentioned again - full stop!

This recent spell of hot weather has certainly boosted the numbers of moths being attracted to the garden MV trap. Common Wainscot numbers are off the scale, in excess of one hundred individuals on two nights running. Fifteen Tree-lichen Beauties was a new garden record count and, this morning I discovered the first Elephant Hawk-moth for over ten days. A Dusky Thorn was new for the year but, it was two micros which really stood out for me. The first was a stunning well marked example of Vagrant Piercer which simply glowed in the early morning sunshine.

Vagrant Piercer (Cydia amplana)

The second individual was a completely new species for me and certainly led me a merry dance around the internet as I sought to get a correct id. First recorded in Dorset (2009), this species originates from Australia and, as an adventive, is obviously a result of  plant or foodstuff movement between the two continents. It was certainly a striking moth to behold and subsequent searching through the Kent Moths database reveals that Franny has already recorded this species at both of his constant effort sites on Thanet, as have Sandwich Bay Obs just across The Stour.

Marbled Fern (Musotima nitidalis)

No two days are ever the same!

 It would seem that the fishing gear is redundant, at present, due to a combination of Bev's anxiety issues and this crazy heat wave that is being experienced here on Thanet. I would guess that we are luckier than most because at least we have the luxury of a cooling sea breeze, as the land warms each day. So it hasn't been a difficult decision to pick up the optics and, along with the camera kit, get out to do a bit of local birding. On Saturday I did a circuit of Monks Wall LNR (a complete waste of time and effort) before relocating to Pegwell Bay NNR to watch the rising tide. Today I just went straight down to Pegwell for a repeat session. 

Moulting adult Black-headed Gull

Saturday was rather productive, with a brisk SW wind blowing, and the majority of birds favouring the Pegwell side of The Stour. It would seem that Sandwich Tern numbers are now well past their peak, yet Mediterranean Gulls are still  on the rise, with over two hundred birds present; the vast majority being moulting adults. I actually picked out two colour ringed individuals but the distance, and heat haze, ensured that no details were recorded - one yellow and one white ring. The best of the rest included eleven Black-tailed Godwit, ten Ringed Plover, nineteen Dunlin along with singles of Curlew Sandpiper and Little Stint (both juvs) 

A 3c/y Mediterranean Gull in heavy moult

Sunday was just as enjoyable, but with the wind now in the east, the majority of resting birds were positioned with their arses facing the optics. A decent mix of species was on offer again. I was in the company of Rich, at birder from Dover, and between us we recorded five Turnstones, six Ringed Plover, eight Dunlin, six Knot (including a couple of summer plum adults) seven Greenshank - south as the tide rose, one Bar-tailed Godwit and five adult Common Terns plus  the usual mix of Redshank, Whimbrel, Curlew. All in all, rather enjoyable and a productive way to use my time whilst awaiting the chance to cast a baited hook again.

Fig-leaf Skeletonizer - I'm recording these newbies on
most nights with the best count being five!
Not too difficult to understand when there's a Fig Tree
within two metres of where I position the trap!

Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)

The garden moth trap hasn't been particularly productive, given the crazy overnight temperatures, but this has to be due to the winds not easing? Last night, as I was watching our local Hedgehogs visiting the feeding station, a bird flew over Newlands Farm, calling constantly for a couple of minutes. I have absolutely no idea what it was? My best description of the sound is that, to my ears, it was similar to the contact call of a Barn Owl, yet nowhere as loud or rasping. It was repeated, without a break, for the entire period I could hear it! My guess is that it will have been a wader of some description but simply don't have the foggiest idea what species.

I'm going with Dingy Shell (Euchoeca nebulata) but would be very happy
to be corrected if this id is erroneous.

Evening up-date

Just gone 21.25 hrs and I've heard that same bird calling again. This time, however, much closer and clearer before catching a glimpse of the culprit as it drifted along the back hedgerow. It IS a Barn Owl, and only the third record for my patch in twenty four years!

What the f**k?

Apologies for the post title, but I'm in need of some visitors to boost the daily stats and there's nothing like an expletive to aid the cause. So what's going on, you may ask? As is normal, at this time of year, I'd switched the moth trap off at 05.00 hrs and returned to the comfort of our bed for another four hours before thinking about examining the results of the previous night's captures. What I hadn't expected was to discover a small dragonfly sp. perched on a steel rod, right outside my study doorway, when I did finally decide to check the egg trays. Unless my info sources are completely erroneous, there was a Willow Emerald Damselfly posing beautifully in the morning sunshine, right outside my back door!

Under no circumstances do I expect my images to be worthy of comparison with those of Marc Heath (Mr Kent Dragonfly - and a very good mate) yet they are worthy of using on my blog?The moth trap produced very little of note, yet a Lesser Treble-bar was a nice addition to the garden year list.

I went down to Pegwell Bay NNR, to watch the incoming tide today, bumping into Rus Blackman in the process. We spent a very pleasant, yet uneventful, hour, or so.watching the rising tide Three Grey Plover, three Black-tailed Godwits, plus a few Dunlin and Whimbrel were as good as it got. Sandwich Terns and Mediterranean Gulls dominated the high tide roost along with the regular Black-headed Gulls, Curlews and Oystercatchers. The Garage Pool is now devoid of water, thus requires a very high tide to refill it and, as a result, is no longer attractive to the Little Egrets present in the area. No two days are the same, so I'm sure that there will be something worthy of note when I next visit this wonderful reserve. 

The MV does it again

 It wasn't until after mid-day that I got around to seeing what had been attracted to the 125w MV Robinson Trap overnight. The first priority of the day was a trip to our local pharmacy, for Bev's medication, then, joy of joys, a wander round Tesco for the weekly shop! Still, these things need to be done, so it's better to grin and bare it, in and out as quick as possible, as opposed to delay plus moaning and groaning every trolly push along a crowded aisle! So on that philosophical note, I return to my garden moth trapping and the continued inability to align myself with those, mainstream "moffas", who are happy with the use of lethal techniques in order to secure a positive id, thus their name in an annual report or, even more repulsive, another worthless tick on a personal list. County moth recording is conducted under the umbrella of "Butterfly Conservation"? With this in mind, I "Google'd" the meaning of conservation to find this definition as the base line. A CAREFUL PRESERVATION AND PROTECTION OF SOMETHING.  Somehow I'm struggling to understand where dissection or sticking pins into moths actually fits with this ethos?  Still, it's for every individual to make their choices and I know that all the time this is accepted practice amongst the mothing community, I won't be supporting their efforts by placing records into any data base.

So this morning did produce a very special moth. A garden tick, no less, and probably only the third record for Thanet? Clouded Buff is a moth which I first saw whilst birding the Kent coast (around 1994/5) between Langdon and South Foreland. I'm pretty sure it was Tony Greenland, although it might have been Ian Hodgson?, who pointed out one of these splendid moths, saying that they were very localised and habitat dependent along the Kent coastline. They were very happy times, indeed, and those two guys inspirational in my Kent  birding journey. 

Male Clouded Buff

What is it about moths that make it such an amazing hobby anyway? As an answer, I can only offer the ridiculous diversity of shape, size, colour and that added dimension provided by them being creatures of the night. My thoughts being that over 95% of people will never bother to look at that "bloody thing" which has been drawn into their living space by a light bulb and, instead, just swat it with a rolled up newspaper. Living where we do, Bev and I are extremely fortunate to be part of a lovely community who appreciate the situation and are very willing to offer assistance if someone requires it. Six of the bungalows provide Hedgehog feeding stations, and the vast majority of the others have some type of bird feeders on offer. It isn't hard for me to share my moth captures, however common, and promote the use of eco-friendly gardening techniques because of people looking at a creature they've never seen before. The following images have been taken during this past week and hopefully serve to demonstrate the ridiculous diversity of moths which are sharing the same space as my neighbours?

Tree Lichen Beauty

Pebble Prominent

Orange Swift

There have been so many Jersey Tiger Moths around this part of Thanet that my neighbours are now telling me about their sightings. I've been recording double figure counts over the past few nights, although the majority of individuals are happy to perch up outside the trap, rather than visit the egg-trays. Two Gypsy Moths, yesterday, were the first of the year and there has been a very obvious upturn in geometer activity, of late. All the regular suspects involved but, happily, a couple of species which aren't annual visitors to the garden.

The Peacock

Tawny-barred Angle

Gypsy Moth (male)

Still, with the next generations incapable of looking at anything other than an i-phone or X-box, does any of this really matter? Unless conservationists are able to enthuse, inspire, the kids of today, it won't matter a toss what we have, and haven't, recorded because it's no longer relevant!  So, on that happy note, I'll get down off the soap box and return to the quiet backwater that is Dumpton!

Wood Marble (Lobesia reliquana) another good Thanet record?

Poplar Hawk-moth - this is the species which kicked off the adventure in 1994

Another Pine Hawk-moth & some Pegwell birding

There is something completely beyond my comprehension currently occurring within the garden mothing caper. I've caught plenty of Pine Hawk-moths during my time operating a 125w MV Robinson Trap, however, the vast majority of them whilst on holidays in Brittany during the mid-1990's. Since Bev and I moved into our bungalow, in darkest Thanet, I've only managed three captures in twenty-four years! Well that was the case until I examined the egg trays on Sunday morning. Just fifteen days since the third garden record, there was another, absolutely pristine example of, Pine Hawk-moth for me to enjoy.

I have no idea what's going on with the population dynamics within the invertebrate ranks, yet have no doubts that all is not well within the bigger picture. It is blatantly obvious that something is awry purely because of the dramatic decline in Garden Tiger and Poplar Hawk-moths which are now being attracted to the MV trap. As an individual all I can do is look and be amazed by the ridiculous diversity of creatures which I encounter during my daily routine. For every species which has declined there will be others which have profited from the same situation. Jersey Tiger and Box-tree Moth are two which immediately spring to mind, yet Tree-lichen Beauty and umpteen, previously un-recorded, micros are also symptomatic of the ecological changes which are taking place.

At around 22.30 hrs, on Saturday night, there was a huge movement of, very vocal, Sandwich Terns over Newlands Farm. Obviously triggered by the high tide, these birds were taking a short cut over Thanet, headed for the roost in Pegwell Bay?  Having taken a quick look at the SBBOT website, to check out what they were reporting, I decided that I'd take a look for myself. With high tide at 13.15 hrs (or there abouts) I was on site with a few minutes to spare before the tide reached its' peak. Scope, binos and the long lens for company, I had a very pleasurable couple of hours at this wonderful reserve, just happy to look at anything willing to perform for my optics. Little Egret numbers were down on my previous visit, yet there were still around forty individuals present around the Garage Pool and adjacent salt marsh. Sandwich Tern numbers were off the scale! I counted approx. 300 birds to be visible on the banks of The Stour and Shellness Point, then something spooked another massive flock from beyond the ridge of Shellness which was probably bigger than the one visible from where I was stood? Mediterranean Gulls were also very numerous, in excess of one hundred and fifty birds roosting on the salt marsh. 

I only had until 15.00 hrs at my disposal, so wasn't able to watch the falling tide for too long. A few Whimbrel, Dunlin, Redshank and Oystercatchers had started to move about the bay as I headed back towards the van. Another check of The Garage Pool revealed the presence of two juv Little Ringed Plovers and a very interesting, and incredibly small, Herring Gull. I spotted it amidst a gaggle of Black-headed Gulls and, such was it's diminutive size, thought I was looking at a 2nd cy Common Gull. It was only by looking through the scope that I picked up on the obvious red spot on the lower mandible. I will leave the racial id to those "laridophiles" who are far more knowledgable than I. It was still a very cool bird to set eyes upon.

It was tiny!

Angling time is, very much, at a premium at present. I do have a couple of windows available, but everything will depend upon Bev's physical health and anxiety levels before any plans can be made.So I will finish with a coupe of images of the LRP's. I can't be certain, yet feel these two individuals might just be Thanet "ticks" for me?