Famine to feast...

They say to make hay while the sun shines, so with four days of muggy but dry weather, meant four consecutive nights of trapping out and about.  The first night  was Saturday where I chose the open moorland site at Dallowgill due light wind forecast.  Sunday night was Sessay Wood at Pilmoor which offered shelter from quite a stiff breeze.  Monday night was a joint effort with Charlie, Jill and Bob at Staveley, where I left an MV out overnight and returned next morning.  Finally, on Tuesday night, buoyed by such a good return the previous night, I spent the night at Staveley up by the last hide in the reedbed.  So, what was the return for my efforts?  A fine total of 2837 moths of 236 species, including a few new ones.

Dallowgill only produced around 30 species with 362 True Lovers Knot and 76 Northern Spinach dominating the catch.  Of interest were my first Bilberry Tortrix, a Smoky Wave, Welsh Wave, five 'Ling' Pug Eupithecia absinthiata f.goossensiata and two Grey Scalloped Bar.

Bilberry Tortrix

'Ling' Pug

Sessay Wood, a good selection of the usual species, although Limnaecia phragmitella, five Hedya salisella,  Dark Spinach and three Scarce Silver-lines were new  for me.  The other highlights were 45 Four-dotted Footman, 66 Minor Shoulder-knot, three Suspected, an Olive and Angle-striped Sallow.

Limnaecia phragmitella

Hedya salisella

Dark Spinach

Scarce Silver-lines

The first night at Staveley I sited the trap at the woodland edge backing on to the open rough field near the stone cairn.  Being slightly different habitat to where Charlie had sited the other five traps, it added about 15 species to the overall list of 170+ species.  I only recorded my own trap catch for the purpose of these totals.  Having actually enjoyed a few hours in my own bed it was a return to form with Tuesday night being an all-nighter by the hide in the reedbeds at Staveley.  I should have known better as it took 4 hours to do the two traps in an increasingly stiff breeze, and ran out of time and pots....   New species to me were three Adaina microdactyla, three Dark Umber, Bordered Pug, Pimpinel Pug, while others of interest were 25 Calamotropha palludella, another Dark Spinach, three Southern Wainscot, a Brown-veined Wainscot, five Fen Wainscot and two Silky Wainscot.

Adaina microdactyla

Bordered Pug

Pimpinel Pug

Not a bad return for a few nights trapping! 

Catch up, from five days trapping...

The warm weather continues, with the warmest end to September, and October day since records began, with temperatures hovering just under 30 degrees C.  So following on from the first night at Brimham, I trapped at my regular sites at Kilburn woods, Pilmoor and Silton Forest on successive nights, and then a speculative trap on the moorland at Dallowgill last night.

28 Sep - Kilburn woods - 54 moths of 19 species, the highlight being 11 Merveille du Jour, one of the jewels of the autumn traps.

Merveille du Jour

Pale November Moth, conf. by gen . det.

29 Sep - Pilmoor woods - 97 moths of 24 species, the highlights being site records of two Feathered Thorn, a Turnip, Black Rustic and a Large Wainscot. 

Feathered Thorn

Sallow, flavescens form

Large Wainscot

30 Sep - Silton Forest - 100 moths of 21 species, the highlights being singles of Feathered Thorn, Mottled Umber, Autumnal Rustic and Black Rustic, five Merveille du Jour and a Brindled Green. 

Mottled Umber

Brindled Green

1 Oct - Dallowgill Moor - six moths of six species.....although still mild, +18 still at 2300, there was a breeze which was difficult to avoid on the open moorland.  The Robinson trap which was sited in a small hollow actually had nothing in it after 3 hours, while the light over a sheet on the more open site, struggling to attract the meagre six moths.  However, they did include Pale Eggar and a very worn Haworth's Minor, the latter a moorland species I only caught up with in Ireland in August, and a new moth for the 10k square.

Pale Eggar

Brick

Haworth's Minor (not the best shot but it escaped shortly after!)

That sinking feeling.....

So, there I am, half way to 108 today, the same day 100 years after the launch of the Titanic in 1911.  And what a beautiful day it has been, with bright sunny skies and fair-weather cumulus, although a cool breeze.
A visit to Nosterfield NR, where I was greeted to the sight of a stoat tackling a rabbit, with two other rabbits trying to distract the mustelid - a bit one-sided, with the stoat, although smaller, being able to drag the rabbit off into the long grass where it was swiftly dispatched.  The adult Mediterranean Gull was still on the island in exactly the same place among the Black-headed Gulls, and continued to be harassed.  Were the Black-heads making half-hearted mating attempts, or just mobbing it?  The chicks on the island wandered around the Med Gull, and one received a sharp peck.  Is the Med Gull breeding?

A drive on up to Dallowgill, one of my favourite places, where I had Whinchat, and brief flight views of a Ring Ouzel, which was later heard singing.

Dallowgill

There were some of my favourite butterflies around, the exquisite Small Coppers, and plenty of Grouse about, uttering their distinctive calls, and bursting into their flickering flight over the heather moors.

Red Grouse, male

Red Grouse, female

Back to the Titanic.....

Launch of the Titanic, Belfast 1911

................which of course sank without trace within a year of its launch.  Today, officially my last day before redundancy, let's hope I fare rather better!

I can't finish on a down-beat note so here is my favourite Titanic joke....

The Great Magisto, was pleased to have got a job as the ship magician on the maiden voyage of the Titanic.  On the first night in front of the enthralled crowd, the magician started to perform his tricks, but was constantly interrupted by the ships parrot.  He would do one of his tricks, and the parrot would squawk 'it's up his sleeve, it's up his sleeve'.  He did another trick, and again the parrot screeched 'it's in his cloak, in his cloak'.  And so it went on, for the next few nights much to the exasperation of the Great Magisto.....
Then disaster struck, the ship hit the iceberg, and the magician was thrown into the water with the impact, but managed to cling to a bit of flotsam.  Much to his annoyance, the parrot fluttered down and perched on the same bit of driftwood, but for several days just did not utter a word.  The magician eventually spoke to the Parrot, and said 'I can't believe you have not said a word for days, especially when you did nothing but interrupt me during my act'.  The parrot cocked its head to one side, looked quizzically at the magician and said 'ok, I give up!...Where did you put the boat?'.