I just had a very brief walk today at the pools east of Wells with my cellist colleague (and moth expert!) James Halsey, who’s visiting us for rehearsals prior to a concert and course at the weekend. However we were pleased to find, amongst the redshank and avocets, a wood sandpiper. There were also a good number of black-tailed godwits and we saw buzzard and marsh harrier. However the high point was when we saw two spoonbills flying in: They landed quite close to the path and we were able to get excellent views (and I got some good photos even though the light wasn’t ideal).
Brenda writes: “There were two new moths in the trap this morning. The spectacle is a really fun moth. If you look at it head on it looks as though it’s wearing a pair of glasses. It also has a serious topknot! It’s very easy to just look at this feature, but it is actually a very beautifully marked moth.
A completely new moth for me is the rustic shoulder-knot which could easily be “just another brown moth”: However its markings are really nice – and totally distinctive.”
New species for May 18th:
Moths: rustic shoulder-knot, spectacle
TOTALS TO DATE:
Birds = 191
Moths = 50
Wildflowers = 93