Tuesday, 7 August 2018

Not the right Hawker

Went over of what's left of Beddington Farmlands this afternoon looking for Southern Migrant Hawker.  Just visited the Northern and Southern Lake which are actually decent bits of habitat. There had been an arrival of Hawkers but unfortunately they were just Migrant Hawkers- 3 were on the causeway. Did have a lifer though- Small China Mark, a moth common around water and has been caught during water edge moth trapping sessions at the farmlands but one which has never visited the obs moth trap. So on the Southern and Northern Lakes this afternoon highlights included:

On the bird front:
3 Snipe, 1 Green Sandpiper, 2 Shoveler, 1 Teal, 4 broods of Tufted Duck, 1 Common Buzzard, 10 Swift

On the odonata front:
3 Migrant Hawker, 3 Black-tailed Skimmer, 1 Emperor, 8 Small Red-eye, 2 Common Blue-tail, 2 Common Darter, 1 Ruddy Darter 

On the butterfly front:
15+ Meadow Brown, 3 Gatekeeper, 10 Common Blue, 1 Brown Argus, 

Dayflying moths:
1 Small China Mark, 1 Burnet Companion, 2 Agriphila tristella, 

 On a side view the large brown areas on the sides of thorax eliminate the possibility of Southern Migrant Hawker. Migrant Hawker (above and below) and Southern Migrant Hawker for comparison below that. 

Southern Migrant Hawker- on a side view the thorax is mainly blue. 
 Black-tailed Skimmer 
 Ruddy Darter 
 Small Red-eye
 Common Bluetail 
 Small China Mark- a lifer 
 Agriphila tristella.  Surprisingly very few Garden Grass Veneer Chrysotecuchia culmella this year  on the mounds. Probably too dry but usually an abundant moth. Not many day flying moths up on the mound at all this year. The majority of butterflies and moths are around the lakes. 

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