In between appointments in King’s Lynn and Holt today I managed an hour or so at Sculthorpe Moor. I haven’t been there since 18th March and the thing I immediately noticed was just how much the undergrowth had grown. Of course it had! Obvious observation really, but it struck me forcibly as I walked around. So because of this I actually saw very few birds but heard quite a lot, including a 201st species, stock dove, which won’t go on the list yet as – try as I might – I couldn’t see it through the tangled vegetation!
Brenda writes: “Suffering from a streaming cold I didn’t go anywhere today so it’s just as well the moths come to me. There were four new ones today, two macros and two micros. We had another new hawk-moth, lime. I particularly like its delicate colours.
We have now seen seven hawk-moth species this year.
Then an old friend, the large yellow underwing. It looks pretty drab when at rest but when it flies there is a flash of deep yellow from its hind or ‘under’ wing.
A challenge to Steve – to photograph one in flight.
I tend to only try to identify micros if they have reasonably distinctive markings and check them with James. I was successful with one, the pretty and very tiny scoparia ambigualis, and failed with the other, James correctly identifying it as celypha striana. How do they dream up these latin names?”
New species for June 15th:
Moths: lime hawk-moth, large yellow underwing, scoparia ambigualis, celypha striana
TOTALS TO DATE:
Birds = 200
Moths = 111
Wildflowers = 197