Moths and Pond

A very mild night with rain by early morning produced good numbers of moths and species in both mine and Dave’s trap with Buff Ermine, Willow Beauty and Light Arches new for the year for me while Dave added Figure of Eighty to his year list. Quite a few micros were potted up and await identification so Bob was a busy boy with the camera.
By the time we got to the pond it had turned murky with low cloud, poor visibility and a blustery east south east wind and all we could find were 3 adult Yellow Wagtail on farborough bank, the long staying female Goldeneye in toft bay and the unexpected sightings of Sand Martin and female Shoveler. Bob had 2 Teal and another 6 spikes of Bee Orchid yesterday making this the best year for the species here for sometime plus a Small Blue which is a very good record for the site. Long gone are the days when they were common on draycote bank. Rest of the day spent at home where the murk gave way to partial sunshine and occasional rain showers. A Hobby was hunting over garden at 4pm and a Shelduck south at 5pm was only my second garden record of this species in 36 years.
Photos by Bob Hazel
Cochylis batricapitana new for Dave
Broad-barred White
Phyllonorycter leucographella