New Species - Six-spot Burnet

No picture unfortunately - the inconsiderate moth had disappeared in the time it took me to get my camera but it was a Six-spot Burnet. The vivid colours of this dayflying moth are a warning to predators that they are going to get poisoned. The meadow is starting to prove fruitful for new insect species after all.

Ducklings update

It's been a strange season for mallard ducklings. First there have been relatively few born; just two broods, one of nine and one of two ducklings. Secondly there was the way that the nine were taken off the moat directly and led away up the stream by the mother. The nine became four surviving ducklings and they have been seen from time to time on the moat whilst the two ducklings stayed around until they disappeared a few weeks ago. However no ducklings at all had been seen for several weeks until about ten days ago when the four plus mother started coming again and spending hours and days sleeping on the lawn by the moat (see picture). The youngsters are pretty nearly fully grown but still hang around as a family group with the mother watching out for them. The one with the head injury seems to get on perfectly OK so that has presumably healed up just leaving a circular scar. That is the thing with mallards, every brood is different and parenting techniques differ widely.

Meadow flowers

Now that the horses are no longer using the field I have a growing meadow and a chance to spot the flowers that are there. So far I have logged field buttercup, white dead-nettle, garlic mustard, ribwort plantain, cow parsley, common sorrel, stinging nettle, scented mayweed, broad-leaved dock, red clover, self heal, common knapweed, common mouse ear, white clover and yesterday ox-eye daisy (pictured). Nothing unusual but it makes for an attractive meadow scene. I am slightly surprised there are not higher insect densities given the flowers that are now flowering. Maybe they will take a year to build up.

Heron(s) resident?

There has been a heron pretty much living on site for the last few days. I am a bit concerned on what it might eat but as long as it sticks to sticklebacks in the moat then it is not a problem. At least it enabled me to get a picture that is in focus.

Barn Owl - heard but not seen

A barn owl was around last night but I was already in bed so I didn't manage to see it. Now that I have managed to get a Heron on film I think a Barn Owl is the next target

A pair of herons

Herons have been seenhere regularly but not frequently over the last couple of years. In the last couple of weeks there has been a number of sightings, which concerns me a bit because there are still one or two small moorhen chicks around. However yesterday at around five o'clock I was amazed to see two herons flying past the open back door. My rushed picture (apologies for the quality) was the first time I have managed to get a heron on film as they always fly away when spotted. On returning at 10:30pm we again disturbed two herons who were close to our back door. I am puzzling as to what they were up to.

New Species - Emperor Dragonfly

I didn't have to rely on my dodgy photos of a few days ago as the dragonfly I was hoping to confirm came back and I got a proper picture of it when it settled on a reed. Britain's largest dragonfly is here on the moat. It has been a great month for dragonflies and there are still some days of June left.

New Species - Blue-tailed Damselfly

It's been a good month for the dragonfly order with several new species recorded. This is mostly for damselflies (although I have a new dragonfly as well - I am just trying to confirm it from my dodgy photographs). The latest 'recruit' is the Blue-tailed Damselfly and there have been quite a few around in the last couple of days. They are a very common species so it is not a surprising discovery. There are also a lot of Azure Damselflies around. I also got a glimpse of a Broad-bodied Chaser dragonfly yesterday, the first sighting of this year.

New Species - Ghost Moth

I was having a wander through the growing meadow area which is getting tall now the horses have gone when I spotted a moth clinging to a buttercup stem. It turned out to be a female Ghost Moth ( Hepialus humuli) which fortunately was the first entry in my weighty Field Guide on moths. It boasts a long body and an extravagant hairstyle but is apparently technically a micro moth, albeit a very large one.

Ducklings update

I hadn't seen any ducklings on the moat for a couple of weeks until today. I suspect that now that fishing has been stopped on the pond next door it provides an alternative site for them. The family of four ducklings were back today looking almost adult although the mother is still slightly larger than her brood. The duckling pictured has sustained some sort of injury behind its eye although it seemed to be swimming and functioning alright.

New Species - Large Red Damselfly

This was considerably easier to identify (than the Azure Damselfly) given that there are only two red damselflies and one is restricted to heathland in Southern England and Wales. This brings the species of Odonata (Dragonflies) firmly identified to five: Southern Hawker, Common Darter, Broad-bodied Chaser, Azure Damselfly and Large Red Damselfly. I hope I can add a couple of species to that list this summer.

New Species - Azure Damselfly

I saw a blue damselfly a few days ago and assumed it was a Common Blue Damselfly. Today there were a few damselflies about and I managed to get a picture of the blue. It took a long time but eventually I identified it as an Azure Damselfly based on the shape of the black markings on segment 2 and the markings on segment 9. I never thought I would get that deeply into damselfly markings.

Good Year for Yellow Flags

Just about my favourite flower on the site and they seem to be increasing year on year. This clump is one of several and there are scores of flowers on it.