Cool Sunday

It felt decisively autumnal this morning in the cooler conditions and partly overcast skies. The moth traps were not as exciting as recent days but there were still a few migrants including 3 Small Marbled again (maybe the same ones?) and a new for year species in the form of a couple of Frosted Orange. Now on 506 for the year. A Greenshank flew over the garden this morning, there was a Ringed Plover calling yesterday evening and the good numbers of hirnundines, mainly Sand Martins are still present over the garden which is wonderful to see. 

As it was Sunday, Holly took Jacob to church and I hung out with Isaac for a bit before we all met up again and spent the afternoon at West Wittering and East Head. There was a surprising large high tide roost of waders on Snowhill Marsh. I had given up on that site after trying persistently over the Spring for roosting waders but it seems it's being used again now- maybe because it was a very high tide, over 5 meters. Ebird list HERE with highlights including my first Golden Plover of the autumn, 12 Greenshank, a juvenile Bar-tailed Godwit and seemingly where all the local Black-tailed Godwits and Sandwich Terns have been hanging out. 

In the early evening I went to Church Norton to look for the Pied and Spotted Flycatchers that had been found in the morning. I couldn't find the flycatchers but did have a couple of Garden Warblers (a local year tick, now on 178), about 8 Willow Warblers, a Chiffchaff, a couple of Blackcaps, a Wheatear on the concrete blocks and more surprisingly a Treecreeper was in with the tit flock. It broke off from the flock as it refused to fly over our heads with the flock and went back to the south side of the area behind the hide. A Pagham Harbour tick for me (now on 191) and only seen them on the Peninsula in the woods along Chichester Harbour.  It evaded my camera but I managed to get a sound recording below. Ebird list HERE.

Garden Warbler

There are few finer waders than a summer plumage Grey Plover 

My first Golden Plover of the autumn

High tide wader roost at Snowhill

Approx 250 Sandwich Tern on the marsh too

Frosted Orange- NFY

Small Marbled , one of three again. 

Golden Argent- there were lots of these in Scotland but the first here in a while

Treecreeper calling at Church Norton 

The fifth wave waning

Cooler conditions are forecasted for tomorrow and there is plenty of rain in the forecast for next week. What with all the DFLs on the Peninsula at the moment. in the hot weather. the traffic is awful so it was a good excuse to spend the day at home and make the most of the rest of this heat wave. The best one for moth migrants so far.  

The moths traps were even more busy last night with 113 species of around 450 individuals with a few potential new for sites and NFYs. Now potentially on 703 for the garden and 505 for the year.  The traps were also full of by-catch, mainly beetles and bugs. Latest pan-species observations HERE. 

The garden oasis is working well with lots of butterflies and insects taking refuge here. Today there were single Common Darters and Migrant Hawkers, 15 Small Whites, 3 Large White, 3-4 Red Admirals, 2 Peacocks, 2 Common Blue, 1 Brown Argus, 2 Meadow Browns, 1 Comma, 1 Small Copper and the second Clouded Yellow for the garden in the meadow. There were also Yellow Belles, Rush Veneers, Blood Veins and Vestals in the grass too so the meadow is excelling. What with the Clouded Buff in the meadow recently it really has been pretty incredible for a one acre plot in the middle of what is now a desert.

There were lots of hirundines over head too with approx 250 Sand Martin, 80 Swallow and 30 House Martin and the Hobby was on the hunt again. Also a couple of Yellow Wagtails over and a Willow Warbler was in the raised bed briefly. A pair of Ravens were circling for a while calling and the family of Buzzards were up for most of the day. Garden log from today HERE. 

I had to drag myself away from the garden to have a quick check of Church Norton but I timed the tides wrong. There were another 100 Sand Martins over there with a Hobby hunting there too. Elsewhere on the Peninsula today there were about 20 Wheatears, the autumns first Whinchat, a Spot Fly and more Willow Warblers with a Pied Fly yesterday and a small influx of Pied Flys in the county today too. I'm looking forward to have a full day in the field on Monday. 

Hobby hunting Sand Martins over the garden

Sand Martins (above) and mixed hirundines (below) around the garden 

Raven over- one of two

The local Buzzard family were enjoying the thermals today. This juvenile was soaring fairly low.

Juvenile Song Thrush- the local passerines are remaining very elusive at the moment 

Clouded Yellow

Barred Rivulet- one of two, the first for site and a lifer

Three Small Marbleds last night - from a garden mega to quite a regular moth recently. Also had another Striped Hawkmoth and good numbers of common migrants including 80 Small Mottled Willows, 22 Portland Ribbon Wave, 25 Rush Veneer and a good selection of the other expected migrants.  

Golden Twin-spot- a first for the year

Cosmopolitan- the second this year

Dark bordered Pearl- one of two

Scarce Oak Knot-horn (tumidana)

The apps say Phyllonrycter trifasciella - retained

The apps say Sycamore-seed Pygmy, Etania decentella. Retained. 

The apps say Glasswort Case-bearer, Coleophora salicorninae. Retained. 

Striped Hawkmoth- these are becoming so regular here now that I almost didn't feature it in this post- I've now come to my senses and here is one of the most incredible migrant moths that we get here

The front garden aka the Sidlesham oasis

Instead of eating them I let the artichokes flower to enjoy this spectacle which the bees love

Meanwhile outside the oasis, this is what everywhere else looks like- Kyle's sheep in the field next to our garden and St. Wilfred's graveyard at Church Norton (below). Fingers crossed for some substantial rain next week as it's a bit nervous for everyone living in a nationwide tinderbox. 

The fifth wave intensifies

The blistering and stifling heat continues but by the looks of the forecast it's getting cooler on Sunday. Therefore I went all in again with four moth traps out in the garden and did my best to keep an eye out during the day for inverts. It was a busy work day so I probably missed some bits but there were a lot of hirundines around, approx 200 Sand Martin, 100 Swallow and 30 House Martin and at one point they all balled up with the arrival of an adult Hobby. There was also 3 Yellow Wagtail over.

The moth traps were very interesting and diverse (again over 100 species) which seems a bit surprising considering the prolonged drought conditions everywhere. There was also plenty of butterflies with Small Whites, Large White, Painted Lady, Peacocks, Red Admiral, about 6 Holly Blues, a Brown Argus and a Small Copper in our garden meadow. Hopefully the oasis we've created has got something to do with the sustained abundance.

Highlights in the moth trap included a nice selection of migrants with Small Marbled, Marbled Green, 2 Saltmarsh Knot-horn, 8 Vestal, 15 Rush Veneer, 4 Dark Sword Grass, 1 Rusty Acorn Piercer, 16 Portland Ribbon Wave, 2 Diamond-backs, 5 Rusty-dots, 2 Scarce Bordered Straw, 2 Silver-Y and about 40 Small Mottled Willow. Derek in Bracklesham is getting over 100 Small Mottled Willows recently and up to 200-300 last week and is only a few miles away.  

There was also some interesting dispersives including Clouded Buff again, a record 7 Rosy Knot-horns, Rosy Wave, 4 Yellow Belles, 5 Roseate Marbles and several coleophoras which I have retained for dissection- presumably also off the Downs considering the supporting cast. Also a Vine moth which if confirmed is a new for site. Now on 499 for the year. 

The government phone alert went off this evening warning of extreme fire risk in the area. There's some rain in the forecast for next week so fingers crossed the thirsty land gets some respite soon. 

Adult Hobby over the garden

Green Silver Lines- always a treat to see. The Clouded Buff was in the trap too adding a nice bit of colour this morning.

Vine moth candidate- if confirmed a first for site

Rosy Knot-horn- a nice influx of one of my favourite moths, a species which triggered a passion for leps

Roseate Marble- five of these 

Small Marbled

Marbled Green

Aethes sp- retained for dissection 

The apps were confident this is Golden-rod Pug but Colin isn't having it without dissection and I didn't keep it- one that got away sadly

Great Silver Diving Beetle- absolute monster. Presumably it's pond dried up and it's looking for water. It's amazing to observe how inverts are dispersing widely in response to the extreme conditions and migrants are moving in - literally population distribution and migration ecology evolution occurring in real time. 

A day at the lodge

It was another blistering day. The temperature got up to 30 C this afternoon so I decided to spend the day tidying up the garden and getting a bit of paperwork done. I was in London working yesterday but managed to get back in time to view the eclipse. What with the blistering heat, regional wildfires, all the doomsters on the internet and now an eclipse- it's all rather biblical out there.  

102 species in the moth traps last night so clearly this heatwave is boosting moth diversity. Highlights included Large Thorn and Flounced Rustics which were NFYs with a nice selection of migrants including another Silver-spotted Veneer and a Scarce Bordered Straw. There were 5 Rosy Knot-horns and a cracking Clouded Buff (by day in the grass) so looks like moths are dispersing from the chalk grasslands. Still stuck on 699 species for all time but the year list has climbed to 495 (which is about 20 less than this time last year). 

Did a bit more on looking for garden inverts today with a few new interesting species. Latest obs HERE. Now on 388 species on this front. 

The garden birdlife has been pretty elusive and quiet- laying low in the heat presumably. A group of 4 Teal, a Greenshank and a Yellow Wagtail over were the highlights today HERE.

Teal over the garden 

Clouded Buff- a nice moth to have flying around in the meadow during the day. Also a few Silver-Ys in the meadows. 

Holly Blue- a few of these along the edges. Also Small, Large and Green-viened Whites, Peacocks, Red Admirals, Comma and a couple of Painted Ladys around.

Large Thorn

Silver-spotted Veneer- unrecorded here previous to this year and this must be the sixth or seventh now

Dog's Tooth- a bit of a garden speciality

This Common Sedge-sawfly was the highlight on the invert hunts

Common Furrow Bee. There are hundreds of bees in the garden at the moment but mainly very small presumed Lasioglossum sp. on the wild carrot. This Common Furrow Bee stood out as being relatively large. 

Blackberry seasons means plenty of Blackberry crumble. Holly is also using the Elderberries this year for crumble and syrups. Good times. 

Managed to get a nice view of the partial eclipse yesterday evening by using Kyle's welding mask but the phone camera failed to pick up any detail. View from the garden frontage looking west. 

The lodge in the heatwave (above and below)