Spring is certainly here, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and Blackcap are well established in The Ross with Redstart, Sand Martins and Swallows also recorded. Common Sandpiper were observed mating at the River Earn.
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| Chiffchaff |
Resident species like Treecreeper are more obvious with song and nesting activity.
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| Treecreeper |
The nights have been quite cold but on the occasions it has warmed up the moth traps have caught interesting things. I've been swamped with Great Prominent, a species I'd not seen before.
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| Great Prominent |
This is a very beautiful moth and superbly camouflaged. When they line themselves up on a branch they are very difficult to see.
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| Great Prominent hiding. | |
The first of these turned up on 10th April and I've now caught 17 trapping on seven nights including the 10th. Other moths NFM (new for me) in this period have been Streamer, Lunar Marbled Brown, Scarce Prominent, May Highflyer and Oak Nycteoline.
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| Lunar Marbled Brown |
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| Streamer - three of these recorded |
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| May Highflyer |
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| Scarce Prominent |
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| Oak Nycteoline |
There have been quite a few new beetles, I'm still working through some of them but the star has to be Ant Beetle Thanasimus formicarius which I found in the kitchen whilst I was cooking our tea one evening. It had been warm and the door had been open for some of the afternoon. I noticed something scurrying around in the parsley which we grow on the kitchen window ledge. I grabbed a pot and it turned out to be this spectacular beast.
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| Thanasimus formicarius, on release it hid itself in a crevice in the garden wall. |
I'm still trying to find plants and today I noticed tiny white flowers in our car parking space, the gravel in front of the garage. This turned out to be New Zealand Bitter-cress, which I was rather pleased with.
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| Cardamine corymbosa, New Zealand Bitter-cress |
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