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There was quite an arrival of migrants on the Peninsula yesterday HERE in a southeast wind but it was Jacob's 9th Birthday so I had to wait until this morning to get out into the field. There wasn't too much in the way of migration while I was away so seems like this is about the fourth main migration wave this Spring. 

The winds were more easterly today but it was still pretty good with one of the best seawatches from Selsey Bill this Spring HERE with highlights including Arctic Skuas, Garganeys, a large movement of Sandwich Terns, Common Scoters moving and the beginning of the Whimbrel and Barwit passage. A couple of Wheatears were also on the beach and a few Swallows, Sand Martins, Linnets and Mipits were moving north.  My Ebird list from today HERE. 

At about 930 I did the usual Costa coffee stop before heading to Ferry and I did the Ferry area including Long Pool and Mill Lane and back to the Visitor's area. 64 species HERE with highlights including my first Sedge Warbler of the year on the Long Pool, a couple of Blackcaps, about 15 Chiffchaffs, a few Swallows moving north and the Spotted Redshank in the Ferry Channel- now in full summer plumage.

Arctic Skua, Garganey, Whimbrel and Sedge Warbler were Peninsula year ticks, now on 142 HERE. The Arctic Skua and Sedge Warbler were also World year ticks (now on 822) . 

Good to be back and looking forward to the next two or three weeks of peak migration. Basically will be waiting for the Palearctic migrants to catch up with us that we saw a few days ago in Ghana.

Male Northern Wheatear

Common Scoter and Garganeys (two birds second and third from last)

My first Skuas this year- dark phase Arctics 

The beginning of the Whimbrel and Barwit passage 

Sandwich Terns- the official log recorded nearly 300 birds 

Spotted Redshank 

Ghana Moths

The moth trapping was a bit of a dream come true with finally managing to get a decent moth trap up in the Ghanaian forests thanks to the new Lepilid that was purchased last year. 

We managed to trap most nights apart from a couple of nights when staying at urban hotels. 

432 records in total of 191 provisionally identified species HERE.

Surprisingly, according to ChatGPT there are only 850 or so moth species recorded for Ghana. Ghana I-Nat moth project records 798 species HERE. The I-Nat project also has me as having recorded the most species in Ghana which is frankly ridiculous as I've only been doing it a week. 

In comparison to the butterflies which are well studied in West Africa, Ghana has over 950 species recorded which implies the moth fauna of Ghana is under-recorded.  There are about 3500-4000 butterfly species in Africa so about a quarter have been recorded in Ghana.

Considering there are probably between 17-18000 moth species in Africa and 7000 have been recorded in South Africa alone, it implies that Ghana's moths are very unrecorded (only about 5% of the African total have been recorded in Ghana).  ChatGPT also states that in the wider Afrotropical region there could be tens of thousands of moth species which are still undiscovered and undescribed.   

Basically it all sounds like a very exciting area to be focused on with a real possibility of finding something exciting. It will certainly be a big task to learn the moths of Ghana but have to start somewhere so here's a few pics from this trip with some provisional identifications and will update this as I go along. 

ANKASA

The stunning Eudaemonia argus

Imbrasia sp 

Nephele aequivalens

Comma Nephele

Polyptychus carteri

Common Striped Hawkmoth

Large Striped Hawkmoth 

Purple-edged Pearl

Mazuca haemagrapha

Mullberry Hawkmoth 

Alpenus maculosa

Fulvous Hawkmoth 

Latoia sp possibly viridimixta

Whitebanded Nephele

KAKUM

MOLE 

Not a moth but the stunning Cream-bordered Charaxes

African Hummingbird Hawkmoth

The familiar Scarce Bordered Straw

Sundowner Moth 

Mediterranean Brocade