In the Pink

Saturday saw me take a walk up to Nant Llwynog Parc at Bedllwnog to look for dragonflies. Success was had with 2 newly emerged Golden-ringed Dragonflies plus 3 exuvia. a pair of Broad-bodied Chasers, with the female egg "laying" and an Emperor. Large Red and Common Blue Damselflies also noted. Butterflies was notable by their relative absence, though at least 3 Small Tortoiseshell were seen. It looks, at least locally that these are having a really good second generation this year.

Highlights of the birds were two singing Curlew, unfortunately neither seen. Talking to locals, there are two territories above the park. Along with other birds I've seen and heard elsewhere in the Taf Bargoed valley, there could be 4 pair nesting again this year.

The walk home took me through Parc Taf Baroed, were 11 Bee Orchids were noted - a record count for the park, and, also a record, 65 large gulls, 10 Herring the rest Lessser Black-backed, on the main lake. 

Sunday saw me take the first walk since lockdown started to Nelson and Parc Penallta. In damp conditions - it never really made it to full on rain, but it never really got dry either, I failed to locate any Willow Tit. I really think they have died out here.

A Kingfisher was a pleasant surprise as it flew in and perched about 1m from me along the boardwalk at the big pond at Park Penallta. I think it was even more surprised as it landed, peeped, noticed me and was off, all in about 1 second...

I counted 11 spikes of Broad-leaved Helleborine's, but probably more hidden out of sight. The number does look to be increasing each year here.. A single Bee Orchid was found.

Visiting the site where I found Deptford Pinks last year, a known site, but not one I was aware of, i wasn't expecting to find any out in flower yet. On arrival, the damp, waterlogged ground reinforced the view that none would be on show, but it took all of about 2 minutes to spot the bright, deep, pink, of a couple in full flower.

Finally I ran the trap last night, but the returns this morning was very poor, just 9 individual moths. It did produce 3 garden ticks, one of which was a lifer. Large Yellow Underwing  Noctua pronuba, was an expected addition to the garden list along with Ingrailed Clay, Diarsia mendica. The lifer was a bright Bordered Sallow, Pyrrhia umbra.

A step further afield

After a few mothing session in the back yard, I felt ready to try out my battery powered LED lighting up on the hill above the house. So traveling no more than about 300m (so keeping local), just before 10pm last night I had the trap up and running by 5 past 10.

The lights are 15 x 5v blacklight LEDs running off my charger, making the whole trap light and easily portable. The battery has a 5v output and is said to have enough charge to last some 10 hours. In the 6 hours I ran the trap I used less than half the stored charge. From that point alone, this was a successful experiment.

As for the mothing, 75 moths from 25 species. Unsurprisingly, Heart and Dart's provided almost half of the total, with 37 individuals. Next most common were Peppered Moth and Large Yellow Underwing, both with 5 each. For the first time, more than a single micro made it into the trap, with singles of Chrysoteuchia culmella and Celypha lacunana and 3 Eudoinia agg.

One moth landed briefly on the outside of the trap and kept it's wings closed above its abdomin, as per butterflies. I managed one half decent photo before it flew off. It's a Eulithis, but which species?

Mid way through the night I could hear the local Tawny Owl chicks begging for food, but no sight or sound of the adults. And a surprise with the first species in the dawn chorus - Swallow - singing in the early morning grey light before the first Blackbird or Robin had uttered a note.

and there is more...

After emptying the trap last week i, as usual had a look round the wall's etc. looking for anything that might have settled elsewhere, but didn't find anything. However, when I went into the back yard at dinner time, I spotted two Buff Arches, resting under the door overhang. I clearly missed those when doing the rounds in the morning.

With that in mind, I had a really good look round this morning finding nothing. So dinner time came, I went out and promptly found a moth running along the concrete floor. A Sycamore, Acronicta aceris, another lifer, which was quickly followed by a Mottled Beauty, Alcis repandata, of the form conversaria.  Where where these hiding this morning.

These take the catch up to 35 moths of 20 species.

                                          Sycamore Acronicta aceris

                                          Mottled Beauty Alcis repandata, f. conversaria

The strangest find in the trap this morning was the remains of a White Ermine, Spilosoma lubricipedia lying at the bottom of the trap under one of the egg carton.

Now thats better....

Trying to figure out why my moth trap numbers seem low compared to many others. I think the entrance/exit gap was possible too large, allowing moths to escape/ So I made a mall addition to reduce the hole size and trapping last night brought in the best haul by far - 34 moths of 18 species.

Highlight has to be the singles of Elephant and Small Elephant Hawk-moths. Heart and Dart continued their preeminent role with 11 individuals - that was almost as many Heart and Darts in this trap this morning as the total number of moths I've had in that trap at any one time before last night.

                                          Who doesn't like an Elephant, Deilephila elpenor

                                          or a Small Elephant, Deilephila porcellus

 For the first time, the trap produced some moth lifers - 3 in total. Sword-grass Xylena exsoleta came in with 3 individuals, and I had singles of Common Quaker, Orthosia cerasi (somewhat surprised this is a lifer) and a Mottled Pug, Eupithecia exiguta.

                                           Sword-grass Xylena exsoleta

                                          Common Quaker, Orthosia cerasi   

                                          Mottled Pug, Eupithecia exiguta

More home mothing

Put the trap out last night with a new, slightly larger box. Unfortunately, it didn't bring in more moths, with just 8 individuals from 7 species. Top performer was Peppered Moth with 2, Heart and Dart kept its sequence as the only species I've caught in every session (but that is only 3!), but reduced to just a single. 2 new for the garden were Flame Shoulder, Ochropleura plectra and Treble Lines Charanyca trigrammica. A rather dark pug on the exterior wall is proving difficult to nail, but suspect it's another Grey Pug, Eupithecia subfuscata.

                                        Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plectra

                                          Treble Lines Charanyca trigrammica

                                                    Grey Pug, Eupithecia subfuscata

The mothing gathers pace

Whilst most were moth trapping on Friday or Saturday night, I put my trapping off to last night and was rewarded with my best every catch - OK it's only the third catch, but it was a lot better than the previous two. A whopping 14 moths of no less than 10 species. And for the first time I didn't immediately recognise all the moths.

Some were easy and had already graced the trap previously - Poplar Hawkmoth, Buff-tip and a further 3 Heart and Dart. 2 Small Magpie were new for the trap but easy to recognise. A Lobster Moth took a couple of minutes for me to recognise as I think I've only ever seen one previously, back in 201, as did a Buff Ermine.

One on the outside of the trap had me immediately think The Coronet but looking at the guide, I doubted that and the more I looked the more I doubted that initial id. Fortunately, downloading the photo's and checking with the excellent UK Moths website brought me back to my original, initial id. The few nights I've gone out mothing with Mark Evans look to be paying off, and that I have remembered somethings.

Probably toughest was my first pug in the trap, but I think I'm OK with Grey Pug.

                                          Grey Pug, Eupithecia subfuscata (natural light)

                                          The same Grey Pug but under flash.

No beetles in the by-catch this time, but a lesser water boatman spp has been potted for a closer look later.

And a birding note to finish, as I was packing up there was a male Greenfinch singing nearby. He's been around all spring but I'm not sure if he has a mate. I hope he does as, like most places, the Greenfiches round here were badly hit by disease.