Sunday 19 April 2020

White Wags, Hobbys and Lichen Button


White Wagtail
 
Another quick Orcombe trip early-on produced 4 Wheatear, 1+ Yellow Wagtail, 2 White Wagtail, 2+ Willow Warbler, 3+ Meadow Pipit, 2 Black-headed Gull, 10+ Swallow, 1 House Martin, 8+ Blackcap, 6+ Chiffchaff and 5+ Whitethroat.
Not much seen from the back garden but 2 Hobbys were the obvious highlight with one high east at 1220 and another following pretty much the same line, but at slightly lower altitude, at 1433. The first bird at least had brown-tinged upperparts so was presumably a first-summer. Both circled a few times as they progressed eastwards.
Overnight mothing produced 2 Rusty Dot Pearl, 3 Early Grey, 9 Brimstone Moth, 4 Double-striped Pug, 4 Hebrew Character, 1 Clouded Drab, 3 Oak-tree Pug, 9 Common Quaker, 1 Mullein, 1 Flame Shoulder, 1 Lichen Button Acleris literana, 1 Twenty-plume Moth, 1 Narrow-winged Grey and 1 Lime-speck Pug.
 

Presumed female with diffuse border between black nape and grey mantle.


Presumed male - more sharply-demarcated black on nape. The mantle colour is a shade darker than the female's.


Lime-speck Pug


Silver Y - my first this year and, along with two Rusty Dot Pearl, a sign of some moth immigration in progress.


Sulpur Tubic Esperia sulphurella - a hatch of these in the garden today. The larvae feed on dead wood which might explain why they were congregating around our log pile.


Lichen Button Acleris literana. This is a poorly-marked individual of what can be a truly stunning species. The slight greenish hue is a clue to its identity, but I don't think I'd have got there without Barry Henwood's help!

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