The weather has been a bit hit and miss lately but with a dry night forecast for July 1st/July 2nd I had the moth box out in the back yard. It was a cool and breezy night though and there were only a few moths in the trap the next morning but I did find my first Cabbage Moth of the year, my 52nd garden moth species of 2020.
Cabbage Moth
Gatekeeper
Common Lizard
We had a Chunk pasty and a coffee for lunch from the beach cafe which we enjoyed while watching the antics of Carrion Crows which were stealing food from the unattended bags of beach going picnickers and feeding the food to a noisy fledgling with distinctive white markings in its wings.
Carrion Crow
Carrion Crows
Carrion Crows
Monday 6th July and after working night shifts over the weekend we headed up to Burrator Reservoir for a walk. It was breezy with occasional sunny spells and out of the wind it was pleasently warm in the sunshine. There were a few butterflies on the wing with Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Red Admiral, Small Skipper and Small White all seen along with a Silver-washed Fritillary which unfortunately did not settle for more than a few seconds at a time.
A newly emerged Keeled Skimmer was a nice find as it struggled to get airborne, only managing to fly a few metres before crash landing into the grass. A Double Line moth was a very nice find, a smart looking moth that at first I thought was a Large Yellow Underwing and a new moth for me. Bog Asphodel was in flower in the boggy areas by the roadside but there was no sign of any Sundews. Some very handsome looking Long Horn Cows were quietly chewing the cud under the trees by the roadside and were not bothered by the attentions of people (including me) taking their photos.
Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Green Woodpecker were heard and Jay, Swallow, House Martin and Siskin were seen but the highlight were around 10 Crossbills feeding in the pine trees. They were noisy and flighty amongst the tree tops before moving off, at least 2 red coloured males were seen amongst the green plumaged and yellow rumped females/juveniles.
Tuesday 7th July and I decided to take a walk over to Central Park to look again for the White-letter Hairstreaks. It was warm and humid with occasional sunny spells but with a strong breeze. The elm trees were busily swaying but on the lee side out of the wind I did manage to see at least 3 Hairstreaks flitting about and chasing each other. I was hoping they would come down to feed on the nearby thistles or the few remaining blooms on the cottoneaster bush but they stayed in the treetops.
I checked out a nearby cottoneaster bush which still had a lot of fresh flowers on it and was pleased to find 3 Hairstreaks dashing about in the top of the elm tree nearby, a tree I haven't seen them in before, and eventually 2 did come down briefly to feed on the blooms although they stayed right at the top of the bush - cue some poor record shots!
Also seen were Comma, Large White, Red Admiral, Meadow Brown, Small Tortoiseshell and a possible brief flyby Painted Lady along with a Southern Hawker and various Bees.
I also had a look around nearby Ford Park Cemetery where Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Small White and Ringlet were seen along with 6-Spot Burnet moths, Cinnabar moth caterpillars and a Pyrausta despicata.
A newly emerged Keeled Skimmer was a nice find as it struggled to get airborne, only managing to fly a few metres before crash landing into the grass. A Double Line moth was a very nice find, a smart looking moth that at first I thought was a Large Yellow Underwing and a new moth for me. Bog Asphodel was in flower in the boggy areas by the roadside but there was no sign of any Sundews. Some very handsome looking Long Horn Cows were quietly chewing the cud under the trees by the roadside and were not bothered by the attentions of people (including me) taking their photos.
Keeled Skimmer
Double Line
Double Line
Bog Asphodel
Long Horn Cow
Long Horn Cow
Crossbill
Tuesday 7th July and I decided to take a walk over to Central Park to look again for the White-letter Hairstreaks. It was warm and humid with occasional sunny spells but with a strong breeze. The elm trees were busily swaying but on the lee side out of the wind I did manage to see at least 3 Hairstreaks flitting about and chasing each other. I was hoping they would come down to feed on the nearby thistles or the few remaining blooms on the cottoneaster bush but they stayed in the treetops.
White-letter Hairstreak
White-letter Hairstreak
White-letter Hairstreak
White-letter Hairstreak
White-letter Hairstreak
Also seen were Comma, Large White, Red Admiral, Meadow Brown, Small Tortoiseshell and a possible brief flyby Painted Lady along with a Southern Hawker and various Bees.
Comma
Southern Hawker
Buff-tailed Bumblebee
Buff-tailed Bumblebee
Red-tailed Bumblebee
Marbled White
6-Spot Burnet
Cinnabar Moth Caterpillar
Pyrausta despicata
Red Clover
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