A cracking walk in the woods

Although I have been to Pilmoor Wood quite a few times already this year, the nearby Low Wood is equally as interesting but this is the first visit there this year.  There has been a bit of clearance since the last visit, but many mature trees of oak, ash, beech and especially birch remained.  Plenty of bracken in its first flushes, and a walk with the net through the wood produced a few interesting insects.  Strangely, even at 17 degrees, although a little breezy, not one butterfly was seen at all.  In addition to a couple of the colourful long-horn moths Nemophora degeerella, there was this attractive beetle, and a micro-moth later identified as Epinotia demarniana, probably only the third VC62 record, all of them mine, and all in the same vicinity, and confirmed by Charlie from the photos.

Leptura maculata

Epinotia demarniana

Having sussed out a handful of good trapping sites, I noticed a moth on the windscreen, which I photographed, and eventually had it identified as Cydia fagiglandana by Charlie, ironically I could not match it to the pic on UK Moths, which just happened to be his photo!  A look at others sites, confirmed this identification was correct.  Another new one for me, so thanks again Charlie!

Cydia fagiglandana

Spending so much time scouring the vegetation looking for micros, and being fooled on numerous occasions, I  feel I should invest in the companion volume by Whifton and Cleeler, on the Moth-like Bird-droppings of the British Isles.....

Birch Mocha - the first one

Following the one earlier in the week at Pilmoor, I looked up the photo of the one I had at the same site in 2009, and was surprised at the brightness of the colours in comparison.  For no other reason than interest, I add the photograph.

Birch Mocha

See the light

A cool  night at Pilmoor, the old railtrack running through the birch woods east of Boroughbridge.  Still, it kept the biting midges at bay, but the most significant insect of the night was two glowing female Glow-worms among the long grass.  

female Glow-worm

These were the first I had seen for some years, and on checking the internet found the details of the Glow-worm recording site, and duly submitted my record.  I had a response this morning suggesting it was a significant record, the nearest  previous record being at Strensall Common in 2005.  The site can be found on www.glowworms.org.uk   

Glow-worm distribution from NBN 

Of course, the main purpose of the visit was to trap moths, and numbers were kept low by the cool temperatures but did include only my second Birch Mocha.

Birch Mocha

Also, trapped was the rather beautiful pied Apotomis turbidana, another of those bird-dropping type moths, but at least gave an opportunity to test out the Clifton and Wheeler guide.

Apotomis turbidana

0970  Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix (Pandemis cerasana)  4

1092  Apotomis turbidana  1

1334  Scoparia ambigualis  31

1392  Udea olivalis  1

1648  Pebble Hook-tip (Drepana falcataria)  1

1677  Birch Mocha (Cyclophora albipunctata)  1

1727  Silver-ground Carpet (Xanthorhoe montanata)  9
1764  Common Marbled Carpet (Chloroclysta truncata)  1

1776  Green Carpet (Colostygia pectinataria)  11

1887  Clouded Border (Lomaspilis marginata)  1

1906  Brimstone Moth (Opisthograptis luteolata)  2

1947x  Engrailed/Small Engrailed (Ectropis bistortata/crepuscularia)  2

1961  Light Emerald (Campaea margaritata)  2

1994  Buff-tip (Phalera bucephala)  1

2006  Lesser Swallow Prominent (Pheosia gnoma)  2

2007  Swallow Prominent (Pheosia tremula)  1

2008  Coxcomb Prominent (Ptilodon capucina)  1

2011  Pale Prominent (Pterostoma palpina)  1

2040  Four-dotted Footman (Cybosia mesomella)  2

2060  White Ermine (Spilosoma lubricipeda)  1

2061  Buff Ermine (Spilosoma luteum)  6

2089  Heart and Dart (Agrotis exclamationis)  3

2102  Flame Shoulder (Ochropleura plecta)  3

2128  Double Square-spot (Xestia triangulum)  1

2199  Common Wainscot (Mythimna pallens)  1

2302  Brown Rustic (Rusina ferruginea)  4

2305  Small Angle Shades (Euplexia lucipara)  1

2326  Clouded-bordered Brindle (Apamea crenata)  1

2337x  Marbled Minor agg. (Oligia strigilis agg.)  1
2340  Middle-barred Minor (Oligia fasciuncula)  1

2450  Spectacle (Abrostola tripartita)  1

One of my favourate plants

Had a great walk around the Staveley YWT reserve this afternoon, dodging the showers on what seems to be a typical summer day these days.  You stand a chance with dark grey clouds, but I am amazed how some seemingly innocuous clouds manage to disgorge so much rain when one is so far from cover.....

Still, never mind when you see such beauties as this Bee Orchid, one of three in flower seen, and managed a handful of shots before the battery expired....just one of those days.

Bee Orchid, Staveley YWT NR

I was only there yesterday...!

Within 90 minutes of the release of the news of the White-throated Robin, I was on my way to Hartlepool, only having been there Sunday on a casual day out.....not the most impressive of places I admit.  I had commented, that it had attracted a few birds in the past, and some of the other place-names in the area were famous sites that had featured numerous times in rare bird reports.

So, we were fortunate to get there early with only a few birders present, but there were some that still insisted in standing right in front of me and Raine.  Glad to have seen it, with so few there, and to leave before the LGRE's and Bagnells et al arrive....

White-throated Robin

..and again

No pictures of the one today, but an excuse to drag out these shots of a Turkish one several years ago.  Only two previous British records, a one-day male bird on the Calf of Man on 22nd June 1983, and a female quite rightly suppressed on Skokholm due other sensitive breeding species there on 27th-30th June 1990. 

Make it four new micros.....

Still struggling with some more of the micros from Kilburn and this rather worn one needed a bit of manipulation in photoshop to draw some of the subdued colours out.  Having done so, it is a little more obvious, and can now be identified as 1217 Eucosmomorpha albersana.

1217 Eucosmomorpha albersana

Three new micros...

After such a warm day, the evening bode well for a good catch.  At Kilburn, three traps set up in differing habitat.  The 160MVB over the sheet, was probably the best, although it attracted probably a 1000 of a tiny micro, in such numbers it looked like a cloud of soot under the bulb.  Indeed there were so many of this particular micro, that they climbed all over other moths disturbing them.  Still can't work out what they are.  Any thoughts?

micro sp.... one of a thousand!

The other new micros that I could identify were the following, apologies for the poor photos.

0719  Ethmia quadrillella

1102  Endothenia nigricostana

1268  Cydia coniferana

Of the 370 odd moths of at least 80 species, the other highlight was catching three Red-necked Footman, which has probably only been recorded ten times in recent times, following the first which I caught 3 years ago, and at least half of the records are mine.