The first few minutes of going through the box were a little fraught due to the aggressive attentions of the 2 adult herring gulls, not helped by the curiosity of the 2 chicks who were watching me intently close by. The adults eventually gave up and left me alone but I lost a few moths from the trap in the mean time.
Despite this I had some of my favourite moths in the box - Brussels lace, rosy footman, marbled green, coronet, four spotted footman and clouded border - along with new-for-the-garden royal mantle and clouded silver. A lone large yellow underwing was a sign of the season already moving on.
Brussels Lace
Rosy Footman
Marbled Green
Coronet
Scalloped Oak
Royal Mantle
Clouded Silver
The morning was sunny and warm but breezey and with rain showers forecast for the afternoon I decided to pay a second visit to Central Park to try and get better views of the white-letter hairstreaks before the showers arrived. I took my telescope with me but the tree tops were busily swaying in the breeze and there was no sign of any insects in the trees and so I wandered along the nearby hedgerow where creeping thistles were in flower. The thistles were in the shade but meadow browns and various bees and flies were feeding on the flowerheads and surprisingly I found a white-letter hairstreak amongst them. I watched it feeding for around 10 minutes before a bee disturbed it and it flew off out of sight but it was great to see it down to a few inches, I certainly didn't need my telescope today, and again I got to enjoy it all to myself.
White-letter Hairstreak
White-letter Hairstreak
White-letter Hairstreak
White-letter Hairstreak
White-letter Hairstreak
Marbled white, meadow brown and ringlet were seen on a quick look around nearby Ford Park Cemetery on the walk home and I arrived back indoors just as the clouds rolled in and the rain arrived - a very productive morning and views of a white-letter hairstreak that I hoped for but didn't really expect to get.
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