Marvellous

I have just two records of Merveille du Jour from the garden - singles c9 days apart in 2009, none before that and none since. The lack of mature oaks within sight of the garden will not help. So, when I potted one up from the trap last night I was well chuffed. Even more so when I found another in the trap this morning - albeit that one was missing antennae for some reason.

What a marvellous start to the day ....

Most of the rest of the autumnal stuff that has turned up over the last few days is brown or grey.

Beaded Chestnut

Juniper Carpet

Red-line Quaker

Satellite

Acleris sparsana

Feathered Thorn

Dark Chestnut

Green-brindled Crescent

I did get out today looking for more leaf mines, and found a good selection along with a few mildews, rusts and galls. A lot of it sorted and ready to add to records but still plenty to go at.

Late October Geos

Here's a couple from the garden traps this week, starting with a very welcome one ....

Mottled Umber

Only the second for the garden, first was back in Jan 2011

Feathered Thorn

Juniper Carpet

This last one usually signifies that the end is nigh for me - I'll keep trying but there will be a few blanks coming up now. Always a chance that I could still see Scarce Umber, Sprawler, December Moth, Chestnut and maybe something unexpected.

Some Garden Moths

Juniper Carpet - found this in the garden on Thursday afternoon when I got home from Sevilla

November Moth agg. - from the garden trap on Thursday night

Green-brindled Cresent ab. capucina - from the trap last night

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

Plastic Birds, Dead Ducks, Moths, Jokes

Yesterday, after the Shrike twitch, I had a quick look at Staines Reservoir. It was exactly as I remember it - massive with the endless causeway, crap viewing over the south basin and nothing unexpected on the north basin. I did twitch Staines Res once for a Wilson's Phalarope, and I've seen Black Redstart, winter grebes and divers here, but nothing noteworthy yesterday. I then headed the short distance to Virginia Water for some plastic birding and a pleasant walk before hitting the motorways - a bit like calming down in the chillout room during a night out clubbing. There's actually some decent wood around this park if you get away from the dog-walkers and main paths. Jay, Nuthatch, Great Spot, various tits and finches all noted. Plenty of Mandarin about but mostly out of range, though this pair was typically tucked away discretely in an overhanging bough against the near bank.

However, the main reason for going there was to get good close views of Ring-necked Parakeets. I really don't care what anyone else thinks about them - I think they're great. Bright green squawking birds that can be really hard to find when they are quiet (which is rarely!). A few years ago I visited a huge winter roost at Esher Rugby Club of up to 2000 - one of the funniest birding spectacles imaginable. I found a load yesterday eating sweet chestnuts. With the crap light though, and them being high up, all I could get was rubbish shots.

The sweet chestnuts were raining down from trees all around - felt like I needed a hard-hat.

After this interlude, and a quick stop at Staines McDonalds, I hit the M25/M1 return. Five Red Kites seen, only two Common Buzzards. Before going home I thought I'd have a quick look at Swithland Reservoir. Plenty of Gadwall, Shoveler and Tufteds but not a lot else other than the usual gaggle of gulls and geese loitering for hand-outs and a male Peregrine in the usual tree.

One of the Mallards on the causeway road didn't seem too interested in the bread being offered by the visiting blue-rinsers.

The garden traps last night yielded another superb Merveille du Jour - hopefully this will become an annual species to look forward to. Not too many moths overall, but four new species for the year which were a slightly tatty Brick that I didn't photograph, and these:

Juniper Carpet

I usually see this as being the end of the season for garden trapping, but this year I'll keep it going a bit to try and get Figure of Eight, Sprawler and December Moth again.

Dark Chestnut

Yellow-line Quaker

Have a chuckle at these:

A sensitive young man called Ron wanted to buy a Christmas present for his new girlfriend. They hadn't been seeing each other for very long and she lived a considerable distance away. He consulted with his sister and decided, after careful consideration, that a pair of good quality gloves would strike the right note; not too romantic and not too personal. Off he went with his sister to Harrods ladies dept and they selected a dainty pair of fur lined quality leather gloves. His sister bought a pair of knickers for herself at the same time. Harrods had a free gift-wrap offer but unbeknown to Ron the assistant mixed up the two items, so the sister got the gloves and Ron got the knickers. … Good old Ron sent off his gift-wrapped present in a parcel with the following letter.

Darling, I chose these because I've noticed that you are not wearing any when we go out in the evenings. If it had not been for my sister I would have chosen the long ones with buttons, but she wears shorter ones (which are easier to remove). These are a very delicate shade, but the lady I bought them from showed me the pair she had been wearing for the past three weeks and they were hardly soiled at all. I had her try yours on for me and she looked really smart in them even though they were a little bit tight on her. She also said that they rub against her ring which helps keep it clean. In fact she hasn't needed to wash it since she began wearing them. I wish I was there to put them on for you the first time, as no doubt many other hands will touch them before I have a chance to see you again. When you take them off remember to blow into them a little bit because they will be naturally a little damp from wearing. Just imagine how many times my lips will kiss them during the coming year. I hope you will wear them for me on our next date. All my love, Ron. P.S. My mum tells me that the latest style is to wear them folded down with a little bit of fur showing.


A college professor was doing a study testing the senses of first year schoolchildren, using a bowl of flavoured Polos. He gave all the children the same kind of Polo, one at a time, and asked them to identify them by colour and flavour. The children began to call them out: "Red............cherry," "Yellow.........lemon," "Green..........lime," "Orange........orange." Finally the professor gave them all new Honey flavoured Polos. After eating them for a few moments none of the children could identify the taste. "Well," he said "I'll give you all a clue. It's what your mother may sometimes call your father." One little girl looked up in horror, spat hers out and yelled: "Oh My God!!!! They're arse-holes!!"