Foxley Woods

Wednesday, July 28 

Only the second of the Norfolk Branch of the Butterfly Association's moth-ing sessions. The pandemic curtailed the last two years' programme, much to everyone's disappointment. For various reasons - including Covid restrictions - this year's programme has also been cut to two events. The first, at Catfield, was limited to 30 participants, booking was necessary. I expected yesterday's meeting at Foxley Woods to be very popular, it usually is, unrestricted too. Only nineteen of us gathered in the third car park at 9 .a.m. The weather forecast had promised heavy rain and thunderstorms. maybe that put people off. It was actually very good for those of us who attended, egg boxes made their way round fairly rapidly, allowing few escapees.

Foxley Wood is a hotspot for butterflies, including white admiral, meadow brown, speckled wood, ringlet, purple hairstreak and silver-washed fritillary. Purple Emperors are the biggest draw.

Photo of a male Purple Emperor taken from a website.

 

Large numbers have been reported this year. They fly high around the treetops. If you are lucky, they can also be seen low down feeding on tree sap - and looking for salts in animal dung. Who knew that dog mess could be useful - but not to be encouraged. 

It was dull and overcast yesterday, we didn't see any butterflies at all. We did see a good selection of moths. One of the more common was Minor Shoulder-knot, a moth we have never seen in our garden. 

Not my photo.

 

There was a good selection of micros too. Some of then only identifiable by their genital detail, viewed under a microscope. We have several members who have attended a course enabling them to do this. Andy W did the honours this time. Thank you.

Last night's garden catch was pretty poor in both number and variety. BUT. We did trap one of the glamour moths, our first this year.

Garden Tiger. Gently encouraged with a soft paintbrush, it opened its wings enough to show the equally stunning underwings.

 

 

There was one at Cley this morning too. One of the staff appeared and, on viewing this splendid moth, said, 'Wow, wow, what a beauty'. 

Busy Days

Tuesday July 27

In between lunching with friends, moth-ing at home and at Natural Surroundings, gardening and general dealing with life, I've been sorting recent photos. 

On Snettisham Beach, the Horned Poppies are splendid

 

 Pam spotted this yellow umbellifer in the hedgerow. We identified it as Wild Parsnip. 

 

New moths for the year keep appearing in our garden traps. 

Black Arches with its handsome Denis Healey antenna 

Catoptria pinella , one of the many attractive, and easier to identify, micro moths.

     Dusky Sallow

Speckled Bush-cricket - excellent camouflage.

Accidental Twitch

Friday July 23 

Wader-hungry, I'd planned a visit to Snettisham on our only 'free', non weekend day, for two weeks. It started well. Pam appeared, to tell me that, as she got the car ready, she had startled two Green Woodpeckers from John's front lawn . Then, both birds, an adult and a juvenile, could be seen anting around our small garden pond. Through two layers of double glazing - the french doors and the sun lounge window, I took a few photos. Such easily spooked birds, they disappeared as soon as they saw a movement.

 

We bypassed most of our usual stops, intending to reach the Wash before it got too hot. We needn't have bothered, it was overcast and dull all day in a pleasant upper 60s temperature.

Ever hopeful, we took the back lane to Abbey Farm, stopping in a gateway from which one can view the base of the old Oak tree, a favourite Owl haunt. A little bit of manouvering enabled me to see hrough the gate and a small gap in the extremely tall vegetation. Bingo. A Little Owl.

 

 

Driving through Ditchingham, my phone informed me that there was a Western Sandpiper at Snettisham RSPB. Amongst the Dunlin on an ebbing tide.  It's not possible to hurry along the Chalet Park track. Nor the opening and shutting of the gate. Breasting the rise onto the sea wall. a small huddle of telescoping birders clustered on the paved walkway in front of the near chalet. Promising. The bird was between the far boats, in the middle of the Dunlin flock, which was scattered along the wet foreshore. I scoped the area, looking for a bird without a black belly, sporting a longer bill, long wings, and a short tail. Yes. Western Sandpiper. A good year tick - and in summer plumage. Not the best of views. but not our first UK bird. 

Black-tailed Godwits, the Snettisham swirling flock of thousands of Knot, Avocets, Curlew, Turnstone, Ringed Plover, Redshank.  Wader hunger assuaged somewhat. There was a goodly group of loafing Sandwich and Common Terns on the beach too. The birds on the last pool's islands were still bringing in fish for their young.

Holme NOA car park was our next and final stop. That track !! We both complained at every jolt all the way out, swearing not to return unless there was a specific reason. Hm. We ate a late lunch/breakfast in the car park. A Wren sang from the reed beds and then....Pam said ' did you hear that?'. And I had. A distant Grasshopper Warbler. My new hearing aids were worthwhile. Before we left, the bird sang very loudly from the near reedbed, we couldn't locate it though.

An accidental twitch indeed, and a very successful day.

Nearly Fledged

 Thursday, July 22

In common with much of Norfolk, there has been a paucity of nesting House Martins in Ridlington this year. The house opposite - where several pairs have nested as long as we have lived here - have none. Although we saw adults prospecting, there are none on ours either. But, there is one on John's house next door, which is viewable from our back garden. If you sit on a low seat in a small corner at the correct angle and peer into the apex overlooking our utility room.

Despite spending two sessions with camera poised, I failed to catch any adults on their short feeding visits to the two well grown young.

I think that Buff Arches is one of the most beautiful moths we trap in our garden. Its understated elegance, and delicate two-tone tracery delights me.
 

 

 

 

Identify the Moth

 Sunday July 18

Well, my mystery moth has been identified by a moth-er I trust.

One of these photos is NOT a Concolorous.

Can you pick it? 

The odd man out is a Small Dotted Buff

Pot Pourri

 Saturday July 17

Rising at dawn to remove the moth traps from breakfast seeking Jays and Blackbirds, Pam found a large circle of feathers on the back lawn. Probably a Sparrowhawk's breakfast. Definitely a Stock Dove from the colour of the feathers. We have five regular visitors, now four. 

Two days later, Pam found a completely plucked and headless body in the central flower bed. After all that hard work, the bird must have been too heavy to carry away. Maybe she disturbed it.

The traps have been a good source of invaders recently. Using the app., ObsIdentify, for an initial identification, takes a lot of the tedium out of searching books and the internet. I still verify the recommendation though.

Chrysops caecutiens. Splayed Deer Fly 

Speckled Bush-cricket

Pimpla rufipes. Black slip wasp

Agelena labyrinthica

Great Diving Beetle

Some nice new moths for the year too.

Great Brocade

Great Brocade Eurois occulta

(Linnaeus, 1758)

---

Wingspan 50-60 mm.

Although resident in the Scottish Highlands, this species is more often noted as a migrant to the East Coast, especially further north.

The resident populations are quite dark, almost blackish, but the immigrants are usually much paler and greyer.

Bog myrtle (Myrica gale) is the main foodplant, but other plants and bushes, such as sallow (Salix) and birch (Betula) are also eaten.

Norfolk Moths 

 Small Engrailed

 A moth caught overnight has been identified as a Concolorous, as eriously good catch. I am hoping for a positive result from others more experienced - and talented. Watch this space.

A Blast From the Past

 Tuesday, July 13

If you read my recent Blog about our week on the Lleyn, you may remember the visit we made to the camping ground on Williams' Farm in the Ogwen Valley.  Or the tale of the storm which blew down and ruined tents. 

Yesterday, I received an email from a past student, Sue, a grandmother herself, who first got in touch with us about fifteen years ago. She was present on that stormy camping trip and remembers it well.

Best, and most astonishing of all, she had come across a photograph of a Duke of Edinburgh's Award Silver expedition by Holmshill School, Borehamwood,  to that same campsite, in 1963. She found it on Facebook. A 25 year old me appears on the right forefront, next to Frank Welbourne.. I've never seen it before, To quote my daughter Sara, ''Good lord! How big was your hair, mum? Nearly as big as Mick’s trousers!

 

Thank you Sue. For the photo and the memories.

Catfield Fen

 Friday, July 9

The annual mothing event at the Butterfly Conservation/RSPB Catfield Fen is much anticipated. Owing to Covid restrictions, it's two years since the last one.. Catfield Fen reserve is part of the Ant Broads and Marshes National Nature Reserve (NNR), which covers much of the floodplain of the middle Ant Valley. The NNR is one of the best and largest remaining areas of fen habitat in Western Europe. The area is a stronghold for the Swallowtail butterfly - and moths such as Reed Leopard and Water Ermine.

Yesterday's meeting was restricted to previously booked 30 people. Double that number are usually present. Pam and I made sure that our application went in early. The traps are opened in a specially mown, small grassy area, very undulating, and covered in  wet vegetation. Warnings of possible flooding along the narrow entry lane, presaged the deep puddles frequently encountered. Greg waved us into a parking spot next to the table where the traps would be opened. Thank you. 

A few of us sat, others stood, in a straggling semi circle around the table. Mick D'Acourt, Catfield Fen warden, and an expert moth-er, opened the six traps put out by himself and the ever reliable Mike Gasson, around the fen, in pouring rain, the previous night.

Mick called the identification. Andy (micros) and Andrew (macros), both members of our moth group, recorded the catch. Our group was well represented, Greg, Mike, Ann and Richard as well as the others mentioned.

Egg boxes containing the moths, were passed around the group, anything deemed to be a bit special was potted before being passed. Just as well. Despite there being a no photography until the end rule, many people present took so long to look at everything that much had flown before it got to us - at the end of the line. Mick noticed and started passing stuff to us first which did pose a ' which way is this tray/pot going' problem. We all managed pretty well. Most of the potted micros came our way first, which pleased me.

Despite the number of traps, the quantity and species numbers were much lower than in previous years. A mirror of what seems to be happening across the country. No Lempke's Gold Spot at all and a lower count of Reed Leopards than hoped for. Just the one Water Ermine too. This is a photo of the one we had in our garden trap this morning. We do get some unusual species in our catch. 

 

I loved seeing a Silver Hook again. I've only seen one before.

 

Three of the micros were new too.

We had a better catch ourselves this morning. In addition to the Water Ermine, we had our first Dot Moth this year - a pot shot only.

 

Several intruders too. A Great Diving Beetle is an awesome beast. 

 

We often have another beetle species, which is known as an artic to me as it has a segmented head/slender body which bends around corners. I've got it down to family....Hemicrepidius hirtus,. Hairy Click Beetle

What is this? It used to be known as a capsid bug. A minor pest of grain.

The Nature Spot website says... Stenotus binotatus (Timothy Grassbug)
Family: Miridae

A distinctive although somewhat variable species, which is fairly large and roughly parallel-sided in shape. 

Males are generally yellow with extensive dark markings on the pronotum and forewings; females are greenish-yellow with the dark markings much reduced. Both sexes become more strongly marked and deeply coloured with age.

Widespread and very common throughout much of Britain in a variety of dry grassland habitats, both nymphs and adults of this species feed mainly on the flowering heads of grasses. 

Compare: Grypocoris stysi, Adelphocoris lineolatus

Adult: June-September
Length 6-7 mm

July Birding and Mothing

 Monday, July 4

When you set off with low expectations, the day can either be surprisingly good - or live up to expectations. Should that be down? As always, so good to be out searching and identifying, scanning the cloudy sky, enjoying the flowering verges, hedgerows, and poppy- bright fields. 

Both Tree, and House Sparrows, were occupying the nest boxes on Valley Farm Lane. The adults looking the worse for wear.

 

Barry was waiting for us on the return trip down the lane. No tales of kitchen chandeliers this time. Much of the chat centred around bird food. He wanted to know which fat balls we use. In response, he hefted a large box of them from his car boot to show us his - he couldn't remember the make. It was prices he was most interested in. Why? He is given his as payment for work done. Mole trapping on this occasion. It didn't help that Pam couldn't remember the price of 'decent' ones, as Van Der had run out of supplies on the last visit. Pam put alternate 'good' ones with cheapies in our feeders. The good ones soon disappeared, the cheapies are still there.

Sharp-eyed Pam spotted a Pyramidal Orchid growing in a verge near Abbey Farm. I was able to take a few photos for both of us, by leaning out of my side window.

 

The track out to Holme has been newly gritted, it's much better than the road past the houses.One now has to book a parking space at the weekend for the NWT car park, names are taken at the entry kiosk. We went to the NOA car park, which had more cars than usual. We added Sedge Warbler and Cetti's to the month list before leaving.

As we approached Holkham, the heavens opened. Very heavy rain. We parked in the estate gateway to wait out the main downpour. It looked lighter in the distance. It did eventually stop for me to scope, three Spoonbills, a dead tree full of Cormorants, Avocets, Shelduck and dozens of Greylag. The two Egyptian Geese looked very exotic in comparison.Only a short distance to the Victoria - where the road was dry.

At least thirty, brick-red Black-tailed Godwit, at North Pools, Wells were the remaining highlight.. 

The moth traps have been more interesting for the invaders, rather than the moths, during the last week or so. I do not enjoy the beetle species crawling with mites, nor the ones which emit a pungent odour when I scoop them into a tube for disposal in the garden. The tube stinks afterwards. It makes my brain want to close down.

Parasitic wasps are attractive, often difficult to assign to a particular species. This is an Ophion  wasp of which there are two in the UK. I think that this is 

Ophion obscuratus, Cream-striped Darwin Wasp rather than Ophion scutellaris.

This is:  Pimpla rufipes, Black Slip Wasp,  identified by its golden thighs