Hard going and a good moth


Since I last posted, Priest Hill has been given a good grilling on several occasions. It has been quite hard work, with few migrants either passing overhead or having been grounded. Needless to say, mid-to-late August is rarely totally useless, so a single Tree Pipit (20th) and two Wheatears (this morning) did their best to rescue the situation. This is a project worth pursuing - even though the site may be 99.9% dry and in reality just a large area of playing fields (mostly abandoned) - as it possesses little ornithological record. And just as I felt with Canons Farm, it appears to have plenty of potential. I make no excuses for the overload of Wheatear images that accompany this post. As Tony the Tiger used to say (ask your parents), "THEY'RE GREAT!!"



After a quiet mothing week (save for a fly-by Hummingbird Hawk-moth on 18th) this morning's MV haul was rather good. Star capture was a Scarce Bordered Straw (below, the garden's 7th and first since 2006), with a splendid back up cast comprising Jersey Tiger (6), Toadflax Brocade, Gypsy Moth, Tree-lichen Beauty (3), White-point (2),  Small Ranunculus, Oak Nycteoline and Sallow Kitten (bottom). Most of those species wouldn't have been on my radar 12 years ago...


I must admit to thinking that this might be a Poplar Kitten at first...

Comments

Derek Faulkner said…
Every reserve has it's up and downs. The Swale NNR was designed to be a classical example of North Kent wet marsh, after a year and a half of drought it's far from that.
22 August 2017 at 19:26
Steve Gale said…
That's very true Derek - take the rough with the smooth.
22 August 2017 at 19:35
Arjun Dutta said…
Nice pictures of the Wheatear.
I played a cricket match on the playing fields next to Priest hill in June, and could hear plenty of Skylark and also a Woodlark from Priest Hill that day.
22 August 2017 at 21:12
Steve Gale said…
That they are Simon
22 August 2017 at 21:31
Steve Gale said…
Hi Arjun. A Woodlark would be a very good record for Priest Hill. Was it in song?
22 August 2017 at 21:32
Arjun Dutta said…
It was, the date was 17th June. As I was ill I spent more time birding than playing cricket! I don't know, nor have I heard, any other birds that sound like a Woodlark. If there are I'll check as I never trust what I see or hear!
23 August 2017 at 19:52
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