Whole Again

A highlight of last Saturday's Birdwatching Tram from Seaton was a flock of at least 11 Cattle Egrets with cattle. They were darting about among the small herd in characteristic fashion, a lively scene that I would normally have recorded in pixels. But you can't do that without a camera. I'm so out of practice with my old FZ38 that it seemed pointless to take it along. I have carried it on recent local outings, but at the same time hoping I wouldn't need it. Thankfully the new Nikon arrived yesterday, and I am whole again...

At some point I might write some boring stuff about how the P950 differs from the P900 (because it does, a bit) but hopefully there will be enough birds, moths and random opinionated tosh to prevent the need for that.

Since the last post, I've managed a couple of early seawatches and pre-breakfast walks. Highlights have been modest. Two Shags E together on Sunday was nice (they are fairly scarce here) but hardly what I spend precious time in the West Bay shelter for. However, absolutely nothing else is worth mentioning. On the land, migrants have been sparse. Two groups of Yellow Wagtails W yesterday morning (4 and 9) were the best of it so far.

And I don't even have a ropey Wheatear shot for the blog. So...

Saturday night, August 12th

83 moths of 34 species; one new for year and garden.

The new moth was an intriguing puzzler. Rather worn, with no dramatic markings but a distinctive, sharp little fold in the wing. ObsIdentify was no help ('Tortrix sp', which I already knew) but Chris Manley's excellent photographic field guide led me to an obvious candidate, a very variable moth with one form that looked a bit like mine. An expert concurred. Well, 'almost certainly' is good enough for my slack standards. With just four dots on the Dorset Living Record map, I give you...

Those photos were taken with my old Panasonic. It is actually not bad at micros.

Monday night, August 14th

89 moths of 44 species. Just one new for year, a Copper Underwing. After a calming period in the fridge I practiced my moth-wrangling skills by checking the underside of its hindwing for evidence that it might actually be Svensson's Copper Underwing. It was just as I remembered from last year - like trying to grip a greased almond. It was definitely a Copper Underwing. I apologised and let it go.

Tuesday night, August 15th

A good night. 174 moths of 65 species; four new for year, one new for garden. The new one was another worn micro, but a bit easier to identify. Also unexciting. Its inclusion here is a nod to my completist streak...

A thrilling new moth for the garden. Quite common apparently.

Our fourth this year. There are still no other Bridport area dots on the Living Record map.

I caught two of these little beauts in our wildlife hedge. Home grown? Just look at those crazy scale tufts!

All three of the above were photographed with the old Lumix. I'm pretty happy with those, and I'm not sure whether the P950 (or P900) could do any better. The FZ38's advantage here is an ability to focus at almost zero centimetres when in macro mode. I wish the Nikon could do that!

Also a few nice macros...

Currant Pug

Very common, but this is a fresh one: Garden Carpet

Orange Swift. New for the year, but not uncommon. We trapped the species on five nights in 2022.

The last three pics are also from the Lumix. When the Nikon arrived, there was one more moth which needed recording for posterity...

Blair's Mocha #19

 

Wednesday night, August 16th

120 moths of 46 species; one new for year and garden.

Moth of the night was clinging to the cabin wall this morning. Initially I thought it was a species we've already had twice this year, but something about it seemed a little off. Was it a bit more crisp and contrasty than usual? I couldn't remember the diagnostic features, but a quick look in the field guide confirmed my hope...

Lesser Swallow Prominent

That sharp white wedge on the wing is a crucial field mark, but a side-by-side comparison with its close relative is quite revealing. In the collage below, the Lesser Swallow Prominent is depicted alongside both Swallow Prominents we've caught so far this year...

Left: two different Swallow Prominents caught in July this year.
Right: Lesser Swallow Prominent.

Locally, Lesser Swallow Prominent is uncommon, as the Living Record maps show...

The Bridport area blob represents eight records.

That hot blob represents 98 records.

Interestingly Swallow Prominent apparently feeds on Aspen, poplars and willows, while LSP likes a nice birch. The top map suggests there are a lot of birch trees on the sandy heaths of East Dorset, unlike around here.

Definitely a pleasing moth to have added to the garden list.

Last night's trap included a single Rush Veneer, a migrant. Apart from a slightly freakish February record, this is our first of the year. In the coming days and weeks I am hoping for a few more migrants, and not just the moth kind.