If it wasn't for the fact that I need somewhere to display a ton of photos,
this post would not exist. Spring has come and [nearly] gone in a distracting
dazzle of blazing sunshine and almost no birds. Redstarts - and maybe
Whitethroats - aside, I cannot recall any spring where I've been an
active birder and seen less. Migration presumably happened, but very little of
it registered here.
Moth-wise I have fared better. The spring has so far given me nine new ones
for the garden list, and a number of little beauts that have made me ooh and
ahh a bit. I am still not bothering with counting them or even entering any
records, but there is something about mothing that is slightly addictive, and
a good night will see me out in the garden until late, head-torch on and net
in hand.
So, here it is. Spring 2025, mostly in pictures...
March 19th
The moth trap's first outing of the year, and a nice early-spring selection...
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Early Moth - not common locally
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Dotted Border
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| March Moth |
March 20th
Continuing the 'brown' theme...
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Hebrew Character
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Small Quaker
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Both of these are common moths, but were the first of the season for me.
As a regular backdrop for my moth photos I seem to have moved from the lump of
dark slate that served me so well, for so long, to this weathered concrete
paving slab. I am not sure that this has been a sensible development, because
some moths virtually disappear on it. However, I rather like that fact, so
will press on with it regardless.
March 23rd
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| Early Thorn |
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The very stunning Herald, with that glimpse into the furnace.
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| Early Grey |
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Double-striped Pug x2. Both very fresh - a variable species.
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March 26th
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Brindled Beauty
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Oak Beauty. Just stunning.
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Clouded Drab. A bit harsh...but fair maybe.
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Slender Groundhopper. This little gem was on a customer's wall in
East Devon, and new to me. Despite how the photo looks, it was on a
vertical wall.
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April 4th
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Sandwich Tern
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I have seen fewer Wheatears than in any recent spring I think,
but here's one in context.
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Oak-tree Pug.
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Western Conifer Seed Bug. A nice bit of moth trap bycatch.
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The year's first - immaculate - Brimstone.
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Powdered Quaker. The only one this year.
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April 5th
The day of 5 Redstarts, as documented in the previous post. Far and away the best birding of spring 2025.
April 11th
Among the very few birdy highlights is the continuing local presence of
Cirl Bunting. Hopefully they will once again breed successfully at West
Bex/Cogden.
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Female Cirl at Cogden.
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April 12th
My first Seaton Birdwatching Tram of the year.
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Pair of Avocets on Black Hole Marsh, raising hopes of another
breeding attempt following 2023's 'First for Devon' success. Sadly it
was not to be.
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Marsh Harrier. Always a good bird for the Axe.
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April 19th
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Red-legged Partridges legging it for cover at Cogden. Regularly
encountered but rarely photographed!
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Whitethroats at least seem to be having a good spring. Well, I
think so.
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Green-winged Orchid at West Bexington. It's been a while since
I've seen one of these. I wasn't even sure they were still there, and
this was the only one I could find.
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April 21st
Woo-hoo! Birds! Well, two Redstarts anyway...
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Female Redstart #1 being typically elusive in a hedge.
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Female Redstart #2 ditto.
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I'd like to recount how these Redstarts were part of a movement
involving a goodly number of regular migrants, but of course they weren't, so
I can't. Still, these two make it a seven-Redstart spring, which is
excellent by local standards. But only because I went birding on April 5th and
21st!
April 26th
Seaton Birdwatching Tram outing number two...
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A showy, singing Lesser Whitethroat. Definitely not a regular
sight on the Axe.
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Red Kite. So far, Birdwatching Tram 'find of the year'.
Unfortunately not by me though. As is often the case, one of the punters
spotted the good bird before I did!
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April 28th
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Pale Prominent. A fairly common, but extremely whacky moth.
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April 30th
Three classy moths, all garden firsts...
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| Mullein |
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Water Carpet
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| Waved Umber |
None of these was particularly uncommon or unexpected, but very nice all the
same.
May 2nd
A morning trip to Cogden, and finally a few Sanderlings...
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| Just a few here; there were actually 20 in the flock. |
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| Sanderlings are always such great value as they scamper back and forth with the surf. |
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| May Highflyer |
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| Freyer's Pug |
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| Scorched Carpet |
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| Coxcomb Prominent. New for the garden, though not unexpected. |
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| Seraphim. Another new one, and a good deal scarcer locally. |
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| First Mocha of the year. |
May 3rd
A notable day. I turned 66 years old at some point just after midnight, and became an Old Age Pensioner. Apart from a few Seaton Birdwatching Trams later in the year, I have officially retired from gainful employment. The feeling of release is immense, and was preceeded by a few weeks of slightly delirious demob-happiness. As I type this, three weeks further into my life, I can honestly say that even the most fleeting conscious thought of my current situation brings an involuntary smile to my face. A pig in clover...
May 4th
Due to lack of birds, already I am spending a lot of time looking at the ground. Today it paid off big-time...
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| Green Hairstreak. Not rare or anything, but my first for many years, and apparently a superb record for Cogden. |
To be fair to birds, I did see one, possibly two
Spotted Flycatchers today. My first of the year. The photos were a bit naff, so I'll save it for the next - and only other - one I saw.
May 5th
A Cogden tick for me today, or at least I think so. Seen in company with West Bex and Cogden regular, Alan Barrett...
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| A superb drake Red-breasted Merganser close inshore. |
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| Foxglove Pug |
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| Least Black Arches |
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| Azalea Leaf-miner Caloptilia azaleella |
None of the above moths is scarce, but all new for the year.
May 8th
While in Seaton with Sandra, called in at Black Hole Marsh to see the pair of Black-winged Stilts that had been present for three days or so. We did see them copulating, and no doubt like the local birders wondered if they might be an even more spectacular addition to the Axe Valley breeding species list than Avocet. Again, sadly not...
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| Male Black-winged Stilt. |
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| Female Black-winged Stilt. |
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| Context shot of both together. |
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| Intriguingly, these Lesser Black-backed Gulls were similarly amorous. |
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| Definitely not something I've ever witnessed on the Axe before. |
By far the smartest moth for a while was this...
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| Puss Moth. Just stunning. |
May 11th
Spotted Flycatcher was easily bird of the day, with a pair of Tufties a close second, but by now I am spending more and more time looking down...
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| Spotted Flycatcher |
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| I think these are the first Tufties I've actually seen on the water at Cogden. Flight views are the norm. |
Meanwhile, below knee height...
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| Roosting Common Blues. |
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| Female Common Blue. |
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| One of many migrant Painted Ladies on the beach. |
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| Male Scorpion Fly. This one was almost certainly Panorpa germanica. |
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| More migrants on the beach - this was one of many Diamond-back Moths. |
Meanwhile, in the previous night's moth trap...
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| First Blair's Mocha of the year. |
Later that night...
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| This is Platyedra subcinerea, the Mallow Seed Moth. New for the garden, it is Nationally Scarce B and in Dorset evidently pretty rare anywhere west of Weymouth. There are no Bridport area records on the Living Record map. It was followed by two more individuals the next night. |
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| Chocolate-tip. A lovely - and surprisingly small - new moth for the garden. I had been lusting over many recent photos on BlueSky, and here it was at last. |
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| Broken-barred Carpet. We've not had many of these. |
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| The very lovely Alder Moth. We had two in 2023, and this is the first since. |
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| Poplar Grey |
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| First Red-green Carpet of the year. Though no red to speak of in this example. |
This post is already way too big, so I shall leave the rest of May for Spring Diary - Part 2...
