Non-Stop Birding: The Old Vic Heat wave

It's been a thundery few days with temperatures in the high twenties. Around 70 to 75 moth species per night and up to 180 individuals a night. There's been a few migrant moths including Silver Y, Diamond-backs and also White-points, European Corn Borer and Green Oak Tortrix. Moth year list has raced up to 198 and all time list is 592. After the verification process on last year's records our all time moth list here dropped from 594 to 587 (gen dent jobs). Hopefully we hit the 600 species target this year. Amazing to think that several gardens in this area have recorded over 1000 species (over a longer period). If we want to up the game round here it will be more early stage work (mines and larvae), more pheromones, more traps and also microscope and dissection work. Not sure if I want to disappear from the world into that rabbit hole quite yet! :-) I like the way in natural history that you can either go round a hamster wheel year after year (year listing and seeing the same old stuff year after year) or just keep digging into new areas. I like a bit of both.

Have taken the opportunity in the good weather to tidy up the mini-farm and plant out the remaining raised beds.

Two singing Blackcaps now actually in the garden- where have they been? Chiffchaff still singing, Hobby over yesterday and during one of the storms there was a little bit of Swift and House Martin movement.

A few moth highlights and pics below.

Pine, Lime, Small Elephant, Elephant and Poplar Hawkmoths

Orange-tailed Clearwing to VES

Straw Conch, Cochylimorpha straminea

Four-dotted Footman

Freyer's Pug

Crescent Groundling

Large Nutmeg- a bit of a speciality round here. Up to 8 or so a night. A priority species, red listed.

A slightly battered Green Oak Tortrix- another five in the trap today. In places like Sandwich Bay they are getting over 600 a night so there is a pretty good chance these are migrants here too.