My Little Place of Calm, a Bold Little Grebe and a Few Garden Moths

Hi all!

For those of you that read my last post I mentioned I that I am joining the reserve volunteer team at London Wetland Centre - turns out there was some confusion and I actually start this Friday not last! So I will have to contain my eagerness for a another few days. Particularly excited to read that this morning a Bittern has been sighted at the reserve, which will no doubt be a frequent occurrence over the colder months!

In this post I wanted to share a few photos from one of my favourite places; Kempton Nature Reserve. And share a few recent moths from my home-made garden trap.

I've taken to visiting this beautiful area of wetland in the evenings which has allowed me to see it, quite literally, in a whole new light.

[caption id="attachment_571" align="alignnone" width="652"] Sunset at Kempton Nature Reserve[/caption]

I mean who could not feel at peace with this sort of view? Bliss.

And Friday night I was joined by this little guy.

[caption id="attachment_562" align="aligncenter" width="652"] Little Grebe at Kempton NR[/caption]

This Little Grebe came right up in front of the hide and I had the most enjoyable time watching him dive, following the air bubbles and guessing where he was going to pop up next, and what he may have caught. They are always a delight!

I say 'he' but honestly I don't know if this is a male or a female - can any one tell?

This encounter has spurred me to see if I can get my decent camera fixed! Going to find a local camera shop tomorrow.

Yesterday evening I saw a few Wigeon that were sat on the bank preening themselves; they seemed to still be moulting their eclipse plumage which you could see evidence of from the surrounding feathers.

I also came across this Knot Grass caterpillar having it's dinner.

[caption id="attachment_563" align="aligncenter" width="652"] Knot Grass Caterpillar[/caption]

And this neat Fly Agaric fungus.

[caption id="attachment_566" align="aligncenter" width="652"] Fly Agaric[/caption]

How fairytale-esque!

Now on to the moths.



Square-spot Rustic Xestia xanthographa - the one on the right was one that I caught last week and the one of the left a couple of weeks before that. After reading this great post I learnt that there can be huge variation within this species, as you can see with these two individuals. This caused me a bit of confusion!

Another moth that shows a wide range of variation in forewing colour and pattern is the Lesser Yellow Underwing Noctua comes.

[caption id="attachment_579" align="aligncenter" width="652"] Lesser Yellow Underwing[/caption]

Not making identifying these guys easy for me! But that's all part of the fun ;)

I've also been getting lots of these little micros and have developed a bit of a soft spot for them.

[caption id="attachment_582" align="aligncenter" width="652"] Tachystola acroxantha[/caption]

They don't have a common name and I can never remember the latin, Tachystola acroxantha, so I've taken to calling them 'flame bottom'...... Can you see why? ;)

Green Elfcup Fungus and Colour Variations in the Lunar Underwing Moth

Hi all!

As some of you may know I have recently completed a MSc in Species Identification and Survey Skills. At the moment I am filling my spare time with habitat management based volunteer work - super excited to be starting at London Wetland Centre next week!

I also joined Natures Gym earlier this week for a couple of sessions thinning and removing scrub and clearing green waste at Crane Park. During the Monday session we came across this funky looking blue fungus:



Green elfcup fungus Chlorociboria - either C. aeruginascens or C. aeruginosa; apparently microscopic examination is needed to tell the difference between these two species! Although C. aeruginosa is the rarer of the two.

It's common to see blue stained wood caused by the mycelium of these species, but not so common to come across the fruiting body so this was a good find!  Can't say we were looking out for it (or even knew what is was when we found it!) but still pretty cool!

Mycelium is the main part of a mushroom consisting of thread like tissue (called hyphae) that run underground or, as in this case, through dead wood; what we see on the surface is just the fruiting body!

Fascinating to think there's a whole other world of life going on beneath our feet!

Anyway, I also wanted to share a few recent moths from the trap and look at the different colour variations of the Lunar underwing:









As you can see individuals vary from light creamy yellows to dark orangey browns. The darker ones are particularly stunning as the pale veins and cross-lines contrast beautifully with the darker background.

I've been getting quite a few of these guys lately but the variation between individuals make it just as exciting as getting a different species!

I also wanted to share a few micro moths; Originally I found the thought of identifying micros a bit daunting but actually they are not too difficult and are just as stunning as the big guys! Must purchase this book!



Garden Rose Tortrix Acleris variegana



Light Brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana 



Tachystola acroxantha - this one doesn't have a common name! Tiny but beautiful - love the flame orange tipped wings! 

FSC Moth Course & Homemade Trap

Hi all!

Well this is my first post on my shiny new blog! It's taking me a while to figure out how everything works, I have to admit I am not the best with technology (understatement!)!

I just wanted to share a few photos from the FSC moth course I went on about a month ago now (a birthday present from my lovely mum) and show you my new and exciting contraption! You can probably guess what this is from the title... 

For those of you who don't know, FSC, or Field Studies Council is a environmental education charity. I would definitely recommend their fold out ID charts! They do a number of courses for different levels at several centres around the UK. One of these centres, The Stockyard, happens to be just down the road from me in Bushy Park (a brilliant place for wildlife watching!).

The course was 1 day long and started with a introduction to moth identification. Considering there are around 2,400 UK moths this is not easy to compact down in to 1 hour so we just focused on the main families. Then we ventured excitedly outside to have a look at the catch from the trap set out the night before.



This is a Robinson moth trap. There are three main types of moth trap; Skinner, Robison and Heath but I'll talk about them in more detail in a different post.

Now on the the catch..... These are just a few of my favourite macros moths from the day, there were also lots of micros but my camera isn't high-tech enough for them!



Blood-vein Timandra comae - I have been longing to see this moth in the flesh ever since I saw it in my book. It didn't disappoint!



Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata 



Early Thorn Selenia dentaria



September Thorn Ennomos erosaria



September Thorn face shot - as cute as a duckling!



Iron Prominent Notodonta dromedarius (left) and Swallow Prominent Pheosia tremula (right)



Iron Prominent Notodonta dromedarius (left) and Swallow Prominent Pheosia tremula (right)



Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta



Ear Moth Amphipoea oculea



Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing Noctua Janthe - probably my favourite of the day, such beautiful colouring! From silvery purple, to velvety maroon, to the pastel lime green frontal area of the thorax. Like other underwing moths is has bright yellow-orange hindwings; this species has relatively broad black hindwing bands (see this photo), hence it's common name.



Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing again - beauty!



Straw Underwing Thalpophila matura - another underwing, same family (Noctuidae) but different genus



And last but most definitely not least the stunning Ruby Tiger Phragmatobia fuliginosa - this is a day flying moth (although still attracted to night time moth traps) and the most common of the tiger moths, which were the theme for this years National Moth Night.

So all in all it was a brilliant day and definitely sparked my enthusiasm for moths! So much so I had a look at purchasing a moth trap. After seeing the prices I decided that building my own would be the cheapest option - or more enlisting my lovely boyfriend to build it for me (to reduce the risk of injury/explosions).

£40 or so later (buying this sort of Skinner moth trap will set you back more than £100) and here is a sneak preview of the result!



All I need now is some egg crates to put inside! These provide shelter and somewhere for the moths to hide and rest. Going to ask at the local green grocers tomorrow. Very excited to try it out! 

More information, photos and a step by step guide on how to make your own moth trap coming soon....