Grassland Moths etc

Pale (left) and dark form of Diamond-back moth- I did the southern mound, across to 100 acre and then bikers and the field north of bedzed- there are 1000s!!! of diamond backs. The southern mound was mental today- not just diamonds but a whole assemblage of grassland moths including Agapeta hamana, crambus perlella, chrysoteuchia culmella, Blood vein, Burnet Companion, Yellowshell, homoeosoma sinuella, Coleophora trifolii, Celypha lucunana, Aethes sp and a few others (below) that I haven't identified yet. Also 3 Painted Ladys and several Common Blues up there. Literally 1000s and 1000s of moths!
Provisional ids as usual corrections welcome 

Aethes sp?

Homoeosoma sinuella

Sitochroa verticalis

?

Yellowshell

Celypha lacunana

Notocelia sp?

Female Common Blue- a beautiful bright one. Also three Painted Ladys on the southern mound.

At least two flocks of Long-tailed tits today with family parties and young birds. Probably 20+ birds in total.

Some mid-summer duck movements occurring with 3 male Teal on 100 acre and 3 Pochard on North Lake. Also the Mallards are beginning to moult into eclipse plumage. Also 3 Shoveler a couple of days ago. 

Most surprising was the number of Gadwall around- over 20 on Jims Bed on 100 acre 

This doesn't do it justice but the diamond-backs were coming up in 10s with every foot step- right across the mound. The farmlands is 400 acres which is 1618742.57 m2- even if there was 1 diamond-back per m2 there would be 1.5 million moths?? That can't be right??  

Beddington Farmlands Public Summer Walk

 Common Blue on Plaintain

 Painted Lady, one by the Bedzed cafe today- good numbers are arriving in the country at the moment joining the Diamond-back Moth invasion. There was another swarm on Diamond-backs on the southern mound- so an estimated 200+ on site at the moment. 

 A picture-winged Fly

 Blood Vein

 Cornflowers, Corn cockles, Corn Marigolds and mustards flowering on the Northern Mound

Micros in the trap last night (some provisional ids- corrections welcome)

 Celypha lacuana

 Eudonia angustea 

 Eudonia pallida 

 Homoeosoma sinuella

 Blastobasis lacticolella - actually Platyedra subcinerea (Cheers Billy!  Surrey moths FB group) 

Ash bud moth Prays fraxinella (if correct id, new for farmlands) 

Cochylis atricapitana

 Coleophora sp? (maybe C.anatipennella- Pistol Case-bearer?) Surrey moths id as Aspilapteryx tringipennella. (cheers Mike!)  New for me. 

No idea? Surrey moths suggest Roeslerstammia erxlebella. (Cheers Philip)  or Prays rufinella or ruficeps (cheers Mike) 

A very local day

I went out this morning to check the farmlands but didn't get very far as there was so much going on within a few tens of meters of the 'obs' door. I bumped into Tony and Danielle who were working on the Bedzed field and then thought I'd check out the field north of there. The council have controversially (don't get me started) prepared the ground to build a new school (human plague, keep moving) but things have halted and the area is beginning to re-colonize following some earth moving and archaeological works. The Diamond-back Moth invasion is building round here- must have been 100+ on the field and they are also all over the obs garden too. After having a look round the field I spent some time around the obs doing a bit on the wildlife garden.

Field North of Bedzed

Linnets were holding territory 

 Male Reed Bunting holding territory (great news considering this species has crashed in the Viridor lease area) 

 Common Whitethroat- several pairs in this area 

 Diamond-back moths, the pale form seems to be the most common one involved in the national invasion. At least 100 in the field and also more around the obs.

 Coleophora trifolii - found this amongst the Diamond-backs

 Cinnabar

 Black-tailed Skimmer 

Xanthogramma pedissequum

Robber Fly sp?

Literally no idea?? Diptera sp- striking looking 

Andrena sp? (Tawny Mining Bee?) 

The area scraped for the school is beginning to re-colonise. Plenty of weld and attracting large numbers of bees.

The obs

Diamond-back Moths- 20+ in the trap and several more in the wildlife garden

Orange Footman

Male Common Swift 

Still working on it 

Marbled Minor

The obs gardens are doing as planned- looking pretty and attracting lots of insects 

Mint moth

 Did a bit of guerilla Swift boxing yesterday- will see how long it takes for the management company anti-nature fascists to notice

And my cousin Reno risking life and limb to stick up a Bat box

My annexing of the beds around the other block has gone un-noticed, I've also got an area of wild meadow growing (fuck the system!) 

Diamond-back moths

INSIDE CROYDON ARTICLE

LATEST FROM BEDDINGTON FARMLANDS IN THE LOCAL PRESS

THE BATTLE FOR BEDDINGTON FARMLANDS (LOST?) - MARK AVERY GUEST BLOG #2

THE BATTLE FOR BEDDINGTON FARMLANDS (LOST?) 

POST AND DISCUSSION HERE

.....and here's my final comment on the matter 

I agree John, the only hope now is that enough pressure and/ore encouragement can be put on Viridor to manage the restoration properly. The recent drives by Mark Avery and Chris Packham to encourage front line people power conservation is the best hope I think and for the conservation e-NGOs to get behind that rather than (or even not just) the corporations. RSPB have started RSPB campaigners so seem to be moving off their non-political fence sitting (How can anyone be non-political in conservation- its a political issue as is taking money from corporations like Viridor credits to fund conservation - effectively the RSPB and e-NGOs are acting as the PR vehicle for a corporation- so its nonsense this non-political balderdash- they're anti-nature capitalist organisation facilitators unless they balance things out by getting behind popular movements too). Nothing wrong with taking money from these corporations to use it against them elsewhere! Anyway good to see the RSPB moving towards this campaigning and they should be getting behind the Avery/Packham people push on the Hen Harrier issue and also the exciting possibility that Mark Avery has mentioned in Birdwatch magazine of the Hen Harrier becoming a symbol for front line people power conservation- including I'd like to think taking on corporations like Viridor that are destroying our nature reserve network; any areas that have nature conservation designations should be fiercely defended against corporations. Where the market and the planning system has failed that's where the people need to step in.

I think enough public pressure needs to be put on organisations like Viridor to the point where it starts effecting them financially. At the end of the day the reason for them defaulting on their obligations is presumably for bottom line cosmetics (even though in the long run this kind of short term strategy leads to an own goal for society at large and therefore Viridor too- they're part of society so by bringing down the quality of environment and the economy that supports is bringing themselves down too). If public/ pressure can start to address this market failure its a win win for everyone involved. Its encouraging to see groups like this https://www.facebook.com/350.org/videos/10154191377177708/
beginning to mobilise large numbers of people to disrupt production of development sites- its this kind of disruption which will help affect the bottom line of these offenders. Not just this approach too (which seems to be unacceptable to a lot of people in conservation- why?? but seems to be the case) but also making more and more noise about the way that companies like Viridor can get away with destroying nature and local communities by more petitioning signing. more lobbying MPs for whatever that's worth (the corporations have the power not the MPs), demonstration and personally I think co-coordinating some of that petition signing direct into planning portals with regards to planning permissions- thats where those signatures are really really important. I'd even say we should block Viridor phone lines and computer systems with thousands and thousands of complaints but again I never seem to get much support for this kind of extremism!!??- complaining is what the British do best- why not make good use of the collective skill!  ) To me it seems the best and justified way of making a real difference.
I'm confident that the solution to improving the situation at Beddington Farmlands is in theory reactively straight forward if we can mobilise enough public pressure against Viridor. Beddington Farmlands could be used as model, where a strategy and some kind of organisation is developed that can be replicated to other areas where corporations are doing something similar on the protected network for nature across the UK- particularly the SSSis, LNRs and SINCs which are less well defended than the SPAs and Ramsar sites (which the e-NGOs can handle better. People power conservation needs to step up to protect the finer grained network.

Without that kind of people pressure and mobilization I'm also confident that all is lost and yes I agree with precedents like this where a corporation can quite literally get away with murder (of sorts in an ecological sense)- there isn't much hope for the future.

Diamond-back Influx

 Diamond-back moths- at least 10 at the trap last night- the most I've had in one night. These cool and overcast conditions (what an awful summer it has been) presumably have contributed to the influx of this migrant.

Pebble Hook-tip- also last night. Also Shuttle-shaped Dart, Flame Shoulder and Pale Mottled Willows. 

RIP Harambe