Poplar Roller, Meds

 Poplar Roller Anacampsis populella - neither rare nor beautiful but a garden first.

On Cockle Sands first thing - at least 100 Mediterranean Gulls, 3 Common Terns (inc 1 juv), c20+ Sandwich Terns, 3 Dunlin, 3 Bar-tailed Godwits and c120+ Curlew. Also off Mudbank - the lone Canada Goose and 16 Mallard. 

Female Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing. This species seems to be having a good season with 4 or 5 trapped last night. A male is pictured below

Male Vapourer. Migrants last night were 2 Silver Y, 1 Rusty Dot Pearl and 1 Small Mottled Willow.

Pebble Hook-tip, BLH

Pebble Hook-tip.

Mudbank early - 148+ Curlew, 4 Redshank, c370+ Black-headed Gulls, 30+ Mediterranean Gulls (flying upriver), 4 Bar-tailed Godwits, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Whimbrel, 24 Mallard, 6 Shelduck and 1 Canada Goose. Off Shelly Beach later on - 20+ Sandwich Terns and 10+ Mediterranean Gulls. Maer Rocks - 1 drake Common Scoter and 6 Manx Shearwaters.

Yesterday off Shelly Beach - 9+ Mediterranean Gulls, 9 Whimbrel and 4 Sandwich Terns.

3cy Yellow-legged Gull - Blackhill Quarry yesterday.

Hummingbird Hawkmoth. One or two visiting garden Buddleia today along with a couple Painted Ladies.

Painted Lady.

Broad-leaved Helleborine. I had eight plants a couple weeks ago but only four today. At least one probably ruined by slugs but am concerned that one or more may have been dug up!

Vapourer Cat

Vapourer Moth caterpillar .

Off the seafront first thing - 24+ Manx Shearwaters, 9 Mediterranean Gulls and c40 Gannets. Off Mudbank - c130 Black-headed Gulls and 1 Mediterranean Gull.

Yesterday off Maer Rocks early on - 2 Manx Shearwaters, 3 Sandwich Terns, 6 Mediterranean Gulls and 1 skua sp (prbably an Arctic). Thirteen Mediterranean Gulls were further down off the seafront.

Mudbank - 8 Mediterranean Gulls, 13 Mallard, 1 Sandwich Tern, 3 Bar-tailed Godwits and the single Canada Goose. At least 1 Crossbill flew over Bystock reserve.

4/7 - Mudbank - 3 Great Crested Grebes, 2 Whimbrel, 1 Sandwich Tern, 1 Mediterranean Gull and 1 Canada Goose.

Oak Nycteoline. Yet another variant to add to the growing collection.

Glyphipterix thrasonella.

Juvenile Redstart - Dartmoor.

Lesser Cream Wave.

 Small Mottled Willow - 2/7. Other migrants were 3 Silver Y, 1 Olive-tree Pearl, 1 Dark Sword-grass and 2 European Corn-borer.

European Corn-borer.

Holly Blue.

Fen Wainscot

Six Common Sandpipers on Maer Rocks this morning.

Maer Rocks early morning - 3 Manx Shearwaters, 2 Redshank, 1 Curlew, 6 Common Sandpipers, 14 Sandwich Terns, 1 Common Tern and at least 8 Mediterranean Gulls. Off Mudbank a little later - 2 Sandwich Terns, 4 Bar-tailed Godwits, 3 Whimbrel, 1 Canada Goose and 5 Mediterranean Gulls.

Yesterday evening - emerging flying ants above our house attracted good numbers of Herring and Black-headed Gulls along with at least 3 Mediterranean Gulls and 2 Sandwich Terns. Also a Sparrowhawk over and a second-summer Yellow-legged Gull on the Warren View playing fields.

29/6 - Maer Rock from 0630 'til 0655 produced 10 Common Scoters, 29 Shelducks, 2 Swifts, 1 Mediterranean Gull, 1 Sandwich Tern and a feeding flock of 18 Shags. Off Mudbank - 4 adult and a juvenile Sandwich Tern, 93 Curlew, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits, 1 Whimbrel, 3 Mallard and the single Canada Goose.

Moths trapped over the last couple of nights included Buff Arches, Small Fan-footed Wave, Riband Wave, Common Carpet, July Highflyer, Fern, Haworth's Pug, Foxglove Pug, Wormwood Pug, Currant Pug, V-Pug, Double-striped Pug, Scorched Carpet, Early Thorn, Scalloped Oak, Willow Beauty, Brussel's Lace, Barred Red, Privet Hawkmoth, Eyed Hawkmoth, Elephant Hawkmoth, Buff-tip, Lobster Moth, Brown-tail, Rosy Footman, Muslin Footman, Scarce Footman, Common Footman, Buff Ermine, Kent Black Arches, Heart and Club, Heart and Dart, The Flame, Large Yellow Underwing, Lesser Yellow Underwing, Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, True Lover's Knot, Double Square-spot, Bright-line Brown-eye, Smoky Wainscot, Shore Wainscot, L-album Wainscot, Large Ranunculus, Poplar Grey, Sycamore, Grey/Dark Dagger, Knot Grass, Coronet, Old Lady, Dark Arches, Marbled Minor agg, Common/Lesser Common Rustic, Fen Wainscot, Uncertain, Small Marbled, Oak Nycteoline, Nut-tree Tussock, Silver Y, Spectacle, Beautiful Hook-tip, Varied Tortrix, Wax Moth, Double-striped Tabby, Rosy Tabby, Garden Grass-moth, Satin Grass-moth, Small Magpie, Corn-borer, Rusty-dot Pearl, Coastal Pearl, Olive-tree Pearl and Box-tree Moth.

Fen Wainscot - my first trapped in the garden and a stunning little moth. Migrants last night were just 1 Silver Y, 1 European Corn-borer and 1 Rusty-dot Pearl.

This is only my second garden Shore Wainscot.

One of several Black-headed Gulls catching flying ants over our house yesterday evening.

One of at least three Mediterranean Gulls that joined the 'anting' Black-headed and Herring Gulls.

Two Sandwich Terns joined the masses of gulls from time to time.

A second summer (3cy) Yellow-legged Gull was on the playing fields at the back of our house late yesterday evening.

Small Marbled. This and a couple Palpita vitrealis (Olive-tree Pearl) were the only migrants in the trap on the 30/6.

A flock of 29 Shelducks flying in towards the river on the 29/6. Langstone Rock in the background.

Mudbank

Adult Mediterranean Gull.

Counts from Mudbank today included the first-summer Little Gull, 1 Common Tern, c195 Black-headed Gulls, 3 Mediterranean Gulls, 1 Redshank, c90 Curlew,  4 Whimbrel, 1 Bar-tailed  Godwit,   4 Shelduck, 1 Canada Goose, c70 Carrion Crows and 7 Great Crested Grebes. One Spoonbill scoped upriver.

Also today - Barn Owl - Yettington and on Bystock Pool - Kingfisher and the pair of Moorhens.

Reed Warblers, Little Gull

Good to hear two Reed Warblers in the West Lodge reedbed today. I was starting to think I wasn't going to record any in Exmouth this year as they're by no means guaranteed in the autumn.

Off the seafront this morning - a large feeding flock of c1000+ Herring Gulls, 4+ Mediterranean Gulls, c100 Black-headed Gulls, 1 Sandwich Tern and c65 Manx Shearwaters, at least 40 of which joined the feeding gull flock.

Off Mudbank - 1 first-summer Little Gull, 2 Common Terns, 3 Sandwich Terns, 4+ Mediterranean Gulls, c140 Black-headed Gulls, c90 Curlew,  2 Whimbrel, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits, 1 Canada Goose,  2 Mallard and 1 Peregrine. Nearby - 2 Reed Warblers at West Lodge and 2 Spoonbills scoped from the back garden.

Small Copper. My first Hummingbird Hawkmoth of the year was in the garden.

Osprey

Lu and I spent some time watching the Tawny Owls this evening.

Both Osprey and Spoonbill seen from the back garden today. Both firsts of the year for me. Off Mudbank - c130 Black-headed Gulls (including my first juvenile of the summer), 45 Curlew, 2 Mediterranean Gulls, 6 Sandwich Terns and a Great Crested Grebe. A quick look at Orcombe first thing produced just the singing male Cirl Bunting and 2 Peregrines. 

Yesterday of note - 2 Red Kites heading north up the other side of the river.

Tawny Owl

Vocal juvenile Tawny Owls are doing a bad job of staying undetected on the Bystock reserve at the moment.

I counted 11 Silver-studded Blues on a stroll round Withycombe Raleigh Common after work this afternoon. Nearby - 5 male Tufted Ducks on Squabmoor reservoir and 45 Common Spotted Orchids below the dam.

 Stonechat and Honeysuckle.

Bystock

Ringlet.

A very pleasant couple hours spent in Bystock DWT reserve this afternoon. Plenty of butterflies seen including several Ringlet and Marbled White alongside Small Skippers and a Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary. I also spent some time looking at the numerous Common Spotted Orchids that are quite widely distributed across the meadow.

Small Skipper.

Good to find five Broad-leaved Helleborines along Wright's Lane following last years disastrous showing. Another week or two before they flower I should think.