The Striped Hawk, and Other Tales

This evening's visit to Cogden had a purpose. In a week or so I plan to show a couple of friends around, and want them to see a nice selection of orchids. Pyramidal, Greater Butterfly and Southern Marsh are no problem, but I'm struggling with Bee. Outside of a meadow with no public access I have found just a single plant so far, and wanted to check it was still there as well as search for more. While I was at it, no harm in photographing any nice moths...

Adding to my collection of Cogden's roll-up moths, this is Garden Grass-moth Chrysoteuchia culmella, doing the standard upside-down Crambid thing. Very common visitor to the garden trap.

Satin Grass-moth Crambus perlella, another one on the garden list.

Satin Grass-moth again. I chased this one around a bit and - unlike every other Crambid so far - each time it alighted on something it was the right way up, and often landed on top of things rather than underneath them. Have I discovered a useful field identification character?!

A cooperative Small Heath.

Eventually I came to the field where I had previously found a Bee Orchid, and checked to see if it was still there. It wasn't! Disaster! Still, in previous years I have seen several Bee Orchids in this field, so began a careful search.

Suddenly a whopping great hawk-moth appeared right beside me, zipped around a bit, then dropped into some very low bramble and hovered, partially hidden. It appeared to be feeding, its wings a blur. My first impressions had been 'big, pale, with pink bits' and Convolvulus Hawk-moth came to mind initially. But I could see an obvious white 'supercilium', and the penny dropped. I fired off a few shots, but the angle was bad. I needed to get behind it a bit. I managed one burst, then it was out, up and away, vanishing as instantly as it had appeared...

Striped Hawk-moth, proboscis partially unfurled

Wings a-blur, but you can see what it is!

Striped Hawk-moth features in this blog's banner, an individual which turned up in the garden trap in September 2022. It was virtually the first moth I saw when removing the lid and the buzz was immense; still one of my biggest mothing 'Wow!' moments. Well, this evening's encounter was right up there with that!

Next, I scored a fish 'tick'...

I could see this angler was bent into something hefty, so waited until he beached it. The fish is a Starry Smooth-hound, a member of the shark family. You can just about see the small white spots along its flanks.

I returned to the car park via a field which I thought might have potential for more migrant moths if any were around, and unexpectedly stumbled across a load of Bee Orchids somewhere I have never seen them before. That'll do!

A swarm of Bees.

Once again no birds of any note, yet Cogden provides interest and entertainment on all sorts of levels.

Finally, a decent bit of mothing last night, with two new for the garden...

As far as I can tell, this is Hazel Leaf-miner Phyllonorycter nicellii. There are a couple of potential confusion species, but I am going to add this one to the garden list even so. No Bridport records on the Living Record map, but a few nearby.

Spotted Shoot Moth Rhyacionia pinivorana. A handful of Bridport records.

No new macros, but plenty of interest...

Smaller than many micros, this is Pinion-streaked Snout. A few garden records.

Clouded-bordered Brindle. We've had two or three previously.

Freyer's Pug. Quite worn, but still quite distinctive.

A nice Grey Pug...

...and an even nicer Foxglove Pug.

First Light Arches of the year.

First Eyed Hawk-moth of the year. Lovely!

Quite common, but very attractive - the Coronet.

One of two Elephant Hawk-moths, our first of 2025.

A nicely-marked Heart and Dart. We see lots, but I've never noticed one quite like this.

So, the trap is out as I type. I wonder if the Striped Hawk-moth brought any mates...