Garden Moths 2020 - First Results

It's been nearly a month since I last posted anything here, so apologies for that. As you can imagine, I haven't been down to Linacre since the "lockdown" began, but that doesn't mean I haven't been enjoying everything nature has on offer from my house, garden and surrounding area.

One thing I have been doing, is getting my moth trap out, and seeing what's around in the garden. So far the answer is.... not much!! I have, however, had 3 sessions with the trap and have recorded 7 species of moth. The most numerous so far is Common Quaker, with 7 individuals caught, followed by Small Quaker (5) and 5 other species; 20-Plume Moth, Purple Thorn, White-shouldered House Moth, Double-striped Pug and Pine Beauty ( all with just 1 individual each).

Common Quaker

Small Quaker

Pine Beauty

I'll keep going with the trap over the next few months, and hopefully, the number of species will begin to pick up! In the mean time, If you click of the label Garden Moths, you'll be able to see some pictures from a few years back.

Linacre News - 5th December 2015

Despite the strong winds (gusts up to 50 mph were forecast, and it definitely felt like that standing on the dam wall of the top reservoir!), I was down at Linacre this morning with my nephew, to check on the Shags.

When we arrived on site we got a little worried as we couldn't find any in their usual spot on the middle reservoir! Undeterred, we decided to walk around the other 2 reservoirs just in case they'd moved there. They hadn't (!), but we did count some of the commoner wildfowl and the Black-headed Gulls that were on site. Totals were: Mallard (84), Moorhen (9), Coot (3), Tufted Duck (30), Cormorant (4, including 2 perched up in the Beech trees on the bottom reservoir), Grey Wagtail (1) and Black-headed Gull (c.50). Here's a photo of a couple of Tufted Ducks from the bottom reservoir. I think the back bird is an adult female and the front bird is a young one, due to a much paler iris, and much less intense colouring, especially around the head.

Tufted Ducks

We returned to the middle reservoir after about an hour and were pleased to see 2 Shags back on the overflow. We grabbed a few pictures, and another 2 Shags were spotted fishing, taking the total to 4.

Shag

These were the 2 individual birds that were perching on the overflow this morning. Note how much paler the top bird is.

A Kingfisher was also heard, but not seen, and the winter plumaged Great-crested Grebe was still present. Luke spotted a Sparrowhawk, and a Common Buzzard was seen flying low over the bottom reservoir.

First moths of 2014

I haven't put the moth trap out this year yet, as the weather just hasn't been dry and warm enough, so I was really pleased to spot a moth on the outside of kitchen window on Monday 16th. I took it into the house, and, after a few "tweets", I managed to identify it as an Early Moth - my first record of this species.

Early Moth

As the name suggests, this moth is found in January and February, and is, according to the UK Moths website, a relatively common species across England. Apparently the spots on the wings (seen faintly in this photo) are diagnostic for this species.

Hot on the heels of my first moth came another one today, that I could identify myself. This one was the Twenty-plume Moth, a species I first identified last November (see here). This species is also common, and feeds on Honeysuckle, a plant we have in the back garden, so I'm expecting to see quite a few this year!

Moth List 2014:
1) Early Moth
2) Twenty Plume Moth