NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

This morning saw the capture of a Clancy's Rustic (above) at the MV - the first to be recorded here in Banstead and my 652nd species (of which 413 are macros) for the garden. This species was unknown in the UK until my friend Sean Clancy caught and identified one in New Romney, Kent in 2002. As much as it is a moth that has only been reliably recorded in the country for 21 years, it is no longer a rare migrant but has now become a colonising resident. It's appearance in Banstead was not unexpected, in fact was overdue, having colonised southern coastal counties and is now making inroads into Surrey and the London area. Our moth fauna is in a state of flux - of course, no group of creatures stays still, but the range of many moths have exhibited great changes in recent years, particularly migrants colonising the south-east of England. Others, pure residents, have suddenly increased in numbers so that they now appear in areas that they shunned not that long ago. I thought it migh...

Charmouth could not be any more tucked into Lyme Bay. It's not the sort of place that anybody would pick as a place to sea watch from - you can see Portland Bill to your left and a number of Devon headlands off to your right. Maybe the best time to scan seawards is during stormy weather, when the odd bird may seek shelter. It was debatable as to if today could claim to be 'stormy', more like 'windy', but the optimist in me thought it was worth a go. The result was so-so, with 98 Gannet and 3 Fulmar west. On the beach, a first-winter Common Tern and two Mediterranean Gull (adult and 2nd winter) brightened up what was fast becoming a dreary day. This afternoon I wandered Stonebarrow Hill and the slopes barely seeing a bird. I saw nor heard a warbler all day... A low moth trap total did include this Clancy's Rustic, named after my old mate Sean.