Linacre Ringing - 4 breeding records

This morning's ringing session at Linacre was a quiet one, with just 10 birds caught, but within that small number, we were very lucky to record juvenile birds, born this year, of 4 species (Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Blue Tit and Mistle Thrush). Of these 4 species, 3; Blackcap, Garden Warbler and Mistle Thrush, were the first records of young birds for 2017, and prove breeding on site. The Blue Tits included new  juvenile birds, unfortunately, not ones ringed in the boxes. The 4th species in the title was Common Buzzard. We didn't ring any chicks (unfortunately), but we did spot an adult bird carrying food into the woods, which, again, is positive proof of breeding. This last record, is particularly pleasing, as it's the first time I've recorded breeding of this species at Linacre.

Other birds caught this morning were: Bullfinch (a new male and a retrap female) and a retrap male Nuthatch.

In between the net rounds we recorded a couple of Swifts, a Grey Wagtail (thanks David), a House Martin, a Kestrel, a Brown Hare, a Sparrowhawk and a Chimney Sweeper (moth - see here for details).

We also took the ladders with us today, so we could check the owl boxes. The Mandarin Duck eggs we found in April (see here) had gone (hopefully hatched and fledged, and not predated), and the other boxes (including the Little Owl box), were all empty.

New moth record for Linacre

I was down at Linacre this evening to refill the feeders in time for ringing on Saturday. On the walk down to the feeding station I disturbed a few butterflies and moths, including a new moth species for me at Linacre; Light Emerald (details here).

Unfortunately I didn't get  a photo tonight, so here's one  that I took in my garden back in 2014. Sorry about the lid underneath the moth!

Light Emerald

As well as this moth, I also recorded 6 Ringlets (my first Linacre record for 2016), 2 Meadow Browns and a single Silver-ground Carpet (also my first Linacre record in 2016). See link on the UK Moths website here for pictures and details of this moth.

Bird Fair 2014

On Friday I went down to Rutland Water with my nephew, Luke, to visit this year's British Bird Fair. I like to go along every year to look around all the different trade stands, spot a few celebrities, buy a new book (or two) and get a few "year ticks".

The day started at the BTO's Ringing Demo. The weather conditions were perfect, and the nets were full, including a smart looking Marsh Tit. This was the first I've seen "in the hand", and was a very nice year tick too. Whilst there, Luke also got the chance to release a Blackcap and a couple of Great Tits.

After the ringing, we walked around the stands, where I bought a new moth book,  helped the BTO celebrate 75 years of the Nest Record Scheme, by eating a slice of their birthday cake, and then went along to a moth talk featuring a celebrity, Richard Lewington, the illustrator of many superb wildlife books, most of which I've bought (see here for details of the books he's illustrated). The talk was great, and included a few new moths (Canary-shouldered Thorn, Swallow Prominent and Lesser Swallow Prominent), but the highlight for Luke was a very photogenic Elephant Hawkmoth (his first), which posed very nicely for him.

Luke and an Elephant Hawkmoth

The final part of the day was a visit to the Osprey Project to see.... the Ospreys. We walked along to the Wader Scrape hide and saw the Manton Bay Pair, who were sitting on the perch next to the nest. Unfortunately, this pair hasn't managed to raise any chicks this year, but a total of 11 chicks have been born around the reservoirs. Whilst here, we also spotted a couple of Little Egrets, a few Common Terns, 2 Egyptian Geese and 4 Common Sandpipers.

Year List Update:

167 – Marsh Tit

168 – Osprey
169 – Egyptian Goose

Linacre July WeBS and insects

This month's WeBS count didn't get done earlier in the month as everyone who normally helps out was busy doing other things. Today was the first opportunity I'd had to do it, so here are the results of a slightly belated count: Mallard (42, all "adults", non obviously young), Tufted Duck (20; 14 adults and 6 juveniles), Coot (8; 3 adults and 5 juveniles), Moorhen (7; 3 adults and 4 juveniles), Grey Heron (1), Great-crested Grebe (1 adult and 2 juveniles on the middle reservoir, no sign of adults or juveniles on the top reservoir), and Mandarin Duck (5). No sign of any Little Grebes again. They don't appear to have bred here this year- the first blank year since recording began in 2006!

The weather was great today (21 degrees and sunny), so as well as the birds, I also spent some time looking at the insects again. There were good numbers of butterflies, hoverflies, dragonflies, damselflies, moths and bees.

I recorded 9 species of butterfly (Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Green-veined and Large White, Small Skipper, Small Tortoiseshell, Small Copper, Peacock and PURPLE HAIRSTREAK). The last species was the best, simply because it was my first Linacre record of 2014, and also because I managed to get a photo as it fed on a Thistle.

Purple Hairstreak

 

The two moth species I saw and identified today were both new for me at Linacre. Both were moths that are easily disturbed from the ground, namely Brown China-mark and Shaded Broad-bar.

Brown China-mark

 

Brown China-mark is a common species throughout the UK, but is quite unusual in that its larvae are entirely aquatic! See here for more details.

Shaded Broad-bar

 

Shaded Broad-bar is also a very common species. Details from UK Moths here.

 

Hoverflies were also present in good numbers, and included another new species for me at Linacre, Volucella inanis.

Volucella inanis

Also present today were Brown Hawker dragonflies (5+), Common Blue Damselflies (10+) and 3 species of bumblebee (Red-tailed, White-tailed and Common Carder)

Suffolk Butterflies and Moths

As well as looking at the birds in Suffolk last week, I also managed to spot a few butterflies and moths. Most of the species seen were at the RSPB Minsmere reserve. Over the course of the week I managed to spot 19 species of butterfly and 3 moths.

The butterflies included many of the commoner species, namely Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Gatekeeper, Common Blue, Small Copper, Ringlet, Speckled Wood, Green-veined White, Small Heath, Small, Large and Essex Skipper (a new species for me) and Comma as well as a few more unfamiliar ones such as Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Grayling, Purple Hairstreak, (2 basking in the sunshine from Bittern Hide), White Admiral and Silver-washed Fritillary. More information about all these species can be found on the Butterfly Conservation's website here. Here are a few pictures.

Essex Skipper

White Admiral

I didn't take my moth trap with me, so the moths I saw were three day-flying varieties; 6-spot Burnet, Rosy Tabby (Endotricha flammealis, seen at Dunwich Heath) and a mint moth called  Pyrausta aurata or Small Purple and Gold. More information about these species can be found on the UK Moths website here.

6-spot Burnet

Small Purple and Gold

Rosy Tabby

Garden Moths- Hawk-moths are comimg!

Its been quite a while since I last blogged about  my moth trapping activities in my garden (click on the label Garden Moths for details of previous blogs).

Throughout June I put the trap out 6 times, and began to catch a much wider range of species. I won't list all the names, but instead here are a few photos of one particular family - the hawk moths.

The first moth to show is a Hummingbird Hawk-moth (link here). This species is a regular, but uncommon, annual immigrant to the UK, from southern Europe, and this was my first record in the garden. They aren't easy to photograph, but I managed to grab this shot.

Hummingbird Hawkmoth

 

Another hawkmoth that appeared in the garden was the Poplar Hawkmoth (link here). I've had 2 so far this year, including this one that posed beautifully for some shots.

 

Poplar Hawk-moth

 

The third species of hawk-moth seen so far is the Lime Hawk-moth (link here). Just 1 record of this species so far, but a real beauty.

 

Lime Hawk-moth

 

The final species recorded so far is one that may people may have heard of, or perhaps, even seen- the Elephant Hawk-moth ( link here). This species first turned up at the weekend (along with a Poplar Hawk-moth), and I'm hoping to see a few more over the next couple of months.

Elephant Hawk-moth

Linacre Ringing and Mothing- 14th June 2014

Yesterday morning I was up early and got to Linacre for 5am. The primary reason was for a ringing session, but I also managed to get a bit of "mothing" done when drizzle and a dearth of birds put an end to the ringing.

First bird on site this morning was a Little Owl, that I saw on the drive in. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to find the nest this year, so no ringing. I've had to make do with sightings instead. Arriving in the ringing area, we soon had the usual nets up, and started to ring the first of several juvenile Great Tits (3Js). These were quickly followed by a juvenile Bullfinch (the first of 4 Bullfinches ringed today), a juvenile Chiffchaff, Blackcap (2 from the 5 Blackcaps ringed today) and a Robin.  By 9am the drizzle set in, and as we'd ringed 21 birds of 5 species, we decided to call it a day.

When the other members of the group left, I decided to stay on for a while. Luckily the rain stopped, so I spent another hour and  a half walking around the ringing site checking for day-flying moths and butterflies. I saw 2 species of butterfly, a Small Tortoiseshell and my first Meadow Brown of the year. In addition I spotted 12 species of moth, 7 of which were new for me at Linacre, and a couple of hoverfly species, 1 of which was new for me at Linacre (Volucella bombylans, in case you want to know!)

Volucella bombylans

I managed to photograph a few of the moths. Here are a couple of the new species:

Yellow Shell

 

Straw Dot

 

More information about the moths of the UK can be found here.

Linacre insects and breeding birds

Despite a pretty poor weather forecast, I decided to pop down to Linacre this morning for a few hours. As always, I'm glad I did, as I added a new species of micro moth to the list, and also managed to gather evidence of breeding success for another species of bird.

First up the moth. As I was walking along the path at the bottom of the top reservoir I spotted a small moth with very long antennae  flying around a tree. I watched it land and managed to get a couple of photos. Checking my book at home I found out it's called Nemophora degeerella, a species belonging to the Adelidae family (known colloquially as Longhorns), which is made up of 15 species in the UK. It's common throughout England, so I expect I'll see more examples later in the year (details here).

Nemophora degeerella

 

There weren't many other insects about (that I could photograph or identify!), but I did spot this Red and Black Froghopper. This is a common species at Linacre and I see them on most visits during the summer.

 

Red and Black Froghopper

 

Away from the insects, I spotted 5 broods of Mallards, 3 broods of Coots and 2 new Great-crested Grebe chicks on the top reservoir. This means both pairs of grebes have successfully hatched chicks this year, which is brilliant news. The new species with young this morning was Grey Wagtail. 2 adults and one chick were seen around the middle reservoir, which again, is great news after the predation of the nest on the top reservoir.

Another new moth

I had the moth trap on last night (all night), and caught an amazing 2 moths of the same species! Thankfully it was a new species for me and for the garden -  Common Quaker.

In the egg boxes

Actual size

These two photos show the same individual. The first was taken whilst the moth was still in the egg box which is placed in the moth trap. The second was taken on the kitchen table. Amazing how the colour changes. As the name suggests, this species is common across the country, so I should get used to seeing them over the next couple of months.

Thanks to the users of Ispot for help with the id again. (www.ispot.org.uk ) . More information about this species can be found here.

The moth List goes up to 4 species:

4- Common Quaker

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

Moths and a Sparrowhawk

Sorry, but it had to happen. Linacre blogger has started to look at moths. My darling wife agreed to get me a moth trap for Christmas. It arrived last week, and, after a few days of rain and wind, I managed to get it out in the garden at the weekend. I only had it out for an hour, but I managed to catch 2 species of moth, both of which were new for the garden (obviously!).

The first species was a Common Marbled Carpet. Here's a link to the UKMoths website. I know "my" moth doesn't look anything like the examples in the link, but they are apparently very variable!!

Common Marble Carpet

 

The second moth was another carpet species, this time a Red-green Carpet. Link here.

Red-green Carpet

 

Both species are classed as common in my moth book, so it'll be interesting to see how often they turn up in the trap.

These two species take my "garden list" (sorry, you knew it had to happen, another list!!) to 4 species when added to the Large Yellow Underwing and Silver Y that I saw during the summer. Two links again; LWU and Silver Y.

Large Yellow Underwing

Silver Y on the Buddleia

Finally, before everyone nods off, here's a picture of a Sparrowhawk that's taken to eating the Goldfinch in the garden.

Adder, Fox Moth and Black Darter

Following yesterday's WeBS walk I managed to get out again and enjoyed a lovely walk with Jayne on Big Moor.

The sun was shining, and in just over an hour, we spotted my first ever Adder, a beautiful female, that unfortunately managed to slither away into the undergrowth before I could photograph it. Thanks Jayne for your excellent "spot".

We also had several Black Darter dragonflies, including several pairs "in tandem" and "ovipositing" (egg laying), into nearby Little Barbrook reservoir. I managed to photograph both males and a female.

Male Black Darter

 

Female Black Darter

 

On the way back to the car we spotted this Fox Moth caterpillar. Fox Moths are common moths, often found heath and moorland. The adult moths fly between May and June, but the larva feed until September and then overwinter on or just beneath the ground under moss or leaf litter. They then emerge in the following spring and pupate. See here for more details, including pictures of the adult moths.

 

Fox Moth caterpillar

 

Avenue Moths and Butterflies

In my last post I reported on a successful ringing trip to the Avenue Washlands in Chesterfield. Whilst there we also had time to look at the insect life of the site, so here are a few pictures and thoughts.

First up is a species of burnet moth, most likely Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet Moth.

Mating Pair

 

There is another species of moth called a Five-spot Burnet, but, according to the UK Moths website, the Narrow -Bordered species is much more common and widespread.

 

Another moth species seen in the grasslands was the Shaded Broad-Bar.

 

Shaded Broad Bar

 

 As well as the moths, we also recorded a couple of butterfly species: Ringlet (10+), Meadow Brown and a new froghopper species, which I believe is a Common Froghopper (Philaenus spumarius).

 

Common Froghopper

 

Small Phoenix!

Whilst out ringing at the DWT's Ladybower Woods this morning Stewart and I came across this interesting moth.

Small Phoenix

 

After a bit of research I think I've identified it as a Small Phoenix, which is a relatively common moth found across Britain, in open woodland, feeding on willowherbs such as Rosebay Willowherb. Here's a link to the UK Moths website, so you can check for yourself.