30 Days Wild:Day 4 - Moths In the Garden

  Day 4 meant getting up at 5.30am to empty the garden Moth trap.It is always an exciting time as you never know what you're going to get, a bit like a box of chocolates as Forrest Gump said and indeed I did get one in the form of this stunning Chocolate Tip moth(non-edible) ;)

  The massive influx from France of Diamond-back Moths had not missed our area as I found over 30 in the trap.

  One of my favourite moths was hiding among the egg trays, the Peach Blossom.

  The furry front end of the Pale Tussock.

  A few more moths from the trap.
Scalloped Hazel

  Flame Shoulder

Treble Lines

Bee Moth

Spectacle

Clouded Bordered Brindle

Phtheochroa Rugosana

  I also had Shears, Dark Barred twin-spot, Garden carpet, Scalloped Hook Tip, Cream Wave, Bright Line Brown Eye  and a lot of Light Brown Apple Moths.

  It's also that time of year you get non-mothy wildlife in the trap and one of the regular visitors are the Garden Cockchafers.

  If you do not have your own moth trap yet but want one you can buy them from quite a few online places.

I got mine from Paul at http://www.pwbelg.clara.net/mercury/index.html

  If you cannot afford one at the moment then you can just try with an outside light directed at a white bed sheet hung out or try sugaring with a syrup, brown sugar, wine and beer mixture.The extra wine comes in handy while waiting for the moths to arrive ;)

  It is well worth it to see what moth species you have in your garden.I have recorded nearly 200 so far in my garden in North Lincolnshire.

There will be more Moths later in the month as I will be taking my trap down to Pembrokeshire and also running at Gigrin Red Kite Station :)

  Thanks again for browsing my photos and reading through the blogs :) 

30 Days Wild:Day 3 - Looking For Harriers

                                                             

  A slight delay in Day 3 blog as got distracted Mothing last night til after Midnight, and only up now as just emptied the moth trap(more on that later hopefully) :)

  So Day 3, finished work around 2.30pm and then it was time to do something "Wild" so we headed off to RSPB Blacktoft Sands in hope of watching Marsh Harriers.

  On the walk up to reception we checked for bugs in the grass and found this Golden Bloomed Grey Longhorn Beetle and Red Headed Cardinal Beetle.(photos by Majella Fox)

  This was followed by the song of the Cetti's warbler, heard but not seen. First we headed over to Ousefleet hide to meet a friend, fellow Hen Harrier campaigner and this years Hen Harrier Day organiser, Stewart Abbott.Join us to support Hen Harriers at one of the events around the country in August.
http://henharrierday.org/2016-events.html

  Wondering down the trail up to Ousefleet.

  Plenty of Waders on Ousefleet with Avocets, Black Tailed Godwits and Little Egrets.

Also joined in the lagoon by the resident Konik Ponies.

  The reeds and bushes were a hive of activity with Willow Warblers, Sedge Warblers & Reed Warblers all flitting in between the reeds making getting a photo pretty tricky.

  The other lagoons were filled with Waterfowl with Gadwall, Shelducks, Little & Great Crested Grebes, Pochards, a solitary Wigeon and a Mute Swan family all seen.
  Shelduck and Pochard(on the left of the island)

  The main reason for the visit though was the hope of seeing some Harrier action and we were not to be disappointed :)
  At least 3 Marsh Harriers hunted over the reed beds along the river and we even got to see the acrobatic "food pass", amazing stuff and only the second time I have actually seen it :)
  Marsh Harriers

  Just when you thought things couldn't get any better Stewart spotted a female Montagu's Harrier flying low over the reeds to the right as a Marsh Harrier flew left.If Stewart hadn't of being there I would probably of missed it as a was pre-occupied with trying to get a photo of the Reed Warblers in front of the hide, and no I didn't manage to lol
  With Stewart and Lynne(his better half;))just before leaving the reserve.

  We said our goodbyes and left the reserve, us a couple of minutes behind Stewart in his car.On our way back through Adlingfleet I abruptly told Majella to stop the car as I had seen something.
It was a Little Owl in someones garden tree.

A fantastic 3 hours out watching "wild" stuff :)

Probably a Moth blog later unless I end up on a Bat walk tonight ;)

Thanks again for taking the time to read my blog.

30 Days Wild:Day 2 - Robins Amongst The Pigeons

                                                                   

 Day 2, June 2nd and it feels like Autumn.Overcast, drizzle and a strong breeze making it feel like we have missed a whole Season out.Today was a day to clean the garden feeders, bird baths and fill them all up again.I then spent an hour in the garden to see which of my regular visitors would turn up today.

 Not surprisingly the first to arrive were the trouble makers, the feral pigeons that roost on a neighbouring roof.Always scaring the Tits & Finches off the feeders, though only 8 appeared today rather than the usual 20 odd.

One of my favourite garden birds surveyed the area before coming down to claim the peanuts and suet pellets.
Jackdaws

  A couple of Starlings, maybe the ones nesting under our roof tiles were next along with a male Blackbird.
 Starling

 Blackbird

  A chirping sound from the Lilac tree announced the arrival of a small flock of House Sparrows, 5 in total, 3 males & 2 females.
Male House Sparrow

  2 Robins in the garden together, 1 collecting suet pellets while the other fed, hanging on the sunflower heart feeder.

  What I was waiting for finally arrived in a splash of colour.We usually have a flock of around 10-20 of these come into the garden but today I was just graced with the presence of the one Goldfinch.

 The territorial pair of Collared Doves were the last to arrive, they seem to chase everything away from the feeders whether its a Jackdaw or Pigeon.

  I also saw a couple of Swifts over the garden and a Dunnock mopping up the remaining mealworms left by the Starlings and Blackbird thus ending an enjoyable hour in my garden.

  Tomorrow should be a bit more exciting as I hope to be out looking for stunning Marsh Harriers :)
  Thanks for reading, see you tomorrow ;)

30 Days Wild, Day 1: Sparrowhawk,Stone Curlew & Reed Warbler

  Well a whole day at work meant no time to get out and be wild, so a slow and slightly cheating first day for my 30 Days wild Challenge Blog :(
  Luckily for me Springwatch has done all the hard work for us today and so I could relax when I got home and watch the Live Cams on the BBC Red Button.
  Good to hear Chris Packham just agree on Unsprung that watching the Live Cams is acceptable as a #30DaysWild activity ;)
  So here they are Sparrowhawk, Stone Curlew & Reed Warbler.......................on tv live cams.
Sparrowhawk, mainly sleeping and preening.

  Stone Curlew

  Reed Warbler, which moved briefly allowing us to see her 4 eggs.

  Will be a lot more active in the coming 29 days with plans for Skomer, Grassholm, Badger filming, Choughs, Mothing and more so stay with us ;)