Let the ticks flow...

With great weather and the lifting of the non-essential travel restrictions, it was a chance to get out and about and visit sites slight further from home.

On Saturday, I met up with Phil and he took me to a new site, by Penderyn, to try to find the Pied Flycatcher that Martin Bevan had found earlier in the spring. No sign of the Pied Fly, but a Spotted Flik provided some compensation.

From there we went over to Cwn Cadlan LNR to look for Whinchat. A family party of Kestrel, at least 4 birds, were vocal and visable. The adult male was kept busy bring in food for his youngsters and his success rate when hunting was second to none, as he appeared to make a kill on every hunt/dive we saw.

Despite, or because of the, numerous adult and juvenile Stonechats, there was no sign of any Whinchat and we had just about given up hope when Phil called on. Unfortunately all I could see was another juv Stonechat, until t dropped of the fence and revealed the Whinchat.

The only other sighting of note was numerous Ermine moths congregating round a couple of Hazel shrubs/trees. Photo's shows these to be Bird-cherry Ermines, Yponomeuta evonymella.

 Sunday was a day for twitching, with two targets, both quite local. Unfortunately, in both cases we didn't quite get the right spot first time, but we eventually got to the correct site for the Forester moth, Adscita statices, above Nantgarw.  What a gorgeous little moth - much brighter than in the field guides.

 At the Forester site we met Paul Denning who provided more detailed instructions for the second twitch species, and led us to the Narrow-leaved Helleborines just north of the M4. There were a number of plants in flower, alongside a number of Broad-leaved Helleborines, allowing close comparison between the two species. There was also meant to be a flowering spike of Yellow Bird's-nest, but we could not locate it. I did find one spike that had been trodden on, and three others that had gone to seed.

Then to finish the weekend off, I put the moth trap out last night and was rewarded with my best ever catch at home, some 53 moths of 37 species, including no fewer than 9 lifers, the highlight being a Leopard Moth on the back wall.

The lifers were: Clepsis consimilana (x2), Leopard Moth Zeuzera pyrina, Dioryctria abietella, Scoparia ancipitella, Eudonia delunella, Eudonia mercurella, Muslin Footman Nudaria mundana, Fan-foot Zanclognatha tarsipenalis, and Marbled Beauty Cryphia domestica. 

All of a flutter

With social media awash with photo's of the Dark Green Fritillaries and Marbled Whites from up at the Giant's tooth, I thought I'd better take a walk up. I had been up early on Tuesday to do my BBS, on the last date possible. That was done too early for any flutterbys, but the highlight was a pair of juv Peregrines, that broke off their play to check me out.

Sunday was forecast to be dry, if windy. The wind on the top of the ridge wasn't too bad, but just off the top in the lea of the Giant's tooth it was really strong. Despite that, a couple of Fritillaries where zooming about, into and against the wind. It's amazing that something as seemingly as frail as a butterfly can not only fly into such a headwind, but actually make fairly rapid progress.

The Marbled Whites, however, decided to keep their heads down, but a single flushed was enough to get me a year tick. Higher up a single Greyling also added itself to me year list, but didn't hang around long enough for a photo.

Supporting cast included Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Small Heath, Small and Large Skippers. Surprisingly no Silver Y's - I haven't seen that many at all this year so far.  

Additional find up on the site was a single Bishop's-mitre Shieldbug.

 Whilst on the walk up, I disturbed a juv Grass Snake from the road side. My first snake for a while. Avian highlights was up to 21 Crossbill flying around, most in around the conifers my the A470 underpass, but several fly overs whilst on the ridge.

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