Behe-moth..

Last night was warm and muggy with some drizzle and overcast skies. Ideal for a big moth catch. I didnt realise just how big though til this morning when I did the count. I had 1197 moths of only 48 species in one trap! A record count for me here.

Pity about it though was that it wasnt a pretty sight. The whole Robinson was choc-a-bloc with Large Yellow Underwings, a minimum count revealing 868 of the blighters!

However, a wade through them did produce some tasty records -

Great Brocade, only my second after one on 24th July 2011. A scarce migrant.

Archer's Dart. Annual here but only in odd ones each year. What a belter!

Butterbur. My 7th in 6 years, once believed to be almost uncatchable at light...

Early September...

If only this Lesser Whitethroat had looked at me for long enough...

Blackcap

With drift migrants scattered along our coast, I thought a couple of sessions at Craster wouldn't go amiss. This site used to get quite a bit of coverage, but these days it scarcely gets a look at. During good falls it is as good as anywhere with the rocky scrub covered ridge providing immediate cover for tired migrants 'in-off'. 

In recent years I have had Raddes, Barred, Icterine and Yellow browed Warblers here, but despite a nice sprinkle of local movers there was to be no cherry on the top this time. 

Yesterday in a couple of hours I had 11+ Blackcaps tacking from every elder bush, my first Garden Warbler of the year, 6+ Whitethroats, 7+ Chiffchaff, 1 Willow Warbler, 3+ Goldcrest, 5+ Song Thrush, Willow Tit, 3 juv Bullfinch and a Sparrowhawk.

At sea, half an hour early on had 13 Pale bellied Brent Geese, 2 Bonxie, 2 Arctic Skua, 69 Manx Shearwater, 1 Wigeon and a light passage south of Meadow Pipits, Pied Wagtails and one or two Yellow Wagtails.

Today was much quieter. The wind had swung northwesterly and a bright clear starry sky over night had allowed our visitors to continue on their way.

When Dave Elliot had found a Wryneck at Hadston first thing this morning I was fired up to check areas at Craster that I hadn't yesterday, particularly those that looked like they would attract a twisty naped ant eater. My luck was out, and the only bird of note was a Lesser Whitethroat that failed to perform for the camera. Other than that there was 1 Blackcap, 3 Whitethroat, 5 Chiffchaff, 7+ Yellowhammer and 3 Reed Buntings.

With a couple or three days off this week, lets hope for some 'better' weather...

Chiffchaff

Not to be outdone, the moth trap turned up a big dark Butterbur moth ( not the plant obviously). A scarce species this, and not regularly attracted to light, but I get one or two most years here...

Butterbur, right, showing size and colour comparison with the much commoner Rosy Rustic.

Bulrush Wainscot