A couple of days at the Lodge

Matt came over yesterday and we spent the day doing the garden and as usual discussing the head of the snake of the western world as you do in between pruning the 'crops' and managing the meadows . With the world seemingly hurtling towards 'World Wars Episode 3 -The Empire strikes without provocation again'  part of the ideology behind the nature centric self sufficiency-type lifestyle is to feel a little bit more non-complaint and sheltered from systemic upheavels. I find it helpful for the old mental health believing (a bit at least) that if there were supply line failures and shortages or a real pandemic we could more or less surive it out on an acre of land with the seeds and starting blocks of self sufficiency (a crop seed bank and a few rabbits, ducks and geese which could scale up) and enough to look at and study to pass the time. There's more chance of escalating cost of living challenges than anything too extreme and a bit of self sufficiency and being embedded into nature more helps with that too and basically it's a pleasant lifestyle for the family so it kind of ticks every box from a nice jolly right the way to apocalypse. Certainly enjoying it here.

Lots of new additions to the moth list and also the pan-species list in the current heatwave. Dissappointingly no more scarce moth migrants but fingers crossed for some more action this weekend. Derek had a Small Marbled nearby at Bracklesham yesterday and Sarah had another Striped Hawkmoth at Selsey so they aren't far away. 

Not much at all on the bird front. I found a dead Goldfinch fledgling proving that Goldfinches are breeding in the garden. The Whitethroats, Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs are still singing occasionally but I haven't heard the Cuckoo in a couple of days. I could hear Redshank calling from Ferry Pool a couple of days ago. 

I'm still more or less stuck here as still catching up with paperwork, sorting out VAT etc and been reviewing a paper on Nearctic vagrants and tropical cyclone activity today and still need to crack on with the Corvo 20 year review for Dutch Birding. Caught up with some reading today too - Atropos, British Birds and Birdwatch mag- a good article in Birdwatch by Thomas Miller on Baltic Gull identification.   

The back garden meadow/play area with new mown paths to the play ground and swimming pool for the boys. We've mowed a circuit round the edge for Jacob to ride his bike round and they can run through the connected paths to the trampoline, swings and slide and pool. If they want to kick balls around we've got a mowed area in the side garden. The meadow is full of bees, Meadow Browns and the odd Large Skipper and Small and Green-viened White with Comma and Peacock on the edges. Isaac got stung by a bee a couple of days ago- part of the territory and I'm sure he will learn to leave them alone now.

The three sisters guild in the centre raised bed is coming on well- sweetcorns with a pumpkin understorey and sugar snap peas climbing up the sweetcorns all working symbiotically together with the peas fixing nitrogen in the soil, the corn providing the framework and the pumpkins providing the shade to keep the soil moist. A lot of the new potatoes are ready now and we harvested a lot of the onions and now got them curing in the 'greenhouse' 

Two-banded Wasp Hoverfly. We are recording/monitoring all the birds, moths, butteflies and dragonflies and mammals but just doing a species inventory and casual recording for all other species- botany other entomology etc. This was a new one, now on 145 species on the i-Nat project HERE. In total with the leps and birds and these too we are nearly on 800 species for the garden.  

Red-belted Clearwing- three today attracted to their lure (MYO). I've tried AND lure and got the targeted Orange-tailed Clearing but failed with the Currant Clearwing lure after a couple of days trying. I've now got MOL out to see if any micro moths attracted to that and still got a few others to try. I ordered some more pheromones today too to target other species. 

Smoky-barred Marble, Lobesia absciana- a new for garden

Bittersweet Smudge (I think)

Dusky Brocade- my second attempt to get one of these on the garden list after Colin flagged up doubt on our dark morph candidate recently 

Clouded Brindle with those distinctive 'C' marks on the mid wing. Another garden tick- now on 505 moth species. 

Lesser Yellowlegs, Stilt Pool, Medmerry

I was hoping to get some work done today and over the summer doldrums but things as usual didn't go to plan. This time it wasn't due to one of the kids or some other emergency instead it was Anthony Smith who discovered a Lesser Yellowlegs on the Stilt Pool at Medmerry. After getting a little bit of work under my belt I decided to twitch it late morning as the light gets awful there in the afternoon/evening.

Fortunately it was still there when I got there but unfortunately stayed to the back of the pool so I couldn't get any decent photos. Luckily it was a bit closer earlier on in the day and Kevin Tarrant managed to get some pretty good shots (below)

The first on the Peninsula since 2008! Now on 193 for the Peninsula and 169 for the year. 

Adult summer Lesser Yellowlegs (Kevin Tarrant) 

This was the best I could do but nice to get my own record shot too

Vagrant China-mark

Another good migrant last night- Vagrant China-mark. 67 species of approx 200 individuals with a few garden ticks taking the garden moth list to a nice round 500 species and 280 for the year. 

Vagrant China-mark, Diasemiopsis ramburialis

Orange-tailed Clearwing to AND lure 

Elephant, Privet, Pine and Eyed Hawkmoth 

More moth mig

After a quiet night yesterday it seems the moth mgiration picked up again last night with Small Mottled Willow, 5 Four-spotted Footman, Delicate, Rush Veneer, Diamond-back and Green Oak Tortrix.

Also a couple of garden ticks and a few new for years including White Satin, Sycamore, Shears, Dingy Shears, Swallow-tail moth and Waste-ground Veneer. Now on 494 for the garden and 270 for the year. 

I'm casually recording the botany and other entomology in the garden too including the moth trap by-catch. Now on 125 species for that HERE . Most interesting thing was quite a few Byrony Mining Bees. 

Our garden meadows are better than hoped as there's basically a carpet of white clover which is attracting tens of bees- the usual suspects; Red-tipped, White-tipped, Tree, Carder, Buff-tailed and Honey. There's also Meadow Browns, the odd Red Admiral and Large Whites (including caterpillars eating our cauliflowers) in the meadows. The pond tadpoles are now Froglets and I had a Brown Hawker flying around a few days ago. Good to see all the wildlife garden habitats working well- build it and they will come. The big hope is that we increase local insect populations in some way. Over 200 native trees, nearly an acre of meadows (low and high swards), the pond and the butterfly shrub borders should make a difference hopefully. 

Small Mottled Willow

Scarce Silver Lines

Cream bordered Green Pea

White Satin

I-Nat apps have identified this as Dusky Brocade and seems to fit to my eye but the CMR disagrees and suggests Common Rustic agg. 

Shears 

New World Order

Big global news this week. The first unified global taxonomy of birds has been published - AviList, which is a consolidation of existing leading global taxonomies from BirdLife International, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the American Ornithologists Assocation, the International Ornithologist's Committee and Avibase. More from Birdguides HERE. In the Western Palearctic there are about 15 lumps/ species that have been lost from the WP Species List which some WP listers aren't happy about and has been described by leading WP listers as 'a big set back'. In the UK some notable lumps include Hooded and Carrion Crow, Amur and Siberian Stonechat (at least I get a Species level id on this now HERE), Eurasian and Green-winged Teal and Yelkouan and Balearic Shearwater. 

A unified global taxonomy is an important step towards optimisation in birding and nature conservation and will bring unification across field guides and apps, internet resources, recording systems and will facilitate AI programming and the continual development of identification and recording software and big data systems to facilitate land management and habitat creation programming and set conservation priorities.

Meanwhile in other fields of expertise (outside ornithology and ecology) the same kind of technological transformation is occurring and being fed into super computers which are being used to innovate and develop new systems and processes. Effectively driving society forward towards an AI powered global management system.

Interesting that this leap forward in optimisation should occur during the same week that conflict has escalated in the Middle East. A lot of elements of the Israel and the Zionist project represents the spearhead of the unsustainable, nature destroying  and violent Western capitalist alliance that has dominated global systems in recent history. The violence in the middle east drives the arms industry and the transfer of public US, UK and EU money into the hands of global arms manufacturers. Shares in these arms companies are embedded into a lot of financial instruments i.e pensions, investment funds, index funds etc so economic growth is generated as a result of war. It's the same story as we all know for the destruction of nature and the exploitation of workers and other inherent ineffecineces within Traditional Capitalism. The unsustainable systems appears to be becoming more violent as it moves towards end stage.  

The race is on to evolve towards optimisation as decision making technology such as AI powered democratic systems will almost certainly allocate resources, set prices and values, preserve nature and vital ecosystem services more effeciently and rationally than traditional markets and political systems. One part of that optimisation is the self destruction of the existing system to provide the broken ground for the new system to grow up from. We can see that self destruction and demoliton all around us and feel it at a personal level of uncertaintiy as the old system is falling apart, people are dividing, becoming polarised and chaos is building while nature is disappearing. Meanwhile new groups are forming, new orders are emerging, new processes and new systems as people seek refuge from chaos and nature finds refuge from the Sixth extinction into refugia in the same way it took refuge from previous global cataclysms like Ice Ages and Asteriod impacts.  Now nature and her human allies faces down the human cataclysm and particularly the Zionist spearheaded capitalist western cult. Nature wins everytime, how and when will be interesting. 

All we can hope for in the slowly evolving new world order or global system is one that re-priorities values and optimises systems that incentive good behaviour in humans in order to sustain life on this fragile planet- a system that values nature more, money less, meritocracy more, inheritance and priviledge less, narcissim less, community more, Common Swifts more and Taylor Swift less. 

A unified global taxonomy is a step forward in that optimisation for one very small part of that new global system- the birds of the world. We are getting there- slowly !  

Striped Hawkmoths and moth mig

It's been a busy working week after getting back from Bulgaria, couldn't get out in the field but I managed to keep up the moth trapping and have connected with a couple of nights of increased moth migration. The highlight was my first Striped Hawkmoths in the UK- two of them but there's also been other suspected migrants including Gem, Diamond-backs, Delicate, Four-spotted Footman, Rusty-dots and Dark Spectacle.

After a busy week overall with approx 80 species last night alone, the all time moth list is 492 and year list is 261. It took about 5 years to get to 500 species at the Old Vicarage and we are just short it of it here after one year. 

Also had the dissection results in from Mike Bailey this week. The highlight was the first Platyedra subcinerea and Coleophora alticolella for the Pagham area. Also confirmed the suspected presence of Marbled Minor, Tawny Marbled Minor and Rufous Minor and also had C.lassella, Bactra lancealana and Elachista canapennella and E.argentella. An earlier batch from early Spring confirmed Acleris ferrungana, Coleophora alcyronipennella, Grapoholita funebrana and Scrobipalpa acuminatella. 

Striped Hawkmoths- finally caught this species in the UK

Gem

Four-spotted Footman

Dusky Brocade- not a migrant but new for site. See later post for update on this. 

Not a migrant- just smart, Peach Blossom 

Brown Bagworm- also new for site and possibly a lifer (need to check)

As might be expected, this was confirmed as a Tawny Marbled Minor although the one that turned out to be a Rufous Minor also looked similar

The 'star' of the show Coleophora alticolella- new for the local area. It's bits and pieces below

Genitalia of Coleophora alticilella by Mike Bailey

One Year at Little Oak Lodge

This week marks the first anniversary of us moving into our new home. 

The garden bird list is now on 107 HERE with highlights including Spoonbill, Hawfinches, Osprey, Marsh Harrier, Merlin, Goosander and Firecrest. The moth list is on 475 and the butterfly list is 13 HERE and I've also started a wild botany and all other taxa project HERE which is on 107 species. Moth highlights include a first for West Sussex, African Sober and a second for West Sussex- Echium Slender.  

There's been so many birding highlights in the local area including Least and Semipalmated Sandpiper, American Golden Plover, Black Brant, Golden Oriole, Serins, Collared Pratincole, Poms etc. It's been great being involved with an excellent local birding community.  

We've managed to plant over 200 trees, put a pond in the front garden and have completed various projects including raised beds, butterfly borders and beds, meadows, animal housing and reared ducks from eggs and recently got rabbits and there are geese in the incubator, built a new garden office and shed, did a makeover on a caravan and now renting it out as an airbnb and refurbished the house and other bits and bobs too.

Been a great first year and looking forward to the results of our wildlife garden habitats as they mature and are developed. 

Here's a few before and after shots. 

The patio area before

The patio area after

The side garden before

The side garden after- now with camping and caravaning 

The raised beds going in

The raised beds recently

Another view of the raised beds in winter 

The raised beds recently- had our first full meal out of the garden yesterday with leek and potato soup and cauliflower cheese

View over back garden before

View over back garden recently with kids play area, new garden office and beds

Another view of the back 

The farm animal area

Isaac and the rabbits

Jacob and the Onion

Isaac being the head gardener 

Kamen Bryag Project Butterflies and moths update

The moth trap was pretty good all week with about 70 species a night of about 120-150 individuals. Observations HERE. The project lep list is now on 386 species HERE which subject to validation is 66 new species for the project from this trip. 

The day flying Synaphe moldavica was very common in the grasslands this week. 

We've now moth trapped in April/early May, early July, September, October, November and now early June so getting a good snap shot of the moth calender here. 

There wasn't so many butterflies about- apparantely it's only warmed up round here in the last week or so. 

A few mothing photo highlights below. 

Giant Peacock moth- we had four of these on the last night and also saw a single along the path at Shabla Tusla indicating an emergence 

Oak Hawkmoth 

Spurge Hawkmoth- we also had Elephant, Small Elephant, Lime and Hummingbird Hawkmoths

Plum Lappet

Lappet

Garlic Mottled

Nychiodes waltheri

Citrus Looper

Gnopharmia stevenaria

Beautiful Marbled- always nice to see

Buff Arches- a new one for the project

Orache- never tire of these 

Maybe Aporophyla canescens

Dichagyris nigrescens

Dolicharthria sp

Maybe Orange Naked Pearl

Charissa sp maybe variegata

Cucullia tanaceti

Orange-bar Grass-Veneer

Maybe Dichomeris rasilella 

Mirificarma eburnella

Probably Lacanobia praedita

Mythimna congrua

Euphithecia breviculata

I presumed this was Twenty-plume moth but it doesn't occur here. It's probably Alucita huebneri

The trapping site