A few leps in the week

My dad visited this week and we also had an urgent situation with Isaac so the only naturalising I've been able to do is from the garden. Birding highlights have been a Green Sandpiper on a couple of days flying around, 2 Common Tern going over yesterday and a Gray Wagtail bombing about. My last garden tick was Mute Swan at the end of June so stuck on 109 for the garden bird list at the moment. There's been up to 100 Barn Swallows and quite a few Sand Martins and still a few Swifts but otherwise not much in the way of migrants. If the summering Blackcaps. Whitethroats and Chiffchaffs are still around they are being very quiet and elusive.

The rest of the interest has been the butterflies and moths. The Purple Hairstreaks in the lane oaks have been flying recently and I've also had Painted Lady on a couple of occasions. Otherwise butterfly numbers are down with fewer Gatekeepers and Meadow Browns and the odd Red Admiral and Common Blue in our garden meadow. What with a return to the influnece of Atlantic weather the moth traps has been quieter but still getting new species every night for the year. Getting closer to our targets with 495 for the year and 598 for the garden list (seems to have a lost a couple probably as a result of Irecord data cleaning by the CMR). A few highlights below.

Latticed Heath

Twin-spotted Wainscot

Coxcomb Prominent

Campion

Fen Wainscot

Maple Pug

Reed Veneer- plenty of Bulrush Veneers, Calamotropha paludella and Pale Reed Veneers, Donacula forficella and a single Giant Water Veneer, Schoenobius gigantella this summer but this is the first Reed Veneer, Chilo phragmitella. Interesting that these similar looking species are all in a different genus. 

Southern Wainscot showing its tiara below

Sqaure-spot Rustic- the need is nigh! 

Small Mottled Willow (above) and Vagrant Piercer (below) are the best of the 'migrants' recently which has mainly comprised of a few Diamond-backs, the odd Rusty-dot, a single Radford's and up to nine Rush Veneer (last night).