The Indian summer rolls on

...and on with glorious sunshine and high pressure and the occassional unseasonal moth in the garden moth trap. Birding has been restricted to the levels over the period since my last posting apart from a couple of brief evening forays to Beachy. The best bird day recently was the 14th which produced my first jill Merlin of the autumn on Down Level with the same or another on Horse-eye on the 20th. The 14th was also notable for smaller passage birds with Spotted Flycatchers by Horse-eye farm and near Downash, and Garden Warbler, 3 Lesser Whitethroats, Whitethroats, and Chiffchaffs along Downash road. The 2 Marsh Harrier were ever present along with Raven, Snipe, and Little Egret, and Reed and Sedge Warblers continue to pass through/ remain present in small numbers. Meadow Pipits are on the increase with several flocks of double figures scattered across the levels on the 20th and 21st and regular individuals flying over the garden and a Kingfisher was watched fishing along White Dyke on the 20th.
Mothing at this time of year drops off in number terms but also has some bonuses in the form of some quite striking species which are late emergers. One of the best of these has to be the Pink-barred Sallow and one of these graced my trap on the night of the 23rd along with a new species for the garden in the form of Lesser Treble-bar which is pictured below. The Frosted Orange is another late emerger and the individual pictured left was trapped on the night of the 19th. Other noteworthies for the garden included Lime-speck Pug on the 12th, Small Blood-vein and Old Lady on the 14th, Ruby Tiger 17th, Spectacle 17th & 19th, Oak Hook Tip 17th & 19th, L-album Wainscots 21st (2) & 23rd (2), and Rosy Rustic on the 23rd.


Along with the moths, insects in general are becoming fewer in number with dragons reduced to Migrant Hawkers (20+), Common Darter (10+), Brown Hawker (1), and Azure damselfly (3), on the 21st. On the same day butterflies comprised Speckled Wood (4), Small Heath (1), Small Tortoiseshell (1), and Small Copper (2) all along White Dyke. All this in spite of the warm sunny conditions which have prevailed for the last few weeks. The only other butterfly species noted were Red Admiral on the 14th (pictured top), Small White, and Large White.
Hares continue to be seen on a regular basis including one which lolloped along White Dyke to within a few feet of me on the morning of the 20th. I need to put in more effort to getting a decent photo as I am never ready for them when the opportunity arises and by the time I am they are invariably a field away and travelling!