NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

For the inland moth trapper the chance of recording a scarce migrant moth is much higher than an inland birder recording a scarce migrant bird. I like to think of Vestals, Bordered Straws and Delicates as the lepidopteran equivalent of Yellow-browed Warblers, Red-backed Shrikes and Wrynecks - maybe not quite equals but I'm sure you get my drift. The latest heatwave has managed to send some more migrant moths to my modest inland garden in Surrey, with the first record of Ni Moth (pictured) plus two Small Mottled Willows - and on the back of two Striped Hawk-moths so far this year (plus a good few months of possible action to come) 2026 is turning out to be a decent year for continental wanderers. I have been recording the moths here in Banstead since 1987 and thought it a worthwhile exercise to tot up all of the migrant species that have come my way. I left out the much commoner species, such as noctuella, ferrugalis, and Silver Y, plus a few others that may have been pure migrants ...

Hard work. Those two words more than adequately summed up the local natural history scene - at least as far as this recorder was concerned. I spent a lot of time trudging between home and Mogador, via Canons Farm and Epsom and Walton Heaths. I also embarked on a breeding bird survey for the Surrey Wildlife Trust at their new Priest Hill reserve, with one bizarre record being a displaying Red-legged Partridge for over a week, in this largely suburban setting. The saving grace was a modest, but colourful, passage of chats, with double counts of Wheatears and a sprinkling of Whinchats - and who doesn't like a good spring Whinchat (left)? I also came across a couple of Black Redstarts (Canons Farm and Langley Vale Farm)  and Common Redstarts (Canons Farm). I recorded at least 5 Red Kites but remained empty handed when it came to such desirable raptors as Osprey and Marsh Harrier that others recorded locally.  It remained poor for moth and butterfly numbers, with the garden MV st...

The Dungeness Bird Observatory moth trap was not exactly leaping last week, but compared to some of the totals that nearby recorders were obtaining, it wasn't really all that bad. In fact, this particular moth was notable indeed: DBO's fourth Ni Moth (above) was the star capture on the night of the 10th/11th and was a new species for me. There didn't seem to be much in the way of migrant lepidoptera around, save for a few Painted Ladies and Sean Clancy's monopoly on Bordered Straws! What was common were these: The variable and ubiquitous Light Feathered Rustic - I have recorded it twice in my Surrey garden, no doubt wanderers from the small populations that are present on the downs. The variation in colouring and marking is most obvious when you are confronted with a DBO trap full of them.