Mostlymacro

Friday 16th May 2008

Cloudy, NE 2

Just Garden Carpets in the moth trap this morning. Very Poor.

No visit to Cortonwood today, but i did have 2 attempts at the Grass Snakes in the Knollbeck area. 2 singles were seen on both visits, but i still failed miserably to get a shot. Think i`ll try early tomorrow morning. I might stand a chance if they have`nt had the time to warm up.

As there`s no pics at all from today. Here`s a couple from my Rainy Day folder ;

Lapwing ( Old Moor )

Redshank ( Old Moor )

Humming & arrrrrhing about whether to run the moth trap tonight. Probably will do, but if i don`t see anything other than Garden Carpets, i`ll take an hammer to the trap.

Thursday 15th May 2008

Sunny, NE 2 > 3

The most notable birds from Cortonwood this morning, were a Common Buzzard NE & a Cuckoo W. Still plenty of Inverts ( not that i photographed many ) ;

Azure Damselfly

Hoverfly ( on the hand, again )

Germander Speedwell

A visit to the Knollbeck during the afternoon, produced my first Common Carpet of the year. 2 Four-spotted Chasers present today.
The main highlight however, were 2 Grass Snakes. I found a large wooden board & instinctively lifted it up and there they were, coiled up. I was that surprised to see them, that i forgot about the camera. Another chance wasted :( Will i ever get a picture of these reptiles.

Prickly Sow-thistle

Moth year list - 53 ( Common Carpet )

Wednesday 14th May 2008

Sunny, Patchy Cloud, NE 2

Despite the cooler conditions, there were still a few Inverts to be found. These were photographed at Cortonwood this morning ;

Mayfly sp

Hoverfly ( took a liking to the back of my hand )

Adela reaumurella

Also had my 52nd moth of the year, with the micro Grapholita compositella.

Tuesday 13th May 2008

Cloudy, Sunny, then Cloudy again, NE 3

Apart from the same old Garden Carpets & Early Grey, there was a moth year tick in the trap this morning. A single Tinea trinotella. No pic unfortunately.

Cortonwood, produced another moth year tick, with a Chinese Character found resting on a leaf. This species, when at rest tucks its head in and relies on its bird dropping appearance to keep it from being eaten ;

Leucozona lucorum

Yellow Pimpernel

Herb Bennet

A visit to the Knollbeck mid-afternoon, produced a lot of Invert activity, but it was difficult going, in the blustery conditions ;

4-spotted Chaser

Large Red Damselfly

not an invert, but White Campion

Moth year list - 51 ( Tinea trinotella, Chinese Character )

Monday 12th May 2008

Mist/Low Cloud, clearing to Sunshine, E/NE 2 > 3

Another poor catch with the moth trap overnight, with just Light Brown Apple Moths, several Garden Carpets & 2 Early Grey.

A Cuckoo flying round the spoil heap at Cortonwood, was the pick of the birds from there. The best of the rest were ;

Small Copper

Common Blue Damselfly

Spider sp on Buttercup

Common Wintercress

Home for some dinner, then off to the Knollbeck area. 100`s of Azure Damselflies ( must have been a mass emergence over the last 2 days. Needless to say i did`nt manage a shot of a single one ).
2 firsts of the year : Four-spotted Chaser & a Clouded Border ( moth ), at the same time. So which one did i go for. Well, the Clouded Border disappeared into the middle of a bush, so i ended up with the ;

4-spotted Chaser

The only other pics from here, were ;

Ancylis badiana

Ox-eye Daisies

Was`nt going to bother with the moth trap tonight, but i might as well. I`ve nothing to lose.

Moth year list - 49 ( Clouded Border )

Sunday 11th May 2008

Sunny, E 1 > 2

The moth trap produced 2 firsts of the year, with : Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet & Flame Shoulder. The only other species was Garden Carpet ( 3 ) ;

Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet

Spent most of the day at Rawmarsh. Where a visit to the Stubbin area produced at least 6 Dingy Skippers ( my first of the year ) ;

Dingy Skipper

Field Mouse-ear

I`m afraid that`s all for today. See what my local area produces tomorrow.

Year lists ;
Moths - 48
Butterflies - 12

No Show

Just spent about an hour and half watching the Fox den with no luck. Could`nt stay any longer, too many biting things about. It goes without saying, i will try again.

Just had my 46th moth of the year. A 20-plumed Moth at the kitchen window, but the damn thing evaded capture.

Saturday 10th May 2008

Sunny, E 2

Bit of a disappointing haul from the moth trap overnight, with just 4 Light Brown Apple Moths & this beastie ;

Ichneumon sp

Waited for it to warm up a bit, before i ventured out to Cortonwood this morning. Did a full circuit, but not a lot to show for it ;

Click Beetle sp

Ribwort Plantain

Pink Oxalis

Then i decided to continue along the Trans-Pennine Trail towards the Knollbeck area. This area produced 2 moth year ticks, with : Mother Shipton, spent about 10mins trying to get a pic, but gave up and turned my attention to this Small Yellow Underwing ( which did`nt give me the runaround ) ;