Holiday Lifers.

 The past two weeks we have been away on holiday. The first week was to a nice house beside Salthouse Church in Norfolk, then the second week was to a small 400 yr old house in Westleton, Suffolk. When I am away I am always on the look out for new species, no matter what they are, be it birds, butterflies, moths or anything really. Unlike these expert 'Pan species' Listers who can identify 400 species of invertebrate in an afternoon, I am much slower and tend to focus on things that are at least a bit distinctive, that give me a chance of an id without a microscope.

So when going to East Anglia, the moth trap is a must have, especially in summer where there are loads of species we dont get up here. Over the fortnight new things arrived almost daily so I will list them witha photo in chronological order....

#1. 9th June - Alder Kitten Furcula bicuspis.

This moth has never occurred in Northumberland. Even the two species of kitten that have occurred are rare in my garden, so rare that Ive never seen Poplar Kitten either, but I do get an occasional Sallow Kitten. Alder is the easiest to identify being darker that the other two. Well pleased to get this.

 #2 10th June. Crested Cow Wheat Melampyrum cristatum

 

 Luck helps. I saw a post by Rob Yaxley on Bluesky saying he had shown this rare and declining plant to some friends recently, so I asked him for the location and he kindly obliged. Nice one.

#3 10th June Satin Wave Idaea subsericeata

Not recorded in Northumberland since 1920 and there are only 2 records, the other being 1908. Chances of getting this at home are slim.

#4 11th June a Planthopper Issus coleoptratus  

No idea. Out with Peggy and it was on a leaf so I took its photo to id later. A new species!

#5 11th June Hoverfly Xanthogramma pedissequum.

Sorry about the photo, I couldn't get close enough. A black and yellow hoverfly that does occur in Northum,berland, just that I've never seen it.

#6 Wasp Beetle Clytus arietis

My mate John gets these in his garden about 5 miles from me, but they are still scarce in the county. Pleased to finally catch up with one.

#7 12th June Alabonia geoffrella 'Geoff'!

Been hoping to meet 'Geoff' for ever but only recently discovered it can be found in Norfolk. I was right at the end of its flight season so only found the one, a bit worn with age, but very acceptable. Not found in Northumberland.

#8 12th June Scarlet Tiger Callimorpha dominula

Not on the radar. Only when Mark Golley was showing me a site for Geoff did he mention that Scarlet Tiger was just emerging in Cley. We found half a dozen of these stunners. Only found in the south of England.

#9 12th June Maple Prominent Ptilodon cucullina 

Hoped to see one of these, this one was sat on top of the trap. It doesnt occur in Northumberland.

#10 12th June Small China Mark Cataclysta lemnata

I wasnt sure if this was new or not at the time, on checking these were my first. Two caught.

#11 12th June Rosy Wave Scopula emutaria

The day before catching this I had been thumbing the guide and looked at Rosy Wave and thought it looked quite distinctive. Never expected to see one as soon. 

#12 12th June Aethes beatricella 

Its surprising this was new as I caught loads of them on this trip. Maybe they have increased recently?

#13 12th June Flecked General Soldier Fly  Stratiomys singularia

Landed beside me as I sat in the Salthouse garden. 

#14 14th June Orange Moth Agerona prunaria

Our first night in Suffolk. Certainly didn't expect to see Orange Moth. I always thought of it as a species of mature woodland in Kent! It wouldnt sit for a photo hence the pot shot.

#15 14th June Pine Hawk-moth Sphinx pinastri 

At last, one of my targets for this holiday. We caught 3 or 4 over the week. A nice big moth...

#16 14th June The Lackey Malacosoma neustria

Unexpected but quite common most nights in Suffolk. This one is a male.

#17 14th June Dicrorampha petiverella 

I hope this one is right? 

#18 14th June Valerian Pug Eupithecia valerianata

Had two of these. Didn't realise how scarce they were, but apparently this is the moth of the trip!

#19 15th June Yellow Oak Tortrix Aleimma loeflingiana 

This moth occurs scarcely in the south of Northumberland but is much rarer where I live with only 3 records in VC68 North Northumberland, so it was good to get a few of these in East Anglia.

#20 15th June Dwarf Cream Wave Idaea fuscovenosa 

Only 9 Northumberland records of this diminutive wave, the last being 18 years ago. Nice to get a fresh one here 

#21 16th June Four Spotted Footman Lithosia quadra 

Only 3 of these in Northumberland where it is a very rare migrant. Down south this has been a good year for them, also probably migrants.

#22 17th June Hedya salicella 

Another rare one at home with only 10 county records.

#23 17th June Monochroa palustrellus

Not recorded in Northumberland, this Nationally scarce moth favours sandy areas of SE England.

#24 18th June Firebug Pyrrhocoris apterus

 This bright bug is at the northern most edge of its European range in the south of England. This particular one was running fast along a grass verge so I was lucky to get any photos at all!

#25 18th June Spotted Medick Medicago aribica 

If a species ever shows the need to be alert at all times this one is it for me. We were having lunch at the Eels Foot Inn, Eastbridge when I looked at the ground where we sat. In a scuffed up path area, this was crushed below... rare in Northumberland.

#26 19th June Large Marsh Horsefly Tabanus autumnalis

This large bitey Cleg was on our garden furniture at the Suffolk House. About an inch long it was a stunner. I like these dangerous critters same was as deadly plants and fungi in that we are just a meal to them... hard as nails.

So 26 new species without too much difficulty. We are off to Deeside in the autumn so you never know there might be something to find up there too...

I see a Rainbow Rising....

 Whats going on? My local patch is getting some good birds. After last weeks post anyone would think I had peaked for the year but no, that was just an apperitif. Things were going to take an upward turn...

Saturday 31st May. 

Jane is off to Newcastle with friends, so me and Peggy are left at a loose end back at home. I could have gone birding, but no, I am out on Sunday so I thought I might use my free time productively for the good of the village.

Our Village Hall has a small wildlife pond less than 100 mtrs from our house and it needed a bit more of a tidy up after starting it last month. Then, with the help of a few Coast Care Volunteers, we removed some choking vegetation to create more open water for amphibians. This was done successfully and in no time we had Toads, Smooth and Palmate Newts back where they belong.

We stacked a large mound of chopped soft vegetation on the decking where it was up to me to mulch around shrubs with it at a later date. Today was the day.

Armed with a wheelbarrow of tools I pottered off down to the pond. While I am here, it looked like it could do with a top up so the hose was deployed and left to run into the shallows as I worked. After a few barrow loads of rotten rushes and iris leaves had been removed a movement over the water caught my attention. It was a female Broad bodied Chaser and she was egg laying. She delicately dipped up and down to the surface, touching the water with her abdomen each time. She is the first Broad bodied Chaser I have seen on the patch so I was very pleased.

An old shot of a female Broad bodied Chaser. I didnt have my camera with me for the sighting above.

At 4pm I had finished the donkey work and was now using the hose to wash off the decking to tidy the site.

As I did this, in a trance really, a quiet soft call made me pause. Now it couldnt be. Surely not? Could it?.

Not really expecting anything at all, I stopped hosing and glanced beyond the pond to the Old Rectory paddock opposite to see a BEE-EATER gliding around! ( In the top image the bird was half way out to that Shepherds hut.) The funny thing is I was quite relaxed about it. I stood and watched it flap and glide when it called again , then moved off behind some tall sycamore trees and off south.

It was time to put the word out incase it might be picked up by birders south of me, so I walked back home collected my Bins, Camera and the dog and headed back out, hoping the bird might be sitting on some wires for me to get a photograph.

We walked back through the village where there was no sight or sound  (de-ja-vu Rosefinch) and out along the lane. Three quarters of the way along I stopped to scan east with the bins. It was now 4.15 and I expected the bird to be away south by now when all of a sudden, there it was. It was distant as it arced up over the rise in the fields. It was feeding beside Seahouses Farm where cattle would attract some flies. This is two fields from my current position so off we strode with purpose.

Arriving at the spot there was no sign of the Bee-eater. only a few Swifts were hawking around. I gave it 10 minutes then left to knock up some notes while the sighting was fresh in my mind.

I see today that it was seen yesterday at Spurn and this morning along the Lincs coast.

What a bird for my village. I have hoped for one for years and each summer on a daily basis day dream as I scan the phone wires across the fields. Despite not seeing it perched up, my sighting was good enough for me, and it wont be beaten this year thats for sure...

  

 

Wee-tyoo-wee-peeyoo

 Working from home this morning I am going through some emails. The radio is playing Planet Rock in the living room, Peggy is in her bed and I am drinking tea while reading. 

Then, like waking up from a dream, I am suddenly back in the room. What has woken me I wonder?

Wee-la-pyoo-weeooo. Outside. And again, loudly, close. Wee pyoo-la weeoo again.

Suddenly I am cattle prodded into action. What on earth is that! A voice that shone out as a total stranger in the midst of Starlings, Blackbirds and Sparrows. 

At this stage I 100% knew this was something good in my garden. It didnt sound like an unusual Song Thrush, a Great Tit or a Starling mimic. No, it was proper. A fixed proper song.

Panic set in, in slow motion. I grabbed my camera, swapped from the 100mm macro lens to the 420mm long lens, checked camera settings, put my phone in my pocket in case I need to record sound, grabbed my bins off the stairs then paused, listening and looking through the window. Trying not to be there.

I knock the radio off. Its quiet outside. No repeat performance, so I creep outside and stand quietly around the gable end not wishing to spook our visitor. Come on , sing again...nothing. I quietly walked into the garden and sat on a chair watching the bushes and trees. A Tree Sparrow, a Blue Tit but the wind in the leaves was making seeing a movement impossible. There was no further singing either.

After 10 mins I came back indoors. Hands shaking a little bit with the adrenaline.

I suspected who the garden singer was but wasnt closely familiar so I typed into Google - 

'Rosefinch, singing'. This came up...

'Weeyoo - teoo - tu-  peeyoo' . Confirmed what I already knew.

I called John who came over. I didnt release news straight away as I couldnt locate the bird, so we went out for a couple of hours searching the village and lane, but to no avail.

This is my second Common Rosefinch in the garden after one in 2010, that gave a slightly better show than this one....as I write, the radio is still off and my feeders are topped up with seed. 

I am waiting...

EDIT- 28/05/25 No further sign of the Rosefinch. Bugger.

My last garden Rosefinch 15 years ago last week...

Dotts and Gargs.

 Blogging seems to be going the way of VHS, Smoking and taking sugar in your tea. Its a declining art.

I look through my Reading List and there aren't many blogs left to go at, and I don't help matters by posting so infrequently it looks like I've dropped off the podium too.

Social Media now takes the traffic with tiny posts and images on a regular basis, distracting us from our real lives. While I'm on here's something a bit controversial, but no one reads blogs so I'll say it anyway.

Whats with younger birders and naturalists who post more selfies of themselves than of the creatures they seek out? Some posts are literally just that, shots up the nose of some birder. Now while I do believe all things in moderation, a selfie in context is ok, it can be humourous and lift a post but when thats all there is, folks this may be a shock, but I don't want to stare at your ugly mug every day!! 

I suppose you could argue that having a bubbly rant is also self indulgent so I'll leave it there.

Since the last post it has been a dry, cold spell here in Northumberland. No rain to speak of but almost constant northerlies, as is usual here in spring, keeping our temperatures low, especially overnight where 8 degrees is a struggle.

Spring migrants have continued to arrive and on my patch, I'm only missing a couple now most noteably Wheatear! Still not a sniff on a rocky edges short turfed east coast site its amazing really. Ive had two, one at Boulmer and one Alnmouth but none here so far.

On 7th May, on my way home from work I stopped off at Druridge to see the male Dotterel that was around for about 3 weeks. Always cherry chappies you cant see too many Dotterels. Northumberland has done alright for them this months so far with in addittion to this one, 9 at Beal were long staying and one on the top of Cheviot was less accessible.

Dotterel, at Druridge

 

From the 9th May, controversy ensued with the finding of a flat billed duck at Buston Links. My first guess was it was a Blue winged x Shoveler hybrid female. Then Cinnamon Teal seemed a good candidate until flight shots made it seemed too heavily face patterned, so Blue winged seemed good. Now apparently an expert has demmed it the hybrid after all! We were there yesterday and only its drake Shoveler mate was present so I bet its on eggs somewhere. That will give people something to think about in the autumn!

13th May. The morning dog walk along the coast path revealed a patch mega! Only a Garden Warbler for most but its 9 years since the last one on my patch even though a few are ringed each autumn on the western patch boundary where they must keep a very low profile as I never see them.

A day off on 14th had me meet up with john along at Boulmer. A close calling Quail was the highlight, plus 2 Little Terns and an Arctic Tern.

Yesterday it felt like winter with a N5 blowing and over cast so a short seawatch from Seaton Point was the way to go. Here we had 2 ad Roseate Terns N, 1 Arctic Skua N 9 Manx Shearwaters N, several Puffins and 2 Purple Sandpipers.

Next stop Foxton Bends where Avocet and Barnacle Goose made unlikely bed fellows.

Finally it was along to Buston Links again. This is a newly created small wetland extending an existing pool making a wet field that has poor viewing but is good for birds. First up was a smashing drake Garganey, showing right in the open and quite close too. A Wood Sandpier was more elusive but we saw it and heard it briefly. A Marsh Harrier arrived overhead too.

Not much on the invertebrate front until the weather gets milder, but it will come I'm sure...

Above- Garganey

Its Scarce...and not very Prominent.

 

Scarce Prominent Odontosia carmelita Howick 26/04/25 

I began moth trapping when we moved in here in 2009. 

Over the years, the garden list has steadily increased by annual stages, with some moths that are very common and others less so. Some species trapped have been firsts for Northumberland and no less than 90 species have been recorded here on only the one occasion. These are made up of a few migrants but most are strays on the wind from other habitats.

Over the years one species fired my imagination . The Scarce Prominent Odontosia carmelita. 

This is not a rare moth in Northumberland with 240+ adults recorded from 50 different widespread sites, but it is not abundant either. North Northumberland VC68 only has 12+ records. It is a moth of old birch woodlands, favouring taller, mature trees that are mainly found at inland upland sites in the county.

The Victorian Lepidoperists found it a very rare insect that was difficult to obtain. Adults don't feed so it wasn't attracted by Sugaring. The larvae were always too high, so this left digging lightly around the base of birches in autumn looking for pupa or looking around the base of birch trunks in spring for newly emerged adults. It wasn't until the invention of electric Mercury Vapour Moth traps that this moth became more widely found.

In recent years I've pondered taking my battery bucket trap into an old birch wood on Alnwick Moor to try and find it but never got around to it. 

Fast forward up to Saturday night when this moth wasn't even in my hindsight. Late, before going to bed I thought I would check the garden trap to see if there was much doing. At the minute is all Orthosias with a few geometers like Shoulder Stripe and Water Carpet for interest. Peering in to the egg tray lined depths a furry head could be seen so I lifted another tray to get a better vie of the half hidden stranger within. Only then did it reveal itself. 

Its always great to find one of your hero's or most wanteds in the trap, but even more so at this early time of year. 'carmelita was duly potted and placed in cool storage until the morning where these photos could be taken. On the evening I took it into Village Wood ,where there are a few old birches, for release. I tried to sit it on an old gnarled trunk but it was having none of it. After a bit of a flutter around it launched itself up and off over the canopy. 

I wonder if I'll ever get another...

  

April

 Last time, I mentioned the possibility that we were experiencing a ‘false spring’, however, it has continued until this post too. In my notebook, the last time precipitation gets a mention was on 16^th March with an odd drizzle shower. Since then, we have had dry but cold weather, often in bright sunny days. 

 Another sunny day on the 29^th March brought the first Hairy footed Flower Bees or our garden. Always an absolute pleasure to see as they bump from flower to flower in a cartoon like fashion.

 By the 29^th, up to 150+ Kittiwakes were back around the Howick / Cullernose cliffs while 31 Whooper Swans flew N in two parties of 22 and 9.

 Another Boulmer search on the 30^th found that the female Black Redstart was still present, but the male was long gone. 9 Purple Sandpipers were on the rocks. In the afternoon on a visit to Amble we found a colony of Tawny Mining Bees in a raised bed by the Memorial. Lots of small males danced around the soil interspersed by a few bright tawny orange females.

 March bowed out with more Whooper Swans heading over Howick back to the Icelandic breeding grounds. 27 came over very low, you could almost feel the down draught from the wing beats.

 The first week of April finally saw an emergence of butterflies around the patch with several Peacocks, a Comma, a Red Admiral, 2 Small Tortoiseshells and a few Large White. More Hairy footed flower Bees and a few Dark Edged Bee Flies too.

Dark edged Bee Fly

Comma

Hairy footed Flower Bee, male.

A late afternoon walk at Boulmer on 4^th  was still cold but a few migrants battled on. A smart male White Wagtail  was with half a dozen black and white Pieds, a Lesser black backed Gull flew N followed by 3 Sandwich Terns. A good number of 32 Shelducks kept company with a  Pale bellied Brent Goose.

Pale bellied Brent with the Shelducks

Male White Wag...

For a change on the 6^th April we walked from Cullernose Point to Craster, hoping for a Wheatear sighting but that plan failed. We did make it worthwhile though with a close Raven, the first Willow Warbler, 2 Blackcaps, 4 Swallows and 2 Sand Martins of the year.

Now the evenings are lighter there is more time to be spent in the field ( while neglecting jobs at home), it could just do with warming up to 15 or so degrees…

 In the fine spell, a few moths kept the trap going while a nice spider graced the bathroom...

Acleris literana

Brindled Pug

Early Tooth Striped

Harpactea hombergi only my second, both from the bathroom.

Purple Thorn

Finally, on a cool sunny day last Sunday we checked out the new scrapes at Alnmouth Buston Links. It looked well for waders and wildfowl but not today.4 Shoveler and 2 pairs of nesting Lapwing were the highlight, 3 Whooper Swans moved N while the first Grasshopper Warbler of the year reeled unseen from a thick bramble at Hipsburn.

Male Lapwings very vocal and acrobatic.

Shoveler

This Yellowhammer sang from the ground in the car park at the cricket club for 5 minutes.

Boulmer Black Reds.

 The last few weeks have been mainly dry with cool sunny spells. Overall the winter here has been much better than last year when it seemed to rain every week.

Since the last post, a few migrants have arrived in Northumberland but not many into my neck of the woods, still it makes them all the more enjoyable when they do arrive.

A couple of weeks past, Sunday 16th we spent the morning going over Boulmer. Highlights were few but its always a pleasure seeing and counting the common birds too. On this particular day, Great black backed Gulls seemed to be on the move with birds dotted all over plus small parties going north along the rock edges. I tend to over look these giants but I wish I had counted them now.

Also at sea, reasonable numbers of Gannets and Kittiwakes on the move and in fishing parties offshore. Note to self, I need to look for our Kitti's on the home turf arriving any day.

Of the waders, 5 Grey Plover, 13 Bar tailed Godwits, 40 Sanderling were on the shore.

Incongrously, a nice tight party of 25 Siskins passed us as they headed North low along the beach.

A female Merlin gave a close fly past as it hunted the waders too, nicely lit by the morning sun.

While scanning the sea, a tiny bird too far off flutted across the waves, then all of a sudden it was gone? I thought Sand Martin, I could see some white on it? But surely that couldnt just vanish? Later in the afternoon when we were back at home, Ben and Mark had a Wheatear on Longhoughton Steel. I assume this was what I had seen making landfall out on the skeers? 

On 17th a walk from Howick to the Rumbling Kern had a small high tide roost of 33 Oystercatchers, 18 Turnstones, 7 Purple Sandpipers and 5 Redshank. 10 Kittiwakes were off shore, new for my local year list.

Over the rest of that week my notebook remained empty.

The weather changed for the better on the 21st with a light SE / E breeze for a day or two.

On the 23rd, John and myself walked the whole headland at Boulmer, sure to find a Wheatear or a Black Redstart maybe. After 4 miles, we were still looking...

Out on the rocks were good numbers of gulls in a mixed flock of around 300+ birds, but best of all hunkered down near two Black headeds was Northumberland's first 2025 Sandwich Tern. Lovely. It looked tired too...as the tide pushed in, it lifted a flock of 300 Curlews too.

A lone exposed hawthorn held a single migratory Goldcrest on its way back to the continent but we saw only one Robin on the whole headland, clearly there has been a big clear out here.

Back in the village it was time for a brew. Almost back at the cars we bumped into our friends Tom and Mu who were looking for the Sandwich Tern.   We chatted a while in the Lifeboat Hut car park when John stammered 'Look!. I turned to find a nice female Black Redstart on the deck only 20 feet away. Finally it flitted around a bit on the boats and tools before vanishing into local gardens. Excellent.

On Tues 25th this single Black Redstart had increased into 3 Black Redstarts reported by Ben. Now there was a nice adult male here too, found by John on Monday. I called in with the camera on my way to work seeing two birds but both were very flighty not allowing anywhere near a close enough approach. Also here 2 Chiffchaffs were in the 'thorny bushes' just N of the village.

 

 Saturday 29th, Kittiwakes were back on our cliffs with 150+ present. The now annual gathering of Razorbill at Cullernose Point held 33 birds at the bottom of the cliffs. They dont breed here, but are getting on the cliffs in increasing numbers each year.

Two parties of Whooper Swans flew N 22 and 9 birds followed by 50 Pink feet.

Yesterday we returned to Boulmer but it was blowing a disagreeable westerly all morning so little was seen. One female Black Redstart was still on the sea defences.