I had the moth box out in the backyard on what was a mild but breezy night and on checking it out in the morning on September 17th there were 13 moths of 7 species -7 Lesser Yellow Underwing, a Garden Carpet, a Tachystola acroxantha, a Willow Beauty, a Small Square Spot and a very smart looking L-Album Wainscot but best of all was a Vestal resting on the house wall by the box, my second UK sighting of one.
There have been plenty of UK Vestal sightings this summer and including in Plymouth and with the recent warm weather and southerly winds coming up from Africa conditions were looking good for an influx but I never really expected to find one in the backyard - I am no longer a backyard Vestal virgin!
After some breakfast I headed out to Wembury for a walk on what was a glorious September day - a blue sky with no clouds but a strong Easterly breeze keeping it cool unless sheltered from the wind when it was surprisingly warm.
On arrival there was a noticeable movement of Swallow heading east into the wind along the coast, a small but steady trickle of around 100 birds in total which dried up after around 2 hours and including 2 Sand Martin amongst them.
Along the beach there were 2 Bar-tailed Godwit, 2 Ringed Plover, 5 Dunlin, 9 Turnstone, 3 Curlew and a Redshank with the Oystercatchers. Gulls were roosting on the rocks on the outgoing tide and there were the usual Herring, Black-headed and Great Black-backed Gulls with the usual Mediterranean Gulls which numbered around 30 birds and included at least 5 juveniles.
A male Kestrel hunted over Wembury Point and a juvenile Sparrowhawk hunted in the gardens by the road leading down to the beach. Gannets were diving for fish offshore and 2 Little Egrets were fishing in the Rock pools.
Stonechat, a Chiffchaff, a pair of Blackcap and a juvenile Whitethroat were also noted along the walk with a flyover Grey Wagtail and a few flyover Meadow Pipits also seen, the Grey Wagtail later being seen feeding along the beach with Pied Wagtails and Rock Pipits. 2 Wheatears were also feeding along the rocky shoreline with another 2 seen in the horse field.
A Painted Lady and a Clouded Yellow evaded the camera and I also saw a male Common Blue and a few Small Copper, Small White, Speckled Wood and Peacock but very noticeable were the number of Red Admiral and Large White flitting about with the Red Admirals busily feeding up on Ivy blossom.
The Toilet Block actually held some moths for a change - a Snout, a Willow Beauty and a lovely Large Ranunculus which were all caught in pots and released outside - and I also found a Common Marbled Carpet on Ivy along the coast path.
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