A Spring Diary - Part 2

Almost mid-May now, in one of the most relentlessly dry springs I can remember. Overnight temperatures comfortably into double figures persuaded me to keep the moth trap active...

May 12th

Two more Mallow Seed Moths Platyedra subcinerea added to the garden tally. I wondered if we were in for a bit of an influx, like Beet Moth in 2022, say, but they were the last. Seemingly good records for Bridport though.

The first, and by a long way earliest ever, Large Yellow Underwing.

Flame Carpet, one of my favourites.

Rivulet, not common here.

 

May 17th

A late afternoon/evening visit to Cogden. Absolutely no birds of note - the norm now - but plenty of stuff to look at close to the ground...

The pale form of Diamond-back Moth. The regular presence of this tiny migrant always gives hope of something a bit scarcer.

The miniscule Cocksfoot Moth Glyphipterix simpliciella. Common.

One of several species that will regularly get kicked out of the grass as the year rolls on. And all of them typically land upside down under a twig or on a stem, rolled up into a tube. This is Meadow Grass-moth Crambus lathoniellus, which has turned up once in the garden trap.

Marsh Orchid just beginning to flower. Southern Marsh? Who knows? Not me.

 

May 18th

Some smart moths that night...

Cinnabar. Common enough, but not in the trap. Our third, I think.

Privet Hawk Moth. Always awesome, and not a species we see very often.

Phone shot of Red-barred Tortrix Ditula angustiorana. A few garden records of this smart micro.

 

May 20th

Another afternoon visit to Cogden...

This appears to be Pea Moth Cydia nigricana. Not a species I've had at home, and there are no Bridport records on the Living Record map, so possibly quite a nice record.

White-banded Grass-moth Crambus pascuella, another new moth for me. As per normal with Crambids, upside down.

Astonishingly, a bird! This Red Kite swooped past so low and close that I heard the 'whoosh' of its flight.

Female Azure Damselfly. At least, I hope so. I am not great with Odonata.

Greater Butterfly Orchid nicely in flower. Might be wrong, but it feels like they are not as numerous or large this year.

But they are still very beautiful.

The first female Scorpion Fly I've ever seen. Not that I'm particularly worried, but I assume these cannot be done to species.

 

Mike Morse had kindly let me know that Hairy Dragonflies were in residence at Cogden. I am not particularly knowledgeable about dragons and damsels and would quite likely have overlooked them, but this was a new species for me and Mike had told me where to look, so I made the effort. I found at least three, but initially had just rubbish fly-by views. Then I saw one catch a bee and land in some low vegetation to eat it...

Quite small for a hawker, but typically voracious.

Hairy Dragonfly showing why the name is appropriate. The thorax is really furry, with a fine fuzz all over the abdomen too.

Dismembered bits of bee fell off and lodged in its hair as it munched away. I made a short video with my phone from a few inches away, and you can hear the rythmic crunch of chitin as its jaws worked!

 

The distribution map in my old-ish dragonfly book suggests there was a big blank area all along the local coast. I guess the species is slowly spreading.

There was rain overnight, and the moth trap was especially lively...

The pretty Silver-ground Carpet x2, showing variability.

New for the garden, the mouthful that is Triple-barred Tip Moth Argyresthia trifasciata. Very few Living Record dots west of Weymouth, so probably a fairly decent record.

Another new one - Crescent Tortrix Epinotia bilunana. Quite a looker.

Cream Wave. Only eight Bridport records on the Living Record map, but we must have had at least that many here.

I do like a fresh wainscot, and this Shoulder-striped is a beaut. We've not had many, but it is common locally.

Scorched Wing is a slightly bizarre but stunning moth. We don't see it often, so this fresh example was very welcome.

First Swallow Prominent of the year.

Scalloped Hazel

Lychnis

Sycamore

 

May 22nd

In 2022 - my first year trapping - we caught two Peach Blossoms. One was badly damaged, the other massively worn. I have waited three long years for another, and thankfully it was almost pristine. What an absolutely stunning little moth.

First Grey Pug of the year.

Small White Wave, a real tiddler.

Mottled Pug

Marsh Lance Bactra furfurana. One last year, and now this. Just two other Bridport records on the Living Record map.

Spruce Carpet or Grey Pine? Happy to call this one Spruce.

A pug composite. Unlike the version I posted on BlueSky, this one is correctly labelled!

 

May 24th

Another afternoon walk around Cogden. Again, it's all happening below knee level...

Yellow Shell, a regular summer visitor to the garden trap.

Only the second Blackneck I've seen. The first was also at Cogden. There are a few Bridport records, so I guess it is a potential garden visitor one day.

The first Pyramidal Orchids beginning to open now.

Speckled Bush-cricket nymph.

My favourite local orchid, the Bee Orchid. A good number are flowering now.

If a flower can be described as 'jolly', well, this is it.

My first Large Skipper of the year.

 

So that's it. Spring. Meteorologically speaking there are a few days to go, but migrant-wise it is all over bar the slim chance of something rare/scarce. Typically I look forward with excited anticipation to springtime birdwatching, but 2025 has been a huge disappointment. Probably the worst ever of those where I've been actively birding. Should I blame the weather? Bad timing on my part? Sure, I've not been out every day, but low Wheatear counts, no Whinchats, no Groppers, no Garden Warblers, no Yellow Wags, very few waders, not a single skua, etc, etc...

April 5th saved it from being a complete write-off, and a regular dose of Red Kite is always nice, but largely I shall remember spring 2025 for being supremely ironic: sunny but dull.