Garden Leaf-mine Ticks

Behind the shed, hidden away and left undisturbed, I allowed a small patch of self-set bramble to take hold. I had no intention of letting it establish properly - this was a deliberate attempt to get a garden tick in the form of the ubiquitous leaf-miner Stigmella aurella.

I remembered and checked yesterday ... long gallery mines, very white looking, purplish edged ... Stigmella aurella duly added to the garden list with several vacated mines. I do like it when a plan comes off.

I also noticed what appeared to be a slightly different mine - still a long gallery but much less white and with no purple edging. It also had a continuous thin frass-trail in the gallery ...

I checked the leaf-miners website and MBGBI Vol 1, and followed up with a confirmatory check with Adrian Russell (County Recorder and leaf-mine recorder). As I anticipated - a splendid bonus tick (garden, County and British) in the form of Stigmella splendidissimella. Great. Now to pull up the bramble!


Last night I neglected to put the traps out as it seemed to be clearing and turning cold at dusk. I then nipped out to the bins at 23:00 and found that it was actually quite still and mild so I got the combo trap out and running. I find that in the late and early season quite a lot of stuff is very late coming to light so I guessed it would still be worthwhile despite having missed 5 hours of darkness. Sure enough, the single trap pulled in 20 of 10sp. Nothing too exciting but good to keep trying - I'm determined to record Sprawler and December Moth this year (neither seen in the garden since 2001).

0332a Firethorn Leaf Miner (Phyllonorycter leucographella) 1
0998 Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana) 1
1524 Emmelina monodactyla 2
1771 Juniper Carpet (Thera juniperata) 5
2240 Blair's Shoulder-knot (Lithophane leautieri hesperica) 1
2258 Chestnut (Conistra vaccinii) 1
2259 Dark Chestnut (Conistra ligula) 2
2262 Brick (Agrochola circellaris) 3
2264 Yellow-line Quaker (Agrochola macilenta) 3
2441 Silver Y (Autographa gamma) 1

Chestnut

I should have gone to Rutland Water to day to try and catch up with the Bearded Tits that have been knocking about for a couple of weeks but we spent most of the late morning preparing for and executing Alex's birthday party at Lazer Force. Great - a bunch of 7/8 year olds running round shouting - a relaxing Sunday ..... now to await the flurry of dressed up street beggars demanding sweeties ....

Psychoville

Trick or treat? FFS. I'm mostly looking forward to this tomorrow night - the return of Psychoville ....

Rare Bug / Garden Mothing

I'll kick off with some belated news - I posted a photo on the VC55 Wildlife blog of a random bug that turned up in my garden trap on 18th July. Whilst I don't take a great deal of notice of everything non-lepidopteran in the trap - this did not look familiar.

Recently I was given an ID for it - Miridius quadrivirgatus. Apparently a mainly southern and coastal species which has started turning up more frequently inland - see here. Better still, it is only the third record and second site for VC55. The slight downside is that both of the previous records came from the same Sapcote moth trap on - the two nights previous to mine! Oh well.

Last night was very mild but very breezy. I decided to give the traps their first airing for c20 days. Surprisingly they pulled in a few moths and the catch (14 of 8sp.) included two garden firsts for the year:

(125W MV 4 of 4, 80W/100W actinic/tungsten 10 of 6)
1041 Acleris sparsana 1
1042 Rhomboid Tortrix (Acleris rhombana) 11771 Juniper Carpet (Thera juniperata) 1
2107 Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba) 1
2237 Grey Shoulder-knot (Lithophane ornitopus lactipennis) 12240 Blair's Shoulder-knot (Lithophane leautieri hesperica) 2
2262 Brick (Agrochola circellaris) 1
2264 Yellow-line Quaker (Agrochola macilenta) 5
2306 Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa) 1

I've updated the moth yearlists as well:
Garden - 9907 of 387sp.
Total - 20038 of 565sp.

Modern Twitching - An Etiquette and Fieldcraft Guide

Venturing into the fray with like-minded twitchers can be a minefield these days. Sometimes literally. The following simple steps will help you to fit in with the crowd and, most importantly, nail that tick.

Before you head out, plan your outfit. It's no good flouncing about in designer labels or day-glo sportswear - make sure you wear subtle colours which blend with the surroundings.

Once in the field, don't waste valuable time simply waiting for the target to put in an appearance - how fucking lame would that be? First-up, get your iPhone or similar loaded with calls (any species) blast that sucker, preferable through a mega-phone.

Be aware of your surroundings, and in particular look for any opportunities to close the gap or trespass - no point looking from afar when a simple bit of effort can get a load of you over any boundary and nearer to that all important +1 in the book.

Don't allow yourself to be disadvantaged by your competitors, and especially by any detractors in the mix. If necessary make your point with a well aimed smack in gob - don't pull any punches - twat that arsehole whinging about 'welfare of the bird' and 'mindless imbeciles'.

If all else fails, get throwing. Bricks, stones, etc. If necessary, grab the nearest competitors scope and lob that aswell. No point in coming away unusure of whether the birds was simply hiding - make sure by forcing the bastard to move!

Once you've scored, don't fuck about simply admiring something that you can see better in a book or on the internet - get on with the business of self-congratulatory back-slapping and photos, preferably with a beer or two.

And then get yourself away at the earliest opportunity and onto the next target ....

Jackdaw

This very approachable Jackdaw was one of several loitering around beaches last week looking for an easy meal. Easy to dismiss birds like Jackdaws, but good light shows tones that are easily missed.

Magpies on the other hand are clearly more colourful than most of their congeners but I've never managed to get a good shot of one - they always seem wary when a camera is about.

Rock Pipit

Rock Pipits knocking about on every stretch of rocky beach and harbour last week, like these two in Newquay ..

Revolting Cocks, etc

Been blasting some great industrial/electronic-industrial/EBM tracks from the late 80s again .... not everybodies cup of tea I'm sure but, well, give it a try anyway ....

Kestrel

This superb Kestrel was not hovering over the Perran Beach cliffs - it was simply holding it's wings back and letting the wind do all of the hard work staying pretty motionless with minimal effort. Heavily cropped images but you get the gist.

Green Woodpecker

This female was busily foraging on the inlaws lawn in Guineaford, North Devon, on Sunday morning:

Turnstone

I like waders. They always seem to have character, and of course the variation and ID challenges within the group help to build the interest. Not often you see waders acting like town pigeons though, but Turnstones seem to have a real knack of eeking out a living on harbour walls and coastal car parks!

Herring Gull

Let's face it - when it comes to aesthetic beauty, acoustic serenity, or any other appealing quality starting with A, Herring Gulls are pretty much bottom of the heap. Anyone who has to suffer winters looking at masses of inland gulls will surely agree that eliminating all of them from the view would be a great benefit. They are mean-looking and aggressive bastards. Not sure what the collective noun is, probably a 'Hard of Herring'.

Having said all that, once you get away from inland reservoirs, playfields and rubbish tips and into coastal towns, it is the cries of Herring Gulls that really make you feel you are at the British seaside. This is where Herring Gulls should be - scavaging the harbour and tideline for bycatch (not the prom for chips). Here's a selection - a few more on Flickr.

Kernow

As you may have gathered from the complete lack of posting, I was either:

a) dead, or at least very poorly
b) beset by computing difficulties
c) completely apathetic having been overcome by tedium
d) away from home

Happily, the correct answer is D. We've had a great family break away in Kernow, with a pit-stop in North Devon for the weekend before coming home late tonight.

I've got (literally) 100s of photos to sort through which I'll share in grouped batches over the coming days as I catch up on news and posts and return to the daily grind.

On the ivy

I've been away on work again during the week, so nothing exciting to post about from the last couple of days but I've managed to sort out a couple of photos from a very brief look-see at an ivy-clad bridge nearby on Tuesday night. I'd nipped out to the garden to sort out the recycling bins for collection and noticed a Blair's Shoulder-knot feeding on a small overhanging ivy in the garden. Spurred on by this I went out with torch and camera to check down the lane.

It was cool, and only c9pm so I wasn't sure whether there would be much success. However I was pleased to find 2 each of Brick, Yellow-line Quaker, Red-line Quaker and Green-brindled Crescent, and single Dark Chestnut, Pink-barred Sallow, Satellite and Emmelina monodactyla. Not the best shots but you get the idea ..

Satellite

The Brick

Yellow-line Quaker

Red-line Quaker

Green-brindled Crescent

Listening to ..

Magnetic Man

Crank the volume up and get some of this bass-heavy dubstep in your life ....

Actually, while you're at it, give this a high-volume whirl - still loving this from the summer ..

08/10/2010 - Bedstraw Hawk .....

.... just one of the many exciting migrants that I was hoping would turn up but didn't!

The garden traps did well though with a very mild and cloudy night, but it was pretty windy. There were a few common migrants, but the most unexpected moth of the night was a very knackered Blood-vein. Sadly the Brindled Green was too knackered to bother photographing.

08/10/2010, Total 87 of 30sp.
(125W MV 49 of 20, 80W/100W actinic/tungsten 38 of 21)

0464 Diamond-back Moth (Plutella xylostella) 7
0648 White-shouldered House Moth (Endrosis sarcitrella) 2
0998 Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana) 11
1048 Garden Rose Tortrix (Acleris variegana) 9
1138 Epinotia nisella 1
1395 Rusty-dot Pearl (Udea ferrugalis) 4
1398 Rush Veneer (Nomophila noctuella) 1
1497 Amblyptilia acanthadactyla 1
1524 Emmelina monodactyla 5
1682 Blood-vein (Timandra comae) 1
1760 Red-green Carpet (Chloroclysta siterata) 1
1764 Common Marbled Carpet (Chloroclysta truncata) 4
1795x November Moth agg. (Epirrita dilutata agg.) 3
2091 Dark Sword-grass (Agrotis ipsilon) 1
2109 Lesser Yellow Underwing (Noctua comes) 1
2126 Setaceous Hebrew Character (Xestia c-nigrum) 1
2232 Black Rustic (Aporophyla nigra) 2
2240 Blair's Shoulder-knot (Lithophane leautieri hesperica) 9
2245 Green-brindled Crescent (Allophyes oxyacanthae) 1
2248 Brindled Green (Dryobotodes eremita) 1
2258 Chestnut (Conistra vaccinii) 1
2262 Brick (Agrochola circellaris) 2
2263 Red-line Quaker (Agrochola lota) 5
2264 Yellow-line Quaker (Agrochola macilenta) 6
2270 Lunar Underwing (Omphaloscelis lunosa) 1
2272 Barred Sallow (Xanthia aurago) 1
2273 Pink-barred Sallow (Xanthia togata) 2
2306 Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa) 1
2389 Pale Mottled Willow (Paradrina clavipalpis) 1
2477 Snout (Hypena proboscidalis) 1

Rusty Dot Pearl

Juniper Carpet

This Red-line Quaker is an odd colour, maybe referable to f. rufa

Green-brindled Crescent - no apologies for featuring another one, I think they're great

Another Dark Sword-grass

Lunar Underwing - where are they all this year?

I also ran a few traps at Huncote Embankment for a few hours last night. At this time of year it's not possible to leave stuff overnight without a visit to top up the gennie. I decided to go back at c23:30 and see how the traps were doing. I'd left them a bit exposed along a track in the full force of the strong wind, so I wasn't expecting too much and I decided to pull them in rather than topping up. Nothing too exciting, but as with the garden one or two late individuals (Dusky Thorn indeed). Most of these species are new dots on the map for that site though.

08/10/2010, Huncote Embankment
2 x 125W MV & 1 x 160W MBFT
Total 41 of 17sp.

1795x November Moth agg. (Epirrita dilutata agg.) 11
1913 Canary-shouldered Thorn (Ennomos alniaria) 1
1914 Dusky Thorn (Ennomos fuscantaria) 1
2107 Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba) 2
2109 Lesser Yellow Underwing (Noctua comes) 2
2126 Setaceous Hebrew Character (Xestia c-nigrum) 2
2199 Common Wainscot (Mythimna pallens) 1
2232 Black Rustic (Aporophyla nigra) 5
2263 Red-line Quaker (Agrochola lota) 1
2264 Yellow-line Quaker (Agrochola macilenta) 3
2267 Beaded Chestnut (Agrochola lychnidis) 3
2272 Barred Sallow (Xanthia aurago) 2
2273 Pink-barred Sallow (Xanthia togata) 2
2274 Sallow (Xanthia icteritia) 1
2369 Bulrush Wainscot (Nonagria typhae) 2
2384 Vine's Rustic (Hoplodrina ambigua) 1
2477 Snout (Hypena proboscidalis) 1

Bulrush Wainscot

Beaded Chestnut

06/10 & 07/10 Garden Mothing

Mixed fortunes over the last two nights. On Wednesday night the MV was absolutely dire, whilst the combo trap did okay and pulled in 5 new species for the year. Last night was better overall for numbers with both traps doing okay though the combo outperformed the MV again, though the only new for year species was an unexpected Spruce Carpet.

06/10/2010, Total 29 of 15sp.
(125W MV 2 of 2, 80W/100W actinic/tungsten 27 of 15)

0998 Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana) 1
1041 Acleris sparsana 1
1048 Garden Rose Tortrix (Acleris variegana) 4
1524 Emmelina monodactyla 1
1728 Garden Carpet (Xanthorhoe fluctuata) 1
1795x November Moth agg. (Epirrita dilutata agg.) 1
1923 Feathered Thorn (Colotois pennaria) 1
2240 Blair's Shoulder-knot (Lithophane leautieri hesperica) 4
2259 Dark Chestnut (Conistra ligula) 1
2262 Brick (Agrochola circellaris) 4
2263 Red-line Quaker (Agrochola lota) 5
2264 Yellow-line Quaker (Agrochola macilenta) 1
2272 Barred Sallow (Xanthia aurago) 1
2274 Sallow (Xanthia icteritia) 1
2306 Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa) 2

The Brick

Dark Chestnut

Feathered Thorn

07/10/2010, Total 74 of 27sp.
(125W MV 28 of 17, 80W/100W actinic/tungsten 46 of 20)

0464 Diamond-back Moth (Plutella xylostella) 1
0647 Brown House Moth (Hofmannophila pseudospretella) 1
0648 White-shouldered House Moth (Endrosis sarcitrella) 1
0998 Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana) 7
1041 Acleris sparsana 1
1048 Garden Rose Tortrix (Acleris variegana) 3
1398 Rush Veneer (Nomophila noctuella) 1
1524 Emmelina monodactyla 4
1728 Garden Carpet (Xanthorhoe fluctuata) 2
1760 Red-green Carpet (Chloroclysta siterata) 1
1764 Common Marbled Carpet (Chloroclysta truncata) 2
1769 Spruce Carpet (Thera britannica) 1
1795x November Moth agg. (Epirrita dilutata agg.) 2
2107 Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba) 6
2109 Lesser Yellow Underwing (Noctua comes) 1
2126 Setaceous Hebrew Character (Xestia c-nigrum) 3
2240 Blair's Shoulder-knot (Lithophane leautieri hesperica) 8
2245 Green-brindled Crescent (Allophyes oxyacanthae) 2
2245 Green-brindled Crescent [ab. capucina] (Allophyes oxyacanthae) 1
2259 Dark Chestnut (Conistra ligula) 3
2262 Brick (Agrochola circellaris) 3
2263 Red-line Quaker (Agrochola lota) 3
2264 Yellow-line Quaker (Agrochola macilenta) 5
2272 Barred Sallow (Xanthia aurago) 5
2273 Pink-barred Sallow (Xanthia togata) 1
2306 Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa) 2
2434 Burnished Brass (Diachrysia chrysitis) 1
2441 Silver Y (Autographa gamma) 3

Spruce Carpet

Rush Veneer

Green-brindled Crescent

Common Marbled Carpet