Moth trapping poor again in May. By the end of May last year I had recorded 136 species in the garden whereas this year the there have only been 59, with nothing of particular note. Interesting Birds seen in May were the female Red-footed Falcon and male Red-backed Shrike at Stodmarsh, Purple Heron at Dungeness, plus Black-winged Stilts and Temmink's Stints at Sandwich Bay. The first Stag Beetle of the year was in the garden on 16th May and the female Dainty Damselfly at Oare Marshes was a new species for me. A Black Oil Beetle at Oare was only the 2nd one I've seen in Kent.

 Red-footed Falcon

 Red-backed Shrike

Dainty Damselfly

Stag Beetle

Black Oil Beetle

    

Moth trapping this April has been dire with just 4 species being added to the year list since the end of March. The most interesting were 2 sightings of Emperor Moth in the garden attracted by the use of a pheromone lure. Interesting birds seen in April were: Penduline Tit at Oare Marshes, Bittern at Stodmarsh, Hooded Crow and Night-heron at Dungeness, plus the first Wheatears and Whimbrels at Oare.

Bittern

 

Penduline Tit

 

Hooded Crow

 

Wheatear

Another month, with a lot of wind and rain. Moth list stands at 23 at the end of March. New for the year include: March Moth, Double-striped Pug, Dark Sword-grass, Small Quaker, Clouded Drab, Twin-spotted Quaker, The Herald and my 2nd ever Acleris literana. Interesting birds seen include: The White Stork at Sandwich Bay, and 3 pairs of Mandarin Ducks at Selling Pond. 

 Acleris literana

 

   Twin-spotted Quaker

 

White Stork

Mandarins

 

Another month has passed and the moth list for the year stands at 14, which is fairly good. New species during February include: Pale Brindled Beauty, Early Grey, Common Quaker, Hebrew Character, Chestnut and 3 records of Acleris Cristana. Interesting birds seen in the month include: Short-eared Owl, Barn Owl, Glossy Ibis, Hawfinch, Hume's Warbler and Snow Bunting.

Hume's Warbler

 

Short-eared Owl

Acleris cristana

 

Hawfinch

 End of another month and the garden moth list stands at 4: Mottled Umber, Winter Moth, Light Brown Apple Moth, and Dotted Border. Birds seen include Dartford Warbler and Great Grey Shrike. I've recently returned from a trip to Costa Rica and my photos will be appearing on my Flickr site. Crested Owls from that trip below.

Mottled Umber

 

Dotted Border

 

Dartford Warbler

 

Great Grey Shrike

 

Crested Owls

 The end of another year. Since the last post I've added just 2 species to the garden Moth List for 2022: Winter Moth and Mottled Umber. The final total for the year being 405, which is my 2nd best year and only the 2nd time I've passed 400 species. Also surprising is the addition of 37 new species this year bringing the overall total for the site to 731. Interesting birds seen since the last post include A Purple Sandpiper at Hampton Pier and Whooper Swans at Dungeness. 

Winter Moth

 

Mottled Umber

 

Purple Sandpiper

 

Whooper Swan

The end of another (very wet) month has seen only 3 species being added to the moth year list (403) with December Moth being the only new macro. Interesting birds seen since my last post include the Great Grey Shrike at Hothfield Heathlands, Sabine's Gull at Port Lympne Zoo, with Red-rumped Swallows and Snow Bunting at Palm Bay, Margate.

 December Moth

 

Great Grey Shrike

Sabine's Gull

Snow Bunting