No idea where the time goes these days. I've been: busy at work; busy
reconciling the 2022 VC55 moth dataset and starting to write a review of it;
watching LCFC disintegrate into a completely shite and relegation-worthy team;
listening on repeat to new albums from Depeche Mode and Orbital, and
recently starting to get my head around the idea of being a 'Grandad' in October
....
The rubbish wet/windy weather through most of March has not been very helpful to
getting out for anything, though a slightly better first week in April gave me
chance to waft a lure around and add a few more Pammene giganteana dots to the
VC map.
The garden trap went out last night for a few hours, I pulled it in
early ahead of more rain. Just as well really, as loitering at the bottom of
the dry trap was the first garden tick for 2023 (and it probably would have
drowned I'd left the trap out). So just over 11 years since I last saw one, and a very welcome addition to the
garden, is this Dotted Chestnut. I couldn't decide which pic to post so have a
few.
I mentioned listening to new albums, one being Optical Delusion from Orbital. I
went to Nottingham on Friday night to watch their live set, absolutely loved it
and it's about 10 years since I last saw them live. This one is probably my favourite track,
not least because it mentions 'Sandeels disappearing, Puffins lost at sea'.
A much more sombre offering, but one I've thoroughly enjoyed, is Memento Mori from Depeche Mode. Several great tracks, though I doubt this release will generate a new generation of fans. Sadly, as it stands their current World tour only has one UK date - which falls in the same June weekend that I'm away at the Isle of Wight festival. Hopefully more dates to be added either late this year or early in 2024 (if previous tours are anything to go by).
Blimey, a whole month or so since posting. I've not felt inclined to bother -
not due to having nothing to post, I've just been either busy, distracted or
so completely hacked off with the ridiculous and shambolic nature of our
government that I couldn't be arsed. I will make no attempt to fully catch up,
and in any case the majority of finds and activity have been leafmines. There
also won't be any posts in the next couple of weeks or so as we're off on a
long overdue holiday for which my post-cancer travel insurance is not far off
the cost of a typical summer low-star package holiday. Our last proper holiday was a
Caribbean cruise in late 2018 - and life since then has revolved around health
and covid restrictions. We're now heading off on a transatlantic cruise to the
Caribbean which somehow seems symbolic.
By far the best two moths in the garden were unexpected ....
This fallen leaf from the garden Silver Birch was a chance find on 16/10/2022 -
the only one with a 'green island' meriting closer inspection which revealed a
tenanted mine. Initially it looked quite short and appeared to be starting to
form a blotch after the initial contorted gallery which brough Ectoedemia
minimella to mind - though that would be very unlikely. I held onto the leaf and
after a couple of days the mine had developed into a gallery with some
scalloping along the edge. This is Stigmella luteella - new for me and
the garden.
The other highlight was this Caloptilia sp. to light on 03/10/2022 ....
This will need a gen det, but I am pretty sure that this will be confirmed as
the first VC55 record of Caloptilia honoratella - needless to say new for
me and the garden too. This is one that has fairly quickly established itself
into the UK since arriving in 2016 and seems to be spreading - so not entirely
unexpected as such, I just thought it would be a few more years before getting
this far.
I'll spare you another load of leafmine images showing tenanted mines of new-to-me Stigmella spp. etc.
Blaming everyone in the hospitals
Blaming everyone at the bottom of the English Channel
Blaming everyone who doesn't look like a fried animal
On Saturday night I was able to enjoy some out in the field mothing; a major
step in my recovery both in terms of driving distance and physicality, though
I have to be honest and say that I was completely knackered the following
morning. I joined a group session at Rutland Water organised by Tim Sexton,
based in and around the Lyndon Center on the south shore. I had Graham Calow
along for company, and amongst the participants were Pete Leonard, Graham
Finch and Margaret McLoughlin along with Lyndon regulars Pete Bennett and
Martin Grimes, plus a handful of other recorders. As it happened Pete headed
in the same direction as me and we set out out lights throughout a section of
woodland known as Berrybut Spinney adjacent to the Rutland Water Golf Course,
using my sheet as a gathering point. There were additional lights running in
Gibbet Gorse, around the center and Graham & Margaret heading the other
way towards Waderscrape Hide. So all in all good coverage and decent potential
for a great combined list.
The two cyan squares are the two halves of Berrybut Spinney, yellow square is
Gibbet Gorse, green square is the Lyndon center and the red square is
Waderscrape Hide.
It's been a while since my sedate family car got abused off-road like this.
Pete (left) and Graham (right) ahead of lighting up.
The brown wooden box next to my chair is the old catch box that Adrian made
the best part of 30 years ago, and it is great being able to use it and give
it some more service. I think he'd approve.
The hope of great things waned after lighting up, when it became clear quite
early on that we were not going to be inundated with moths at the sheet. No
idea why really, but it was a lot quieter across all the traps than I think we
anticipated. Still, my sheet and x2 125W MV traps alone brought in 54sp. and
Pete's x2 MV + x3 actinic traps managed a healthy 66sp. We await the combined
list, but perhaps c100sp. will be achieved. Either way it was great to be out at all, and all the better to be out on a group event.
Best of the bunch on our side was in one of Pete's traps, a worn Agonopterix
purpurea. Otherwise the best micro in my traps was a worn Psoricoptera
gibbosella, whilst macro highlights were my first VC55 worn White-point, a
couple of worn Square-spotted Clay and a worn Dark Sword-grass. You'll
notice that these all share a common characteristic!
Agonopterix purpurea
Psoricoptera gibbosella
White-point
Square-spotted Clay
Dark Sword-grass
The garden trap delivered another first last night ....
Neocochylis molliculana. VC55 first was in 2015, but there has been a
distinct increase since 2019 so perhaps only a matter of time before it popped
up.
Also noteworthy were ....
A knackered Ypsolopha horridella - second garden records after one in
2020.
.... and the third Nephopterix angustella so far this year.
Last week we managed to nip down to Devon for a couple of days and stay with
my in-laws in their new (moved last year) property in Fremington, which is
west of Barnstaple along the Taw Estuary. We couldn't have picked a better
couple of days weather-wise with glorious sunshine and decent warmth. I should
have packed a moth trap but thought better of it, there will be chances in the
future I'm sure. But when I do I think it could be interesting to see what
turns up, as within spitting distance of the garden is a large marshy field
that is part of the Fremington Local Nature Reserve called Lovell's Field
(cyan dot), a small tidal tributary (yellow dot) which becomes Fremington Quay
where it meets the Taw Estuary (green dot).
Around Lovell's Field are a good mix of broadleaved trees, though a lot of the
oaks in the area are
Lucombe Oaks
- a naturally occurring (not in UK) hybrid between Turkey Oak and Cork Oak.
There are loads of them in Devon; I have no idea though if those around here are
self-seeded (unlikely) or planted a couple of hundred years ago (very likely!)
but they do have some sort of preservation order on them I believe.
Although I did not take a trap, I did take a pheromone lure. Within
minutes of arriving we were lounging in the garden in sunshine with a cuppa,
chatting away whilst I had one eye on a red rubber bung. Around half an hour
later I was dashing off to get my net and shortly afterwards showing everyone
this ....
Cracking Emperor Moth
I also hung out a couple of lures in pheromone traps hoping the local oaks
would hold interesting Pammene spp. but no joy on that front.
We had walk around the area, and though there was not too much of birding
interest along the tributary I did find a cracking Greenshank.
Fremington Quay
Whilst walking back along the edge of Lovell's Field, I found masses of
Three-cornered Garlic and some dipteran mines on Hart's-tongue Fern that are
immediately identifiable ....
Chromatomyia scolopendri
We also had a walk around nearby Instow. Nice to get on some sand and enjoy a proper
(Hocking's) ice cream. It's not quite a beach though, the sea is a very long way off: this is where
the main estuary splits into the Taw heading east to Barnstaple and the
Torridge heading south to Bideford. In the far distance in the shot below,
there is Northam Burrows on the left (with Appledore mid-distance) and
Braunton Burrows / Saunton Sands on the right. In between is a massive expanse of tidal sands.
There is a new album from Orbital out later this year, celebrating 30 odd
years with new versions and remixes of classics. Some tracks are already
available, and I like them.
First an update on the colour-ringed Black-headed Gull from yesterday -
White 7MS. I got the recovery data through early this morning, very
quick and efficient! It was ringed as a 3+ year old male on 31/03/2018 close
to Copenhagen (København). There have been three sightings of it since then
prior to mine, all also near to Copenhagen, so my sighting it the first time
it's been reported outside of the Copenhagen area / in the UK. On the
following map, the eastern blue dot is Svanemøllebugten somewhere near
to where it was ringed, and the western blue dot is Utterslev Mose where
it has been subsequently reported. [I've also marked the FC København Parken
Stadium with a red dot, where I watched LCFC in the Champions League on
02/11/2016. Because I can.]
The only bit of the above that seems to not make sense are the co-ordinates
which I can't make head or arseholes of. They don't seem to match the site
names, certainly not for WCPS - assuming they are meant to be
latitude/longitude. Either way, it appears that in a straight line the gull has moved c588
miles from where it was last reported.
FC København. It was bloody freezing and, disappointingly, their fans did not
get the pyros out.
On to today. There is very little permanent open water on my patch, and what
there is is not much to speak of either. There is a smallish pit that is just
about viewable from Jubilee Park (red arrow pointing at it), the other pits
that appear on the map just east of it are not really viewable, maybe partial
views from the canal tow path to the north. The other water is a reasonably
sized balancing pool at Grove Park (red dot). It is enclosed by industrial
units on three sides, but does attract a bit of common wildfowl when not
frozen over. I decided to try and add a duck or two to the 5MR list, and more
likely add Little Egret to the patch yearlist.
First off I headed to Jubilee Park, where I immediately noted x5
Little Egrets poking around on the grassy area immediately by the
entrance.
The park was still very wet and muddy from the big floods prior to the big
freeze, and the River Soar was still quite high. So still no Kingfisher. The
pool was actually bigger than I remember it, presumably holding a fair bit of
additional water from the flooding. Here it is just about in view across the
River Soar and a bit of cow field.
There were ducks on it, albeit very few with c20 Wigeon and a handful of
Mallards sitting on the bank. The only duck actually swimming about was a patch
and 5MR yeartick ....
I wasn't expecting Tufted Duck here. A Coot and a
Kestrel were also patch yearticks, and there was a good gathering of c50
Black-headed Gulls but all far too distant to bother trying to look at their
legs. I walked the whole park, but it was pretty quiet and not a lot moving
about.
I then carried on up to Grove Park for a look at the balancing pool. There
were lots of ducks and geese on show there ....
You can perhaps just make out the c150 Canada Geese on the far side, and lots
of floating blobs in front and around the small willow tree island. After the
surprise Tufted Duck at Jubilee Park, six of them here were more expected. But
the remainder of the blobs were another c100 Wigeon and c20 Mallards. Another
Coot, a few Moorhens, five Cormorants and a patch yearlist tick
Grey Heron were also around. But no Gadwall, no Shoveler, no Pochard.
Never mind - I'll have another look here in a few days.
Afterwards I headed down the lane with purpose. Having found the Ash key fungi
yesterday, I was intent on finding
them closer to home. I also wanted to have a look at that Holly again now
there has been a reprieve on the mining fly, and the Ash fungi reminded me to
look for Holly Speckle too. I scored on all fronts ....
Phytomyza ilicis on live leaf, Trochila ilicina [Holly Speckle]
on dead leaf
We have lots of Ash near here, but as I found today the trees down the lane
seem to have lots of bunches of keys that are out of reach. I literally could
only reach one, and immediately found both species - they must be very common
I reckon.
Also down the lane, a regular patch of adventive Snowdrops (that have
been growing and spreading here for well over a decade) was in bloom. Here's
one of several clumps.
I got a moth trap working, and it's out tonight though I have low
expectations. After the deep freeze last week I think it will take a few days
of warmer conditions to coax a few early spring species out.
I couldn't think of any witty or tenuous musical links .... here's 5:25mins of
aural bliss.
As expected, today dawned bright and clear without a cloud in sight. It was
cold enough overnight that the snow was going nowhere, but by mid-morning with
full sun and temperatures rising to single digits above zero, the thaw was in
full swing. Aside from working from home quite productively for a couple of
hours early this morning, I had to make a trip into Blaby to sort out a
prescription with the GP surgery and the pharmacy. As seems reasonable to me,
I tied this in with a short foray into somewhere different for a change of
scene.
In the aerial shot below, the three red dots are my GP surgery, carry on north
to the pharmacy, and then take a different route back so I could stop at
Bouskell Park.
Bouskell Park is not within my Soar Valley South patch boundary, but it is within the 3km on foot from home area that I set a few years ago. I only
visited it a couple of times then, and don't think I've been there since 2013.
It's not a massive park, but there are some decent mature oaks and - although
I'd forgotten - there is a small pond (cyan dot) which sits immediately behind
a listed Victorian ice house that I can't show you as it was boarded up for
some restoration work. The accessible parkland is about half of the area that
is tied in with Blaby Hall. Leading out from the park (yellow dot) there is a
pathway through a conifer plantation that turns c90 degrees south.
There were plenty of people in the middle of the park with small kids on mini
sledges sliding down the most pathetic hill you can imagine, and overall the
park looked like it must have been awash with kids yesterday making snowmen
(or in one case rolling a huge ball of what was clearly more mud than snow).
As ever I avoided the people present by walking around the edges, avoiding
main paths etc. Where passing at a particular passing point is unavoidable
(like the bridge over a small stream from the car park into the park) I make a
point of standing aside. So far since we learnt to live under pandemic
conditions, I roughly estimate (in a biased and non-scientific way) that 50%
of people are courteous and appreciative of such a move [and 80% of those
appear younger than me], whilst 50% are ignorant cunts [and 80% of those appear
older than me].
I was impressed by the Mallards gathered on the very small bit of water in the
otherwise icy pond - at least six pairs, not a single one made a move to come
toward me for bread. I had nice views of a perched Buzzard, but unfortunately it
was mobbed by Crows as I got the camera fired up. Plenty of tits, but nothing
following them around, and again no sight or sound of Nuthatch or any
woodpeckers.
This Dunnock was virtually hopping around my feet, and every time the shutter
opened it had moved. This was the best shot of the bird, but it is completely
wrongly framed hence the shoddy cropping.
The pond I'd forgotten about - almost completely frozen over, which of course
was the whole point of it being next to an ice house.
A small group of Black-headed Gulls were raucously making their presence known
but only one bothered to land on the ice.
I was surprised to see a nailed on Fairy Tern though ....
Seriously, when was the last time you saw a Black-headed Gull perched in a
tree - I can't recall seeing one!
The thaw was particularly evident underneath the branches and canopy of every
tree. I was planning to walk the whole length of the conifer plantation, but
although you can't really see it here it was like walking in heavy rain so I
sacked it off.
Later in the day, I had to go back to the surgery again for a late afternoon
appointment with the nurse. I came home via the lane, and stopped to take a
snap ....
About 30 seconds after this photo, a Great Spotted Woodpecker silently bounced
out of the obvious tree in the middle of the shot and across the lane ....
I'm now on a week off of chemo tablets and I'm feeling a bit perkier than I
was last week; weather permitting I'll try and get out and about doing
something useful (like actually making an effort to find invertebrates).
Here, blast this out loud and gurn nostalgically. You're welcome.
