I've had the Moth trap out in the garden eight times so far in August and though the sepcies count has diminished somewhat (50 - 60 on average compared to up to 98 in July) the interest has not. Yes, the trap is inundated with Yellow underwings from five species - mainly Large Yellow Underwing and Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing - but there have been lots of others to enjoy. The Copper Underwings have started to appear and examination of the extent of the copper colouring on the underside of the hindwing had led to the identification of Svensson's.
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| Agriphila latistria |
The trap was doing well yesterday morning with three new micros for the 10km square SD72 - Agriphila latistria, Lobesia litoralis and Carnation Tortix - all localised species in Lancashire and never recorded anywhere near here!
The garden has been busy with young birds - it seems a good year for a lot of species as teh young Tits and Finches devour the seed. I've had some information on Redpolls we've caught - once came from Lincolnshire and another from South Yorkshire so look to be part of a movement west in the spring. There have also been plenty of Swallows and House Martins around and consequently, a Hobby paid us a passing visit on Thursday evening.
At Rishton Reservoir, things have been hotting up. The Grebes have four large young now and seem to be doing well. Last weekend I was amazed to find seven Arctic Terns on the far bank before they started to fish over the reservoir and today there were 13 Shovelers and two Teal briefly - a record count. Up to 320 Black-headed Gulls have been on the far bank and Canada Goose numbers have increased to 99. It's amazing what can be seen when there is no fishing disturbance!
I think the Moth Trap will need to be out again tonight - a nice warm evening should mean plenty of stuff flying around and the changeable weather can drop anything in!
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