Moth'ers Little Helper - The Rolling Stones

If the predictions of the Weather Forecasters are anywhere near accurate, as they usually are these days, it looks very much like we will have to delve into the archive again sometime soon. 40+ knots of wind with more heavy rain so we were at the Moth Traps even earlier to log what maybe the last catch for a few days, which only amounted to

RED-GREEN CARPET

LESSER SWALLOW PROMINENT

NARROW-WINGED PUG

SCARCE PROMINENT

TREBLE-BAR
and

SILVER Y
Additionally, we very nearly brought luck on our side as square in the middle of the track and in full daylight stood a motionless

WOODCOCK
but only until we flashed up the camera - so still no decent image of this elusive bird.

Having fallen by the wayside by a day or 2 the weather may not be in sync with the Post but at least we have something to report rather than All Our Yesterday's once again.

Sunny and certainly warm enough it was considered likely that they Broad-bordered Bee Hawk-moths should have emerged, already 11 days later than there appearance last year so first stop the

now derelict 

WWII RAF BASE

and the lone
RHODODENDRON BUSH

only to find

BUDS

with only a single

about to break through while on the
Matchams Heath
most are in full bloom.
Not a journey without reward however as it was found that someone has laid a number of

REPTILE COVERS
across the area and also bringing to the log

the first couple of

HOLLY BLUE BUTTERFLIES
Back on the Heath and with the fine weather still holding it was no surprise to find a couple of male

EMPEROR MOTHs

on the wing

and the female from the archive to keep your eye in!
Additionally, there was a small scattering of

COMMON HEATH MOTHS

along with this

BLUE TIT
feathering its own nest.
Back to Base where the

CRABAPPLE TREEs
are looking resplendent, maybe indicative of yet another decent crop of fruits,
but far less usual c3

MALLARD
on the tennis court while the

MAGPIE
on the surrounding fence

looks to have a broken lower mandabil.

ROOKs

are also in daily attendance

again not surprising as maybe having in excess of 30 broods to support not 1000 yards away while

smart looking

BLACK-HEADED GULLs
are always tempted by the scattered bread.
Far less usual in the garden is the

JAY
while at the pond parent birds continue to nurture the young

MOORHEN
but stand advised the

Clouds are Gathering.

A Prickly Encounter

 It was while traipsing across the Heath at dusk, after yet another hard day at the office, that a movement caught the eye. We have been keeping a look out for returning Nightjar’s but no, this was far more rotund and nipping along at a decent pace. Closer inspection showed it to be what was thought to be a young

HEDGEHOG

but in the fast fading light we were only able to click half a decent Snap while the Video function didn't seem to want to opperate at all. To make matters worse it then rolled itself into

a tight ball at our approach. This being the first ever encounter of a 'live' animal across the Recording Area we did not want the moment to be missed so consigned it to the ever-ready stout box, always kept in the boot, and gave it food and shelter on our return to base. We will end the Post with the sequel

Again little to show for the Burning of the Midnight Lamps just 13 Macro Moths of 8 Species and all staples with the best being a brace of

POPLAR HAWK-MOTH
this tiny

EARTHWORM

an unidentified
LARVAE

along with one of the presumed
Long Horned Moths
body size little more than a grain of rice - we don't do Micros!

Although we are now well past the mid-point of the season there are still

no signs of 'green', not even a bud, on the
ASPENS

which doesn't seem to be bothering this

GREY SQUIRRELL
munching away

before indulging in a bit of

sprucing up

between nibbles

followed up by a brief interlude with our first

PAINTED LADY
BUTTERFLY

maybe gaining susternance from the

GREEN ALKANET
While still in attendance on the Moors River there is still no indication of the

EGYPTIAN GEESE

or

GREYLAG GEESE

coming to terms with procreation and as promised we end with the full bifta of the

HEDGEHOG

showing reluctance to get going in the first instance

but eventually starting to uncoil and

surveying the
Lie of the Land.

Getting into gear it seemed to start

Looking for Food

and even though 'well protected' in itself

we were not about to leave it until it found cover!
WHAT a MOMENT!

Lady and the Lake - Nimue

 Mother Nature is a Wonderful Woman indeed allowing us to meander along looking at what is usual and expected then, every so often, tossing a spanner into the works - ask any Twitcher! With the weather pattern continuing to be wet and noisy we were not expecting a lot from the Moth Traps and that is just what we got, in fact just c2 Insects with one being this beauty

the archetype
BIRCH MOCHA

while this is a Mind Blowing Variant we have never clapped eyes on before!
THANK YOU MUM.

Away from that we first of all checked on the 

MUTE SWANs
which has been a daily visitation since the first egg was laid on 12/04/2021, but only revealing what is beneath sporadically,

with this morning being something of an exception as both a bout of

Ships Husbandry was also underway while again

expossing all c8 eggs.

Concerning at both sites, there was nothing to report from the Irrigation Pond while the Little Grebes on the Gravel Pit were either absent or hiding/nesting while the pair of

TUFTED DUCKs

continue steaming back and forth from one end of the pond to another without a trace of breeding!
More Bad News as we reached the most northery of the Solar Panel Compounds to find another text to the Shepherdess was required to report the 4th Ewe of the season as an

ESCAPEE

The path is clear though no eyes can see, the course laid down long before.

And so with gods and men the Sheep remain inside the pen,

though many times they’ve seen the way to leave

Firth of Fifth - Genesis

not an iota of improvement across the Heath with just this single male

CHAFFINCH

venturing within lens lenght but then only for 6 seconds -
Executive Decision Time
let's try

and while talking of MORGUE'S
No People, the Lowest number of Birds ever seen at this site (not a singlr Bird on the surface of the Lake) and quite rightly a Military Style One Way System Walkway.

The 'Highlight' should we wish to give it a name came at the well places
NESTING PLATFORMs 

this one exclusively occupied by Black-headed Gulls

while the other 2 were being shared with

COMMON TERNS

the first we have seen this year while at the end of the track

an extremely

vocal male

BLACKCAP

Babbling Brook with other

SONGSTERs

Old Lady of the Forest
along with another First for the Year

SHORT-EARED OWL
if only!
A short visit so ample time to pop along and visit a family friend, a lady of senior years, always vibrant and loves her garden.

At the start of the drive a mighty
HORSE CESTNUT

full of 'Candles' with some of them "in the wind" before finding the

The Lady of the House
trying to avoid making the tea.

Something of a Strange Sight this year

(Dad's got the Groceries)

as we don't appear to have a single Bird, let alone a Breeding Pair on home turf?

GOLDFISH

then back to Base just in time as
Funnel Cloud
was trying to form, followed byyet another

DOWNPOUR.