To a Woodlark - not Percy Bysshe Shelley

While there is always great pleasure in catching such diverse creatures as

MOTHS

no matter what is caught, there is that everlsting hope that the

'RARE' 

will come your way!

 While the dusk sky looked perfect and the air temperature showing the same

the feeling was similar or same as the last few days and while the Rarity didn't show up

the DIVERSE did!

 FROSTED ORANGE

is considered a 'showy' Insect often showing different hues and shades

but this is the first time we have seen a

 RUNT

Last of the litter we guess (how many hundreds of eggs do they lay?)

but offered up against the 'life-size' illustration from Skinner this example can be seen to be tiny.

 KENT BLACK ARCHES

is usually over by now, said to have a flight period lasting from

late June to Early August, so it can only be the dreaded

Global Warming?

 Nothing unusual about

RUBY TIGER

simply a very pleasing Moth but on the late cusp of its given flight period.

 We have shown some examples of

LUNAR UNDERWING

in recent days but don't remember seeing this 'chocolate barred' example before.

 and last, but by no means least,

 another, our 4th this year,

 CLIFDEN NONPAREIL

(beyond compare!)

One of our resident

 WOOD PIGEONs

look a little lethargic as we made a start on the traps while

considered a little early in the day for this kind of thing 

(photography that is) as a few

 ROOKs

also seem to be edgeing their way back onto our patch

and feel as soon as ploughing begins there will be a whole lot more?

Little / Nothing at any of the Ponds was disappointing but on the

HEATH

there continues to be a resurgence of

 almost continuously vocal

 WOODLARK

 and while difficult / impossible

to estimate numbers it was considered that a

DOZEN

or more would not be an exageration. 

Something of a 'tongue in cheek'

COMMON BUZZARD

at distance and can be heard being mobbed by a 'murder'

CARRION CROWs

The final sighting of the day was also confined to the overhead cables, as a decent size 'pod' of

 STARLINGs

 chattering away (as can be heard)

 above the main gate into the estate.

Finally, while we have only reached the 65% intelligence level of

Professor Stephen Hawking

we have calculated that if each and ALL of of our Valued Readership

recruit just one more Reader that would nearly be 

Double of what it is Now?? PLEASE!

 HERE'S HOPEING FOR MORE, AND BETTER, TOMORROW!

The Lunar-Ticks are on the Grass - Pink Floyd

No amount of moaning or groaning is going to bring the

Moth’s to Book

and even though we are going through another

‘lean patch’ we count ourselves as lucky!

There must be ‘many’ others across the County and elsewhere

who would give their ‘high teeth’ for just a crack at

HEATH RUSTIC

 (c21 today)

 NEGLECTED RUSTIC

 (c5)

or even lesser mortals as

HEDGE  RUSTIC

and did in fact nab a 'first for the year', colloquially known as a 'Tick', 
for those who didn't get the headline, by way of the diverse

 LUNAR UNDERWING

 shown here in other of its guises!

Waking before daylight had even showed its hand we were already being serenaded by dueting

 CHIFFCHAFF

and

 COAL TIT

with a rauchous over-flying Grey Heron proving just to quick for yer average

Fixed Income Pentioner!

However, not to slow in following the kind angler who knocked the door to report a

 GRASS SNAKE

on the north bank of the

River Stour 

and a much appreciated bonus of his recently caught

CHUBB

 At the Gravel Pit was found a vocal

and active

 REED BUNTING

before moving onto the Heath for the weekly turning of the

 Herp's Covers

but found this

 SAND LIZARD

already soaking up what there were of the mid-morning rays.

 Only the 4th

SLOW WORM

of the year, which is worrying but did see a welcome bit of footage via the

Idiots Lantern

of a number of places around the country where they are either

Introducing Sand Lizards or Re-introducing them to a number of Heathlands!

Talking of which, the

 SPARROWHAWK

is a 'scarce' bird on our little patch of Moorland but today saw one fly

directly in front of us, then a second 

perched on a nearby fence post,

reminiscent of the proverbial bus!

By no means a bad day, we are already seeing large drops in most Wild Things,

so as a precaution we are already delving into the archive to

Keep the Hungry Fed!

Here's until Manana!

Reach For the Sky - Gary Moore

Most of yesterday's action was focused on Victualling and Bunkering Ship
so just a little less time in the field!
With these continuing high overnight temperatures our hopes remained high,
but the haul from the Moth Traps turned out to be more of a 
Tease then a Triumph!

CYPRESS PUG 
was the only addition to the Year List which now stands at a fairly modest
360 Species of Macro Moths.
Thereafter is was most pleasing to see just how many  presumed local bred

 HOUSE SPARROWs
and an influx of 
STARLINGs
are enjoying the bounty of the Golf Course while later
 it was found that the prodigal

 MUTE SWAN

had returned seemingly to finish 'feathering his own nest'.
Further to that and along the 
Moors River Water Meadows
it would seem the new 2020 born

CHAROLAISE CALVES
are at last enjoying the openess of
Free  Range!
Apart from the Moth above there was something a little more macabre
as we delved into anotther trap to find this

 SPIDER

administering its venom into the

 larger body of a hapless
CADDISFLY
 There was a very brief and poorly captured fly past of one of the

 SPITFIREs

 flew overhead 

before landing at the airport

  on what was in fact
BATTLE of BRITAIN DAY!

As an ex-serviceman myself all that could be done was to stand there and salute

and produce this small appreciation of all who did so much to 
Keep Us Free! 
 Whether there was a connection or not we don't know, but over the next 2 hours
the sky became full of one type of aircraft or the other!
 We will not even attempt to identify all / any of those seen.

LAUDA 

we have never even heard of the carrier

let alone seen it!

 We have seen this Big Chap many times before

 but the capacity just isn't there

to remember all the names - no disrespect!