Bay Watch 28/06 staring Lepidoptera

The patch wander this afternoon was dominated by butterflies but the day got off to a belting start when I got a look at two Lime Hawkmoths caught last night in Tynemouth by Tom Tams. These are the 2nd and 3rd records for county. The first county record was last year in Toms garden!

Here's a dodgy pic taken with my phone.

979 Lime Hawk-moth Mimas tiliae

Now back to the patch.

It was a very warm afternoon along the waggonway

A recent small fire

I lost count of Speckled Wood along the waggonway and in Holywell Dene. 

I even had one in my Moth trap on Sunday morning!

This stunning Large Skipper was seen along the waggonway

This field was ploughed on 16th May. It is now a healthy potato crop

In Holywell Dene, a couple of Chimney Sweeper moths were out feeding

Walking towards Whitley Bay near St Mary's I had a probable
Hobby fly by - not good enough views to nail it. 

Common Blue at St Mary's Wetland

This Sedge Warbler fed young at St Mary's

The verges near Whitley Beach have been left uncut

 allowing for a colourful display of wild flowers.

Marbled Beauty & Friends

Some more moths from over the weekend. Feel free to help ID the ones with question marks.

Marbled Beauty

1176 Epiblema trimaculana

Ingrailed Clay

Ingrailed Clay

Udea olivalis

Scoparia ambigualis

Freyer's Pug

Fan Foot

Middle-barred Minor

Barred-fruit Tree Tortrix

Large Yellow Underwing

Green Pug

Double Square Spot

A Dozen Mystery Moths

Here's a few moths I'm struggling to identify due to time, inexperience and pressure to go to the pub, so any help is greatly appreciated.

Only one left to ID. Thanks to Tom Tams for help.

Small Dusty Wave

Clouded Bordered Brindle

Timothy Tortrix

Eupoecilia angustana

Metzneria lappella

Coleophora sp

7

Riband Wave

Phlyctaenia coronata

Dusky Brocade

994 Clepsis consimilana

Scrobipalpa costella

One step too far?

The cries from a Herring Gull chick drew my attention this morning. The poor thing had walked off it's chimney nest site and slid down the roof. It attempted to walk back up the roof but inevitably gravity won. Thankfully it slid onto a projecting window below and not to the cats below. It does, however, remain in a very dodgy spot so I'm not too optimistic for this one.

While this was going on a Goldfinch was busy munching through some corn flowers and ignoring the niger seed that's been out for 4 months without attracting a single bird.

More Holywell Mothing

Last night Tom Tams and I went trapping close to Holywell Village in a small wild flower meadow over looked by mature trees. It looked like the perfect spot but in the end it produced a disappointing number of moths.

2305 Small Angle Shades (Euplexia lucipara)

Species list, courtesy of Tom.

Coleophora species (Coleophora sp.) 1

0017 Common Swift (Hepialus lupulinus) 3

0288 Caloptilia stigmatella 1

1076 Celypha lacunana 7

1201 Eucosma cana 5

1293 Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella) 3

1334 Scoparia ambigualis 1

1708 Single-dotted Wave (Idaea dimidiata) 2

1727 Silver-ground Carpet (Xanthorhoe montanata) 30

1776 Green Carpet (Colostygia pectinataria) 7

1802 Rivulet (Perizoma affinitata) 1

1827 Freyer's Pug (Eupithecia intricata) 2

1834 Common Pug (Eupithecia vulgata) 4

1906 Brimstone Moth (Opisthograptis luteolata) 3

1931 Peppered Moth (Biston betularia) 1

2089 Heart and Dart (Agrotis exclamationis) 4

2305 Small Angle Shades (Euplexia lucipara) 1

2474 Straw Dot (Rivula sericealis) 6

Tom's garden, on the other hand, was a scene from 'Life on Earth' with traps full to the brim and walls festooned with all manner of moths.

My garden had a modest catch including;

1955 Common White Wave (Cabera pusaria)

1216 Cherry-bark Moth (Enarmonia formosana)

1293 Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella)

1338 Dipleurina lacustrata

Holywell Dene Mothing

Went mothing with Tom Tams and Craig Scrimgeour last night in Holywell Dene. Here's the catch list courtesy of Tom.

Ghost Moth

0014 Ghost Moth (Hepialus humuli) 1

0017 Common Swift (Hepialus lupulinus) 9

0018 Map-winged Swift (Hepialus fusconebulosa f. gallicus) 3

0216 Cork Moth (Nemapogon cloacella) 1

0544 Coleophora albicosta 3

0597 Elachista atricomella 1

0724 Metzneria lappella 1

0874 Blastobasis lacticolella 2

1076 Celypha lacunana 6

1111 Bactra lancealana 3

1255 Cydia ulicetana 1

1293 Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella) 3

1727 Silver-ground Carpet (Xanthorhoe montanata) 50+

1738 Common Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata) 5

1764 Common Marbled Carpet (Chloroclysta truncata) 7

1776 Green Carpet (Colostygia pectinataria) 4

1802 Rivulet (Perizoma affinitata) 2

1803 Small Rivulet (Perizoma alchemillata) 1

1819 Mottled Pug (Eupithecia exiguata) 5

1837 Grey Pug (Eupithecia subfuscata) 1

1906 Brimstone Moth (Opisthograptis luteolata) 4

1931 Peppered Moth (Biston betularia) 1

2326 Clouded-bordered Brindle [melanic form] (Apamea crenata ab. combusta) 1

2330 Dusky Brocade (Apamea remissa) 1

2340 Middle-barred Minor (Oligia fasciuncula) 4

2441 Silver Y (Autographa gamma) 2

2477 Snout (Hypena proboscidalis) 1

Beautiful from any angle

Caught my first Angle Shades moth on Friday

and other new moths included

The Gothic

Mottled pug

Shoot to kill in Tynemouth?

This is a picture of a Herring Gull hanging dead from a TV aerial in Hotspur Street in Tynemouth. It's been here since last Friday.

A victim of local residents who wish to rid the village of gulls
 or did it hang itself after tuning into the last England match?

Chimney Pot Babes

 Herring Gull chicks on my neighbour's roof - there's 3 in total