Bloody Oaks Quarry, 24/05/2009

Over the bank holiday weekend, it was only Sunday night that I was able to get out for a mothing session. Despite the forecast being less than promising I set off to Bloody Oaks Quarry with the intention of running the traps overnight. It is almost six years to the day since I last trapped there, but the habitat has not changed. I ran 4 x 125W MV traps and 1 x 80W actinic trap, giving good coverage over the whole site although I avoided the hollow where the temperature can plummet. Before dusk there was a lot of activity as I set up the traps, mainly Green carpets and Common Swifts with the odd Scoparia sp. and Crambus lathoniellus. After dark though it soon went quiet, and by 23:00 it wasn't looking too good and the temperature had dropped off. I topped up the gennie and decided to get a good few hours sleep in the car and leave the traps to it. At 04:30 in the morning it was already very light and I started pulling in the traps. Turned out to be a reasonably good night in the end, not least because I caught up with a couple of species I haven't seen for a long while - Shaded Pug and Tawny Shears. The Total catch was 622 of 69sp. Main Highlights: Pale Oak Beauty (Hypomecis punctinalis) 2 Pine Hawk-moth (Hyloicus pinastri) 1 Orange Footman (Eilema sororcula) 3 Light Brocade (Lacanobia w-latinum) 4 Campion (Hadena rivularis) 1 Tawny Shears (Hadena perplexa) 1 Alder Moth (Acronicta alni) 1 Highest counts (>10): Green Carpet (Colostygia pectinataria) 103 Common Swift (Hepialus lupulinus) 96 Rustic Shoulder-knot (Apamea sordens) 51 Flame Shoulder (Ochropleura plecta) 44 Cinnabar (Tyria jacobaeae) 38 Scoparia sp. (pres. ambigualis) 37 Treble Lines (Charanyca trigrammica) 35 Large Nutmeg (Apamea anceps) 25 White Ermine (Spilosoma lubricipeda) 14 Grey Pine Carpet (Thera obeliscata) 12 Brown Rustic (Rusina ferruginea) 12 The full listing is uploaded here for those registered to the VC55 Yahoo Group. Traps 1, 2, 4 & 5 = 125W MV Trap 3 = 80W actinic Trap 1 viewed from the site entrance gate Trap 2 viewed from the entrance gate, the hollow is just beyond this trap Trap 3 looking back towards the entrance Trap 4 viewed from the 'plateau' east of the hollow Trap 5 viewed from where the grassland narrows with the conifer plantation east and south The hollow, looking toward the entrance
Overnight mothing luxury - a pump-up bed (courtesy of an electric pump and the gennie) and room to lie fully outstretched. I really miss the nights cramped on the back seat of the Peugeot 106 .....

During the early hours whilst collecting the traps, sorting out the cable reels, counting moths and taking photos, the dawn chorus was gradually increasing. Along with the expected early morning singers there was Lesser Whitethroat and Yellow-hammer, mewing Buzzard, yaffling Green Woodpecker, coo-cooing Cuckoo and a nice flyover Red Kite. All very mellow and peaceful with not a soul in sight for the whole time I was there.

Tawny Shears - sadly rubbed on one side Pine Hawk-moth Pale Oak Beauty - used to be very scarce, seems to be increasing Light Brocade - smart Clouded Bordered Brindle Dwarf Pug - a large fat female