New Species - Holly Blue

Yet another species added to the butterfly list in what is becoming another good butterfly year. I saw a couple of Holly Blues although I do not have a plausible picture to show as I couldn't get close enough and ID was done through binoculars. There were also more Small Coppers about as there have been over the last week. Previous to that I had only seen them once in prior years.

By way of compensation for the lack of a butterfly photo I show a picture of a female Common Darter dragonfly that happened by while I was attemting to photograph the butterfly.

Large Yellow Underwing

I found a moth carcass in the kitchen this morning so I got the chance to do a formal ID. It is the common Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba) which I have seen before.

Kingfisher sighting

Caught a brief glimpse of a kingfisher yesterday - my first sighting for many months. I also found myself in the midst of a group of long-tailed tits one of whom was studying me intently. Again I haven't seen them around for a while. I also managed to formally identify the dragonflies that have been around in the last few days as Southern Hawkers. I was pretty sure that was what they were but eventually one perched conveniently close and I could ID it.

New species - Elephant Hawk Moth

I have not yet explored the moth species here - at some point I am going to get the equipment to trap them at night and see what's around. However it was good to spot a monster caterpillar and be able to identify it as Elephant Hawk Moth (Deilephila elpenor). The picture shows just the front section of this huge caterpillar which I estimate to be about 100mm long. I have left a lot of Willowherb around this year and perhaps this is my reward as the larva feeds on Willowherbs. I hope to see the adult version as it has a stunning pink and olive green design.

14 Spot Ladybird

In a summer where I have seen lots of Ladybirds but they have all been 7-Spot Ladybirds apart from a few 2-Spot Ladybirds, it is worth reporting a 14-Spot version. Pictured on the French Beans....

Butterfly update

There were swarms of Peacocks out today - I have never seen so many. I could certainly see twenty at a time swirling around the buddleia. While watching them I saw a couple of Painted Ladies (pictured) which is a new species for me at the Moat House. I also saw a Small Copper in the field ( also pictured) which is a species I think I have only seen once before here. The Small Copper is photographed from underneath just in case the picture seems confusing. All in all not a bad year for butterflies with loads of Peacocks and Whites, plenty of Tortoiseshells and Red Admirals. The only butterfly I would expect that I have not seen this year, so far at least, is the Small Skipper.

Violence on the lawn

We have been enjoying watching the Moorhens out on the lawn over the last couple of weeks with various combinations of adults, juveniles and new chicks. This picture was taken a couple of days ago. We were watching one of the juveniles this afternoon in charge of three chicks today when tragedy struck - or at least we are pretty sure it struck. The weird thing was that we were just discussing the vulnerability of the chicks as they became more separated on the lawn. I had just finished saying that I thought the only response of the juvenile if danger threatened would be flight rather than fight. We were thinking of cats really. Suddenly the juvenile, followed immediately be the chicks, ran for its life. Swooping down at high speed was a bird of prey and it seemed to reach the moorhen family right on the banks of the moat. I assume it got one of the birds but I was already heading downstairs and out the back door so I didn't see the bird take off again.
I wasn't sure whether the bird was a buzzard or a sparrowhawk or indeed something else but it came down at high speed. If pressed I would say it was a buzzard. It was a traumatic and brutal moment and although it is perfectly natural it was also upsetting.

Shaggy Ink Cap

Not a new species but a fine example of the Shaggy Ink Cap. As before when I have found them I was a little too late to eat it as it had started deliquescing.