Playing Possum

The moth trap was operational on Monday night ( although it doesn't work entirely alone you know and I sometimes feel a bit guilty that Bun has to do all the early morning switching off duty while I remain tucked up in bed at home). One new species for the garden was caught, that being Cypress Carpet,  a fairly recent coloniser of Britain. Also in the catch were another Marbled White Spot and Brown-tail, both of which were caught the previous night too but I managed to lose them! The Brown-tail that was 'on the run' somewhere in my kitchen turned up on the same morning so I was able to photograph them both. This time instead of flying off and hiding they 'played possum' that is, they pretended to be dead. From what I've read about the Brown-tail (and its larvae) on the old  internet (apparently, for instance, several London Boroughs can order you to destroy any you find) a lot of people would be very happy indeed if they were, what with their evil hairy caterpillars shedding their poisonous hairs hither and thither. Be afraid! Today southern England tomorrow the world! Muwah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ah-aha-a-a-aaaaaaa!!!

Look we're dead......

.........I'm definitely dead....

Only kidding! 

Even at 4fps my camera couldn't get an unblurred flight shot.

I took this photo to show the spectacular set of antennae that this moth has. I mean, just look at them! (and NOT at my embarrassingly filthy window!)

Marbled White Spot

Cypress Carpet

I don't usually bother much with micos but this one took my fancy. I think it's Dioryctria sylvestrella or possibly Dioryctria abietella. Anyone know their micros?

Just a Few New Moths

The moth trap has been deployed on a couple of occasions this last week and six 'new for the garden' moths caught, those being, Marbled White Spot, Brown-tail (neither of these two photographed because they escaped, the Brown-tail is at large somewhere in my kitchen though so I might be able to re-catch it later when it gets dark), Scallop Shell, Barred Red, Large Emerald and Cream-bordered Green Pea ( a nice scarce species for a change).

Scallop Shell

Barred Red

Large Emerald

Cream-bordered Green Pea.

A very small moth only about a centimetre long. Its quite nice close up....

And Bird Number 300 is....

River Warbler!! Went back to Norfolk for the Saturday morning viewing and this time success! I got my wish of actually seeing the bird singing too. Brilliant! I only went back because Phil was driving this time, Joe and Bun also came along. You can read about it here ( without copious amounts of whinging for once) coz I'm still a little bit dazed and finding writing a chore. We were hoping to fit the White-tailed Plover at Slimbridge in on the way home but time constraints and the absolutely awful traffic situation meant we never made it. Bun kindly agreed to go up there with me for it today ( he'd seen it before at Seaforth) but it had done a bunk, all the way to Dungeness in fact, just about as far away it could be and still be in England! ****** pants!!*  I could go on about how Slimbridge was a nice day out and worth the money but to be honest the best thing about it was the bacon roll! I'm sure it would be just lovely with about 99% less people there.

I took a few digiscoped shots of the River Warbler singing, mainly because Phil said I'd never get a photo with it in the bush like it was, and I love a challenge! Perhaps he actually said I'd never get a decent photo? In which case he'd be right.

Can you tell what it is yet?

How about now? 

Well you can see the part where the song's coming from.

I took some video too. Really shonky. The bird is right on the right hand side. You will have to turn the sound right up to hear the song due to all the noisy twitchers but the best thing is you can see the whole bird vibrating with the effort of his singing. 

*     Insert any  'sentence enhancer'  of your choice that you'd never hear a person as genteel and cultured as myself utter.