The Happening - Supremes

 It had to happen sooner or later and while not O. T. T. the first decent 'crop' of Moths overnight, 48 Insects of 18 Species, with the most PROMINENT being the family group of PROMENENT's! Of the genre we managed to capture c4 seperated species overnight including

from the 2 traps at home

IRON PROMINENT

PEBBLE PROMINENT

along with

SWALLOW PROMINENT
all First's for the Year and also a far less beaten up and the second of 2022

GREAT PROMINENT
but in our excitement have jumped the gun slightly as before the lamps were even extinguished a

BRIMSTONE MOTH
had been plucked from a dew soaked lawn and likewise added to the Year List.

That might have been the end of it had we not recovered half a dozen

FLAME SHOULDER,s
from the more northen traps along with an earlyish

BIRCH MOCHA

and a single

MULLEIN 

from up north and also increasing the Year List.
Among the melee and transiting to the other traps we stopped to check on the Mute Swans to see if they had yet sorted their lives out - to be continued - but additionally catching no more than a 30 seconds glimpes of a

PIED FLYCATCHER
consigned to the RARE catagory here as only ever having recorded

this 3rd individual across our 10 years of recording here!

To the accompanying clatter of a Royal Navy

MERLIN HELICOPTER

we failed for a 4th time to coax the

Black Lamb
back into the compound, we will persist and to end on a high note we recieved reliable information

of c2

 RED KITEs

flying relatively low above the Fencing Centre the previous afternoon.

Hard Graft for Little Reward

 New Moths continue to appear as singles only but, better that than not appearing at all, with last nights contribution maybe more eye-caching 'down-side up

rather then in the conventional fashion

MUSLIN MOTH
accompanied by

a lone

DEVIL'S COACH-HORSE BEETLE

along with the first of what will likely be many hundreds of

CADDISFLIES

before the year is out.

Further north the

Broom is now in Bloom

while this young

ROE DEER
took to the high ground at the Irrigation Pond.
The first BLANK of the year from the second of the 2 Solar Panel Moth Traps

produced no more than this

BROWN-LIPPED SNAIL
(we hope you are not getting over excited)
and no more than these 2 fine looking

MALLARD
at the Gravel Pit.

A little rescue work required later on freeing this Ewe from the fencing
"the grass being ever greener on the other side"

while a second visit to the watercourses later in the day produced this pair of

GADWALL

an eye-catching
MOORHEN
and the still lone

COOT
Surely it can only get better??

Four Ducks on a Pond

 

a grass-bank beyond.
A blue sky of spring,
white clouds on the wing.
What a little thing, to remember for years.
To remember with tears!

William Allingham 1824 to 1889

 With the overnight chills persisting and aided and abetted by the continuing presence of the

PINK MOON
we did perch one of the home-bound traps

high on the Bund in hopes of a 'migrant' but securing instead a slightly early but not to be sniffed at

first of the year

LESSER SWALLOW PROMINENT
continuing the daily search we happened upon the

MUTE SWANs

making a first serious attempt at nest building on the opposite side of the main pond

from the successful site of last year, but never seem satisfied with a first, or even second, attempt!
A lack of birds, except for the most common, was the way along the southern edge but the

FLOWERING CHERRY

are providing a most welcome substitute.
Only a small addition to the Moth total in the first Solar Panal Compound but as a surprising bonus what may very well be c2 additional

RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE

to those seen over a mile away in the second compound or on the Heath on occations??
At the Gravel Pit we welcomed back the wayward

c4 male and single female (there's always one that won't co-operate) and Mallard

female

male
while at the final moth trap in the main Solar Panel Compound we now have the daily joy of watching the pair of

PIED WAGTAIL

engaged in their own bout of procreation within this large
Accumulator Cabinet
with the Sheep Proof Moth Trap in the foreground.
Finally, our thorough seach of the compound came up with this lone

WHIMBREL
in the rough

which may well have been a 'crumb' from the
Portland Bird Observatory Table
they having logged c201 on the same day??
Hopefully More Manana!

Signs of New Life

 Despite the continuing chill additions to the Moth Year List continue to trickle in with yesterday's additions including

both

KNOT GRASS

and

RED CHESTNUT
but after locating this

BLACKBIRD's

NEST
in the

Firewood Bunker

the day produces pecious little until early evening when along with friend Ian we embarked on a mini Pike Fishing expedition, also without success, but threw up a number of other interesting additions.

At the nearby small sattelite pond the

MARSH MARIGOLDs

are looking at their best while in the late sunshine the

EMU

proved irresistable.

The BEST find of the day and certainly qualifying as

New Signd of Life

was pointed out by our friends from Derby, a female

MALLARD

parading her c10 new Ducklings through the drains and across the paddock.
On the down side the

Mute Swans on the Main Pond 

seem to have given up their nest building efforts but at the
Smaller pond just up the road they,

or another pair, are again making best efforts.
For a finale we had to film through the glass of the window to catch the local pair of

WOOD PIGEONS
canoodling!