Garden Moth Review 2016

The photo above shows a Micro Moth trapped in my garden on 18th July 2016. The species name is Oncocera semirubella and is a Nationally Scarce B moth. This means it has only been recorded in 31-100 10Km squares since 1980, which equates to 3.5% of the land area of Britain.

Overall, 237 individuals were captured of 72 different species, and of these 11 were new for the garden.
The Light Brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana was easily the most common with 59 individuals (up from 3rd place last year). 2nd place went to Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba with 12 individuals (down from 1st place last year). Heart and Dart Agrotis exclamationis dropped out of the top 10 with just 1 individual (2nd place last year).

Since recording began in 2005, the top 3 recorded species are as follows:
1.Light Brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana - 313 Individuals
2.Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba - 202 Individuals
3.Heart and Dart Agrotis exclamationis - 161 Individuals

I have been recording and trapping Moths since 2005 using a 125W Mercury Vapour Light. The first 5 years I used a home made trap which worked reasonably well. Then from 2010 onwards I used a purpose built 'Robinson' trap which increased my catches by quite a considerable amount. However, comparison of the number individuals caught and hence the number of different species is really dependant on the number of times the trap is operated. I usually aim for once a month, but in 2016 I only put it out on 6 occasions. I took a year off in 2017 largely due to health problems, but hope to have a better year in 2018.

Garden Butterfly Review 2017

Large White & Red Admiral butterflies led the way for the most number of months (5) seen in the garden for 2017. Above shows two Large Whites mating on my Hop Plant on 30th June when a total of 5 were seen at any one time that day.

A total of 14 species were recorded which is above the average of 12.8 since recording began in 2003.
Also, there were 42 first dates when a butterfly was recorded (31 average), making 2017 a good year for garden butterflies.

July was the most prolific month with 10 species seen.

The Red Admiral was the earliest and latest butterfly seen starting on the 17th February and finishing on the 17th November.

Two fairly uncommon species were recorded this year - a Small/Essex Skipper on 5th July and a Common Blue on 16th September.

RSPB Garden Birdwatch 2017

As we approach the RSPB BIG Garden Birdwatch for 2018 (27-29 January), I thought it was about time I reviewed what happened last year.

2017 proved to be the 2nd poorest year for the total number of birds counted within my chosen hour (08:00-09:00). 20 this year, one more than the record low of 19 in 2003.

The number of species seen was 9, which seems to be about average for me nowadays.

Only 1 House Sparrow in 2017 (6 in 2016).

No Finches seen at all. Chaffinches have not been recorded since 2013.

The only positive for 2017 was 10 Starlings (8 in 2016).

Maybe 2018 will be better, but don't hold your breath.