Low-Key

A low-key month so far, and results to match. With fairly regular sightings of Cory's Shearwater from Portland Bill, the sea has been pretty much the only source of inspiration, but we haven't yet had a blow decent enough to offer much hope of a Cory's from West Bay. Still, you've got to try, so today's half-hearted puff of SSW got me down there for an hour and a bit this evening...

One Balearic Shearwater, 111 Manx, 42 Kitts (all juvs, which is good news) and 2 Whimbrel. Lots of gulls feeding offshore - including many Meds - and a small pod of Common Dolphins through. Very entertaining.

My last seawatch was ten days ago, an early morning effort that produced 4 Balearics, 1 Manx, 6 Common Scoter, and an involuntary Gannet count. Punctuating the 150 Gannets was a most incongruous sight for early August...

Great Northern Diver. Serious feet.

To be honest I haven't been out much otherwise, and am yet to see Wheatear, Willow Warbler, or indeed just about any passerine migrant whatsoever. Perhaps I've missed all the birdy days and picked duffers.

It's been ages since my last decent gull, so a juv Yellow-legged at Cogden a couple of days back was welcome...

It's the lone bird more-or-less in the middle. Not exactly the proverbial sore thumb.

Juv Yellow-legged Gull.

There were shoals of whitebait very close to the shore, and a mobile, scrambling pile of gulls in attendance. Unfortunately it was impossible to get close to the flock, and folk walking the beach kept flushing them all. Still, hundreds of frustrating gulls was a lot more fun than empty bushes.

View east from Cogden Beach. The first tented village is a mile away at West Bexington, then another two miles to the Abbotsbury Beach colony. The fat end of Portland is about 13 miles distant, via the mother of all shingly slogs.

Guiding the Seaton Birdwatching Tram has been a highlight of the last ten days. I've done two evening trips, both with perfect weather and plenty of birds...

Two Common Sands on the estuary mud.

Chattering Blackwits on Black Hole Marsh

Estuary Curlew, beautifully lit by the evening sunshine.

Last Friday's prize bird, a juv Osprey virtually at eye level.

What a bird! It was happy punters all round. And happy guide, happy driver. All of us were very, very happy.

Two juv Greenshanks. Initially picked up on call, flying up the estuary, they landed and then scuttled along together, feeding non-stop. I like to think they had just arrived.

Finally, a visit to good friends Paul and Janet in NW Suffolk produced a few bits and bobs I don't see often...

Bleak. Haven't seen this species for many years.

It was quite a surprise to discover (or rather, be shown) how many Stone-curlews live in the Brecks. Lots!

RSPB Lakenheath. Saw Great White Egrets and a Bittern here...

...and two very distant Garganey, expertly picked out by the man with the scope, i.e. not me.

Rubbish heat-hazy pic, but dust-bathing Woodlarks are not ten-a-penny in deepest West Dorset. There were at least five in total. Cavenham Heath.

Least Carpet. A moth tick for me. Yes, I took the Moth Slate to Suffolk.

Another new one - Gypsy Moth. Former scarce migrant, but has colonised much of the South and East apparently. Certainly not a big deal in Suffolk. Presumably it will be here soon.

So there we are, more or less up to date. Except for moths...

Massive Mothy Catch-up

Last summer NQS was almost nothing but moth. This year not so much, but the trap has been out quite often nonetheless. However, until the last two or three nights it has been a game of very slim returns, and I've felt little inclination to write about it much. I presume it is the sudden onset of serious heat that has livened things up, and now realise there will be a huge backlog of moth stuff to post here if I neglect it much longer. So here is a massive mothy catch-up.

I've not been counting my catches, so this is just a random collection of new moths, favourite moths, and no-particular-reason moths...

I don't know if any other moths typically rest with their wings up like this, but Dingy Shell invariably does. So this is as much upperwing as I've ever seen. Two garden records last year.

Subtle grey beauty - the Sycamore.

The garden's second Common Lutestring.

Blue-bordered Carpet. There was a period in early summer when this species was regularly out and about around the Cogden and West Bexington hedgerows at dusk. Caught around ten last year.

Blue-bordered Carpet photographed 'in the field' at West Bex on June 27th.

Small Seraphim in the garden. Our second.

Hedge Hook-wing Ancylis achatana. Occasional visitor.

I've discovered that my phone takes a pretty decent macro image, often better than my camera. The photo above is a typical example. So I've been using it a lot for well-behaved micro-moths especially, with some pleasing results. More to come...

Cabbage Moth. Another 'plain' moth that close inspection reveals is not.

Despite its slightly tattered condition I was so pleased to catch this iconic moth. The Garden Tiger has declined dramatically since my youth, and this is the first for the garden. In fact it's the first I've seen for many, many years.

Just lovely!

This battered White-point was our first of the year at the end of June. With continental migrants at a premium so far this summer, I'm guessing it was locally bred.

Dot Moth. This one we've had before, but none last year.

Ditto this Figure of Eighty. One in 2022, but none last year.

Dark Spectacle. Like the last two, not seen since 2022.

A Green Pug for the pug photo collection. A regular customer.

The flimsy little Muslin Footman. We get a few of these.

Amber Mompha Mompha ochracheella. Listed as 'common', so I was surprised to see no other Bridport dots on the Dorset Living Record map. This is our second.

Rearing Lackey caterpillars was a regular thing when our kids were young, but it is not a common moth here. Two in 2022 and 2023; this is our first in 2024.

I do like the dark version of Box-tree Moth. Very much the minority form.

Beech Mast Piercer Cydia fagiglandana. Seems common enough locally, but this is only our second.

A bit worn, but this is a Grey Pug. Well, I think so. After all, it is a pug.

Smoky Wainscot. Ideally you should see the hindwing to be sure, so...

Smoky Wainscot hindwing view; presumably the reason for its name.

Not all Yellow Underwings are the same. Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing is a stonking beast! We don't see many.

Elephant Hawk-moth. Always a stunner.

Diamond-back Moth is a regular migrant that turns up quite often in the garden trap, but we've seen hardly any so far in 2024. This one was at Cogden.

First Ghost Moth for the garden, a female.

Small Rufous, a wetland species. Only our second, though it seems to be quite regular locally.

Marbled White Spot. A new species for me, but this one was caught in our son's Lyme Regis garden.

Large Pale Masoner Blastobasis lacticolella, caught in Lyme Regis. Also one in the garden last night, our second. Loads of Lyme records on the Dorset Living Record map, but for some reason only three in Bridport.

Common Knapweed Tortrix Eucosma hohenwartiana, though not that common locally. Our third in fact, with only a couple of other Bridport records on the Living Record map.

Marbled Green. We've trapped quite a few, but this is the first white version.

Maple Stilt Caloptilia semifascia. These little characters are always very welcome.

Fleabane Drab Phtheochroa inopiana, a garden first but evidently pretty common.

Scorched Carpet is very smart. Such a great name too. We catch a few of these.

Bulrush Down Moth Limnaecia phragmitella. Seems relatively scarce in West Dorset, and there are only two other Bridport records on the Living Record map. This is our third.

Currant Pug. The 2023 tally was ten, and we've already trapped two or three this year. Compare that with just eight Bridport records on the Living Record map, and it's another example of the garden's pug-pulling power. Strange.

Exquisitely marked, this is Bordered Beauty. Common enough, but one or two a year seems par for the course locally. This is our fourth.

Two shots of the same moth, showing how iridescent it is. This miniscule thing is one of the numerous Nepticulidae, and previous efforts to ID any of this lot have drawn a blank - they always seem to need dissection for genital examination. So I was delighted to discover that this one is doable, and wished I had potted it for a proper photo. Four-spot Dot Bohemannia quadrimaculella is Nationally Scarce B, with only two other Dorset records on the Living Record map. A good one!

Several recent Double-striped Pugs have been really well marked, like this one.

Like peering into a furnace, the Herald has the most amazing livery.

Every Small Rivulet we have caught has been rather worn. This is one of the better examples.

Compared to our first two summers, 2024 has been poor for Wormwood Pug. Still, with about 25+ records in total, the garden trap still seems to pull in way more than other nearby locations.

Three Blair's Mochas and a Maiden's Blush. A flavour of Bridport moth trapping on a good night.

Marsh Lance Bactra furfurana, another garden first. Not common locally.

My favourite moth of the recent hot spell. I love the characterful little stilt moths, and this is the smallest one we've caught, just 4mm long. Clover Stilt Parectopa ononidis is Nationally Scarce B, with just three other dots on the Dorset Living Record map. A classy garden tick.

Well done if you've endured that lot. Future moth-laden posts will hopefully be a good deal shorter.

The Garden Moth List - including aggregates - now stands at 550, though there is at least one more new species awaiting attention in the fridge right now...