Things hot up

Amazing how responsive nature is, isn't it? The tiny winged creatures feel the sun on their backs/cases and out they come! I find it all fascinating and mind-boggling how the destiny of the species relies on such basic criteria as weather. It also makes me think about how much climate change is really affecting things, when you realise that man's influence on the natural order of things has only taken a really serious effect for the last couple of hundred years, as opposed to the whole of man's existance over the last 60,000+ years! I can't help but think that the recent weather phenomena that we've experienced has hit populations hard before (probably for millenia) and yet just because we're experiencing it alongside nature, we feel we need to change things.
Droughts, floods, earthquakes, volcanoes - they're all natural disaster events that have happened previously, yes they have a catastrophic aftermath, but it is, after all, nature. I learned of a scheme just today where the effects of a limestone river drying up during the dry season, through the very natural phenomenon of the water finding it's way through the cracks and fissures underground instead of running on the surface like a 'proper river', were being "remedied" by concreting the river bed. Tourism was the reason - it won't look good if the river isn't there! Can you imagine the effects of ensuring the river is flowing all year?

Anyway, I digress due to the lack of sleep from last night because I was SOOO excited by finally seeing moths aplenty! The final tally was 41, which when compared to Sunday's 7 was such a vast improvement I was positively skipping round the garden. It was however interesting to note that 27 of those 41 were micros. Maybe the smaller species tend to respond quicker to the warmer temperatures?

Bee Moth

Waved Umber

Clouded Silver

Common Pug

Light Brown Apple Moth

Esperia sulphurella

Ancylis badiana

Caloptilia syringella

Tinea trinotella

All this frenzied activity puts my moth yearlist up to a much more respectable 56!

Also had this gorgeous new-for-the-year Holly Blue on the Ripley Greenway, near the stream at 6:30pm, enjoying some clayey treats in the sunshine!

Catch up Thurs to Sun

A few bits and bobs seen over the last few days but struggling to find the time to update regularly just lately! These are mostly summer migrants that are dropping onto my list, the moths have taken a serious back seat due to the cold weather.


Thursday - A quick pop into Wyver Lane at 5pm to see if there were many hirundines showing yet. The Oystercatchers put on a good show zooming between both pool whilst watching them from the mound. Also present were Lapwing, 2 x Shelduck, a number of Wigeon still, 2 x Teal, a Siskin flew over and then dropped into one of the trees along the lane. We chatted with a couple of guys who informed us that due to the showery weather (we turned up during a sunny patch) the hirundines had been down but had now dispersed. We did manage to find one Swallow though. Wyver looks really green now, the bit of rain has obviously helped the vegetation. Also found this Spider on the gravel on the viewing mound.

Friday afternoon - whilst Jordan was at his mates birthday I grabbed an hour down at Willington and decided to try and find Sand Martins over by the quarry side. This Chiffchaff was too close to ignore, and I heard a Willow Warbler (didn't see it though). After walking up to the railway bridge I'd spotted my first Orangetip for the year, and a number of Swallows were feeding around the birches along the railway. A couple of Buzzards were up on the thermals and whilst watching them I heard the familiar buzzing of Sand Martins. Sure enough after a quick search a party of 8 Sands together with 15 Swallows were heading north over the quarry. Great!

Sunday morning - a lovely sunny walk along the Greenway to Ripley saw a number of recently arrived migrants including Blackcap, Chiffchaff and a year first Willow Warbler, merrily belting out its pleasant descending song. Also had a pair of Bullfinch on the entrance near Peasehill.

Bird Yearlist = 129
Moth Yearlist = still stuck on 24 but with a brief reprise of the warmth on Monday/Tuesday it looks like I might actually be able to get the trap out!

Every cloud...

Friday saw me jumping into our lorry at work for a jolly down to Oxfordshire to pick up some drill core. My first obvious thought was "Yes! Red Kite country". However, the excitement of spotting my first Kite for the year was quickly dampened around 1130am when the electrics on the dashboard blew and we had to towed back to Nottingham! The kites put on a good show to cheer me up though, two flying right overhead about 1300 whilst waiting for the recovery truck to turn up!

Friday evening and a quick wander round Elvaston Castle Park in the hope of hearing (and then finding) the Tawny Owl resulted in nothing but this toad.

No owls to be heard, but I did also see a weasel (or something similar). The evening got slightly better with some drinks at my bessie mates house before his inevitable slump into married life, and after getting through beer and chat he booted me out at 230am. The walk home leads me past the Ripley Greenway at the bottom of our road and to my excitement the Tawny's were calling! And even better I'd brought my bag with my torch inside with me as I'd gone from work to my friends and left my car there. Brilliant! What ensued must have looked a bit odd with me creeping slowly over the grassy fields, listening with head on one side, occasionally trying to imitate a drunken male Tawny and flashing the torch at the slightest movement. Eventually, one flew across my path, but I reckoned there was at least three calling. Well, I think it was three?

Sunday - A quick wander round Willington in the afternoon provided some interesting sightings. 17 Curlew were present on the main pond but flew off north about 1600 and a Dunlin was at number 4 platform. Good numbers of Goosander were present, along with Wigeon, Shoveler and Gadwall. At least 2 Cetti's lead me on a merry dance but eventually gave themselves up, and Reed Buntings were very evident, with at least 8 pairs zipping around platform four.

Birding Yearlist = 120