Another new footman!

No, we dont have staff, but a new moth for the garden.

Four-dotted Footman. Caught at light (160w MVB).

When I put the MV out last night it was lovely and cloudy, warm and humid, but I was very disappointed when at midnight I popped out and found clear skies and dropping temps. Imagine my surprise when I pulled out a new moth for me and my garden in the form of a Four-dotted Footman - according to Barry Dickerson's uber Hunts stats spreadsheet, this is the first in my square since 1878!

© Steve Dudley / Panasonic Lumix FZ-30

Hawkmoths and Fan-foot

A good moth catch overnight with 180+ insects, the pick being -

One of my favourite moths, Eyed Hawkmoth, and only the third year I have caught them here (2004, 2007).

All pink moths are smart! Elephant Hawkmoth. The fourth consecutive year I've caught this species.

Fan-foot - not regular here by any means.

Hummer in the house!

Many of us enjoy seeing Hummingbird Hawkmoths in our gardens in summer, but this evening whilst having dinner, I was amazed to find a Hummer roosting above us on one of the kitchen velux roof windows!

Craptic!

Well, one of the lighter moments of today's BOU Records Committee (BOURC) meeting was a discussion on species diagnosibility. This included the term 'cryptic' in the sense that some species might not be identifiable to the ear or eye without the use of technology (sound recording, UV light, etc).

So if these unidentifiable species how should we refer to the 'subtlely different' species which we can just identify from one another. 'Craptic' (or maybe that should be craptick!) got blurted out. Like it!

Well, craptic, I know we've all had a few!

For the official definition of craptic, pleae see the BOURC's very own taxonomic and all things meaningful guru, Doc Martin.

Ladies and cheeky chaps

Anyone with even a smidgin of wildlife interest wont have failed to either notice or hear about the recent butterfly 'invasion' . Well, what probably amounts to millions of Painted Lady butterflies were seen moving north through Britain over the last week or so. They originate from North Africa and Butterfly Conservation want your records. Well, I saw a few thousand go through the garden and over the last few days they've stopped moving through and are now hanging around in good numbers. Apparently there's also been good numbers of Hummingbird Hawkmoths, but I aint seen any yet, but we do record them annually in the garden.

One of the other notable things in the garden are our Tree Sparrows. These cheeky chappies nest around the gardens here and the first fledglings are now begging for food in the garden. This one likes to sit on the phone wire outside on of my office windows and chirp his little head off!