November Moths

With there being some mild nights lately I have had the actinic lights on overnight in the dining room window and have been pleasently surprised at what has turned up on the window outside in the morning. I hadn't really expected anything but I was pleased to find Silver Y, 2 Double-striped Pugs, Rusty Dot Pearl, 5 Light Brown Apple Moths, Crocidosema plebejana and Monopsis obviella (although no December Moth yet!).

Silver Y

Double-striped Pug

Rusty Dot Pearl

Crocidosema plebejana (with thanks to @MothIDUK) 

Monopsis obviella

Saturday 13th November was overcast, mild and still and the plan had been to visit Thurlestone to have a look for the female Desert Wheatear that had been found on Leasfoot Beach, the exact same place where a male overwintered 5 years ago, but with the bird disappearing on the Friday the lure of a Pectoral Sandpiper and Water Pipit at nearby South Huish Marsh wasn't enough to tempt me there and so I headed to Wembury instead. 

It was a beautiful morning despite the total lack of sunshine with gentle waves lapping against the shore as the tide came in. There was little breeze but instantly noticeable were Woodpigeons moving west in small flocks with birds dropping into the fields to feed or into the trees above the stubble field to rest. Amongst the flocks were also Stock Doves and over 2 hours (10:00 to 12:00) around 600 Woodpigeon and 100 Stock Dove were logged before the movement stopped and the grounded birds disappeared west. 

The beach was quiet but there were 28 Mallard present (18 males) including a farmyard type male along with 28 Oystercatcher, 6 Curlew and 3 Little Egret while offshore 3 Mediterranean Gulls and 4 Gannet were noted. 

Feral-type Mallard

Cirl Buntings and Stonechats were showy as usual along the walk with a few of the Cirl Buntings singing and the Great Spotted Woodpecker was still present feeding in the pines at The Point. A female Kestrel hovering overhead and a Grey Heron briefly perched in a pine tree near the sewage farm were also seen. 

Rain at Rame, Sunshine on Dartmoor

The weather forecast for Sunday night/ Monday morning on July 26th/27th was for gales and rain and so I decided to visit Rame Head on Monday 27th July to try a bit of sea watching. I didn't get on site until nearly 10 am, much later than I really wanted but after working a night shift on Saturday night and having only 3 hours sleep in 36 hours I needed a decent night's sleep and a lie in.

It was mizzley and very windy on arriving at The Chapel on Rame Head and as I settled into position out of the wind I picked up a few Gannet offshore quickly followed by a few Manx Shearwater moving west. The Shearwaters were moving through in a slow but steady trickle and around 100 were seen in total in my 3 hours of scanning. A few Fulmars and Kittiwakes were also noted along with more Gannets including a small flock circling over a pod of Harbour Porpoise as they unobtrusively broke the surface in the choppy seas but unfortunately I found nothing more unusual although there were some interesting reports from elsewhere along the South Devon/Cornwall coast.

At one point the rain bucketed down and visibility was almost down to zero but eventually the rain cleared through, the wind eased and the sun appeared and I watched a 6-Spot Burnet, Gatekeeper, Wall, Meadow Brown, a Red Admiral and Small White along the cliff tops and along the lanes.

 Gatekeeper

Wall

Whitethroat, Swallow, House Martin and Greenfinch were also seen along with just 1 Fallow Deer, a very impressive looking stag with large antlers.

A wet but enjoyable visit and not a lot on show although the next day Sooty Shearwater and Great Skua were both reported from Rame Head - never mind.

Wednesday 29th July was a rare day when we were both free and so we drove up to Dartmoor to walk along the old railway line from Princetown to Swell Tor Quarry and back. It was a warm but breezy day and mostly sunny and the air was very clear giving some amazing views across the Moor and out to Plymouth and the coast. It was very busy with walkers though and there were quite a few very yappy dogs but we had a very enjoyable time.

The highlight for David was finding the corbels left by the side of the railway line that had been made for London Bridge but which were surplus to requirements.

London Bridge Corbels, Swell Tor Quarry

My highlights were Wheatear, Skylark Raven, Kestrel, Buzzard, Swallow and Meadow Pipit, Emperor Dragonfly, Common Blue Damselfly and Common Darter in Foggintor Quarry and Small Heath, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell and Meadow Brown.

Emperor Dragonfly

Common Blue Damselfly

Common Darter

I finally had the moth box out in the back yard overnight on Wednesday 29th/Thursday 30th July and while it was warmer than previous nights it was still chilly and I only had a few moths in it when I checked it out in the morning. Four-spotted Footman, 2 Knot Grass, Silver Y and Lime-speck Pug were new for the garden year list in what was a disappointing total of 15 moths of 12 species.

 Silver Y

 Knot Grass

 Cabbage Moth

Lime Speck Pug

Four-spotted Footman (male)

Thursday 30th July and with a night shift looming I met my work friend Sue and her 2 children at Wembury for a walk and a chat. It was hot and sunny and pleasantly breezy and very busy with beach goers but we did see a few Gannets offshore along with an Oystercatcher, Rock Pipits and Pied Wagtails along the beach. Gatekeeper. Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Small White, Peacock and Meadow Brown were flitting about and the toilet block held a Dingy Footman, a Rusty Dot Pearl and a Double-striped Pug. A female Beautiful Demoiselle was a nice find too in the valley to the beach.