White-line Snout and Small Red Damselfly

White-line Snout - yet another addition to 'ye olde' macro list, courtesy of Martin. This is his second or third from Saint Hill, so he's clearly near a colony. It's a Nationally Scarce B species, confined to southern Britain. According to 'Waring, Townsend and Lewington' the larval foodplant is unknown. Many thanks Martin. Interesting to compare this species with the similar Pinion-streaked Snout - see below.

Pinion-streaked Snout - Exmouth 13/9/16

 

Currant Pug - not many species trapped last night but this, Turnip Moth, Small Rivulet and Ear Moth were all firsts for this year.

 

Small China-mark

Turnip Moth

 

Small Rivulet

 

 

Ear Moth

 

 

Small Red Damselfly (male) - Bystock - think this is a new one for me. Trying to learn the dragon/damselflies in a slow and relaxed manner. Red legs, all red abdomen and red pterostigma are the key features from what I can tell.

 

 

This hot weather is even bringing the Little Egrets to their knees!

Poplar Hawk - Buff Form

Mediterranean Gull - one of a dozen birds (mostly juveniles) on or off the beach first thing this morning. Other birds included c10+ Common Scoter, c40+ Sandwich Tern, 2 Common Tern, 1 Little Egret, 2 Curlew and 1 Common Sandpiper.

Female Polar Hawkmoth - buff form - a variation that I've not seen before or perhaps just not noticed before.

 

 

Large Red Damselfly

 

 

Swallow - near Lower Halsdon Farm

Black Tern

One of 4 Common Sandpipers off Mudbank on the rising tide this morning. My first autumn returners.

 

A juvenile Black Tern made its way quickly downriver off Mudbank at around 0955. I'm not sure I've had one as early as this before. It gained height as it passed over Exmouth Docks, but not before I was able to enjoy scope views. Always a joy, though I was kind of hoping it was another WWBT. Also off Mudbank today - 4 Common Sandpiper, 5 Mediterranean Gull, 15 Whimbrel, 9 Bar-tailed Godwit, 7 Mallard and a Peregrine. Positively lively by recent standards!

Narrow-winged Pug - this and Mullein Wave are infrequent visitors to the trap here in Exmouth. Other notables last night included another Barred Red, about a dozen Silver Y (including 2 f. gammina), one Rusty Dot Pearl and a single Diamond-back Moth.

Common Cloaked Shoot - Gypsonoma dealbana - the black streak near the middle of the wing helps separate this species from the similar G. sociana

Mullein Wave

Adult and second-summer Mediterranean Gull off Mudbank. The 2s is red-ringed H2Y4 - see below.

Daisy Bent-wing

 

Daisy Bent-wing - Bucculatrix nigricomella - trapped a few days ago but I've only just managed to put a name to it. Identifying micros cans be a torturous process, and I draw the line at dissecting or 'gen det'ing them. This tiny little moth isn't illustrated in 'Sterling, Parsons and Lewington' but I was able to narrow it down and use the excellent www.ukmoths.org.uk to get the final id (which may well be wrong by the way).

 

Shaded Broad-bar - flushed on yesterday evening's dog walk.

Gold Spot - an unbelievably stunning moth but not at all rare.

Hoary Footman

Dark Fruit-tree Tortrix and below could be the same?

Small Purple and Gold - Pyrausta aurata

Drinker

Barn Owl

Barn Owl - Otterton.

 

Up at 5am this morning to do a pre-work survey at a private site, not too far away from Exmouth. This bird flew in to the field I was surveying and hunted for 7 minutes, affording lovely views, but the light was terrible for photography. I don't think a Barn Owl has featured on this blog before - a sign of how rarely I see this species and how rarely I stray from the confines of Exmouth.

I've yet to see a live Barn Owl in Exmouth but I did find the well-decayed remains of one on Orcombe Point several years ago. A single bird was apparently present on a farm in Exmouth towards the end of last year but there just isn't the requisite habitat to hold one. Modern farming practices have made life very difficult for this species.

Bud Moth - Spilonota ocellana

Bright Bell - Eucosma hohenwartiana.

Silver Y - about a dozen trapped last night, along with a single Rusty Dot Pearl - the only immigrant representatives. I love the subtle colours and patterns on Silver Ys. My photos don't do them justice.

Slender Brindle - only the second I've trapped in Exmouth.

YLG and Moth Confusion

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull. I haven't been bitten by the usual YLG bug this year, but it was still good to find this individual loafing off Mudbank this afternoon. The beach has been so busy and the mothing so good, that YLG searching has been far from the forefront of my mind.

Juvenile Herring on the left and YLG on the right.

 

This extremely weakly-marked Heart and Club was initially thought possibly to be my first Sand Dart. Its overall sandy colouration and poorly defined kidney and dart marks certainly had me fooled. Thanks to Barry Henwood for putting me straight. Below is how I'm used to seeing Heart and Club.

 

 

Heart and Club - 20/6/18

Marbled Piercer - Cydia Splendana - one of the more distinctive micros and one of my favourites. It's small but compared to the micros below it's a giant.

 

 

Apple Leaf Miner

Micro sp - only c3mm long and barely visible let alone photographable!

Horse-chestnut Leaf Miner - also incredibly tiny.

Parornix sp

 

Parornix sp next to a 5p coin to give some idea of size.

 

Burnished Brass

Small Phoenix

Scorched Carpet - one of two trapped last night.

 

Lime-speck Pug - my first this year.

Bittersweet Fanner

Bittersweet Fanner - Acrolepia autumnitella - the larvae apparently mine the leaves of Bittersweet or Deadly Nightshade. This and White-legged Case-bearer were new 'micros' for me.

Female Beautiful Demoiselle - I was pleased to discover good numbers of this species utilising little sun traps beside the stream that runs alongside the Maer long stay carpark.

 

Male Beautiful Demoiselle - above and below.

 

 

Two potential confusion species - Clay on the left and the immigrant White Point on the right. Other immigrants trapped last night were half a dozen Silver Y and a single Dark Sword-grass.

Male Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

September Thorn

 

White-legged Case-bearer - Coleophora albitarsella

 

 

Barred Red