The Howick Moth Disaster...

I bet its eating moths...

Well what a surprise when I got up this morning. I went out to the trap bleary eyed and noticed a movement in the trap...a Tree Sparrow! As I approached there were two stuck inside. I lifted the cone and they flew off, then I heard a scuffle under the egg boxes - a third. Three Tree Sparrows in my trap eating my moths.

Wildlife has been culled for less! Thats the thanks I get for putting up nice nest boxes and seed daily...

3 Poplar Hawks, 1 Spectacle, 1 Beautiful GY and several un id'd were in tatters plus they had crapped all over the survivors...

So I'm away on holiday to the Pyrenees looking for butterflies and dragonflies tomorrow for a week, the trap has been put away and will be positioned somewhere else in the garden to try and break the habit on my return.

The catch was something like -

Taxa
0017 Common Swift (Hepialus lupulinus) 1
0464 Diamond-back Moth (Plutella xylostella) 1
0647 Brown House Moth (Hofmannophila pseudospretella) 1
0688 Agonopterix heracliana 1
1126 Ancylis badiana 1
1376 Small Magpie (Eurrhypara hortulata) 3
1428 Bee Moth (Aphomia sociella) 1
1722 Flame Carpet (Xanthorhoe designata) 1
1727 Silver-ground Carpet (Xanthorhoe montanata) 13
1728 Garden Carpet (Xanthorhoe fluctuata) 1
1738 Common Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata) 1
1776 Green Carpet (Colostygia pectinataria) 1
1802 Rivulet (Perizoma affinitata) 1
1837 Grey Pug (Eupithecia subfuscata) 1
1906 Brimstone Moth (Opisthograptis luteolata) 1
1981 Poplar Hawk-moth (Laothoe populi) 3
2060 White Ermine (Spilosoma lubricipeda) 2
2061 Buff Ermine (Spilosoma luteum) 2
2123 Small Square-spot (Diarsia rubi) 1
2160 Bright-line Brown-eye (Lacanobia oleracea) 1
2302 Brown Rustic (Rusina ferruginea) 1
2442 Beautiful Golden Y (Autographa pulchrina) 1
2450 Spectacle (Abrostola tripartita) 1
6666 Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) 3 NFY

44 Moths and Birds of 24 sp.