Rain and a bit of moth mig

I was planning on sneaking in a bit of birding today in light of a good spell of scarce bird migrants at Portland and the South Coast in the last couple of days but it's raining today so decided to get on with work.

However ahead of the rain there was a nice little influx of moth migrants with the year's first Porter's Rustic and Radford's Flame Shoulder with 4 Scarce Bordered Straw, 4 Silver-Y, 2 Blair's Mocha, 2 Vestal, 10 White-points (an increase), 4 Rush Veener, 3 Rusty-dots, Small Mottled Willow and 2 Clancy's Rustic. 28 species in total of approx 150 individual moths with Beaded Chestnut and Lunar Underwing (almost equal numbers) making up the bulk of the catch. Crambus pascuella was unseasonal and a Setaceous Hebrew Character was the first in a while. There was also a Pale-lemon Sallow but I think it was the same one as the night before. 

Now on 562 garden moths for the year. 

Porter's Rustic- only the third record here (above and below)

Radford's Flmae Shoulder- surprisingly the first for the year. In my first autumn here, 2024. there were daily autumn records with double figures some days. 

Many of the recent Vestals have been very fresh and colourful. This one takes the biscuit.

After it stopped raining I popped out for a walk along the harbour. There have been at least three Marsh Harriers around recently (an adult male, adult female and at least one juv- above). It was all rather wintery in the rather cold northerly wind HERE.