Randomness

The second half of August was mostly viewed through a miserable haze of virus and self-pity, from the sofa. I am very bad at illness...

At last my sorry carcass has rallied somewhat, and last night I deployed the moth trap for the first time in weeks. Our granddaughters were booked in for the day, and they do like a moth. I had quite a few to show them...

A very lovely Frosted Orange is deservedly the centre of attention.

Earlier we had pottered around West Bay for a bit. Naturally I took the bins and camera...

An obvious 'Continental' Cormorant P. c. sinensis on the Brit Estuary.

Following a coffee/ice-cream interlude we headed for the seafront. A quick scan of the sea...

Hello, what's this? A large, dark bird was heading west, very low over the waves. It was several hundred metres distant - too far to ID with certainty - but its flight action hinted at Osprey. The camera might nail it. I rattled off a few shots at maximum 2000mm zoom. Lo and behold...

Well I never! A hefty crop, but still... Osprey heading W off West Bay around 11:30 today.

Eventually it gained a bit of height, but remained well offshore and just kept going.

A very serendipitous encounter, and my first local Osprey in nine years living here.

Last night's mothy highlights...

Listed as 'Nationally Rare', Portland Ribbon Wave is evidently not rare locally. This one is at least number 12 for the garden.

The garden's third Frosted Orange. A proper stunner.

Moth-wise I have struggled a bit with motivation this year. Too many dire traps have hardly inspired me. Even so, the occasional NFG (new for garden) has come my way. This is the most recent, about a month ago...

Poplar Maze-miner Phyllocnistis unipunctella

This tiny creature appears to be pretty scarce in Dorset, with just nine other records on the county's Living Record map. As with many micros, there is a similar species (Kent Maze-miner P. xenia) but I think the selection of shots above show enough to clinch it.

Around the same time, I caught this one...

Phyllonorycter sp.

A striking little micro, and new for the garden, but impossible to ID without dissection. Talking of which, it is possible (though unlikely) that you remember this one...

This is what I used to think was Willow Maze-miner Phyllocnistis saligna.

Multiple records of this 3.5mm speck used to be one of this garden's claims to fame. A Dorset hot-spot, no less. Except it almost certainly is not Willow Maze-miner. A paper published last year concluded that our confidently-identified Willow Maze-miners were actually one or more of FOUR visually identical species. DNA barcoding is responsible for this scenario. Even gen. det. cannot reliably sort them out. Bare minimum, you need a laboratory. Ideally, a Genetic Temple and ordained Taxonomist.

Future Phyllocnistis whatevers will be unceremoniously flicked into touch.