A big drop in the temperature after yesterday’s 25+ degrees day reaching only 16 degrees today mid-afternoon. Generally, quite quiet for birds today, even for singing birds, likely not helped by the brisk northerly wind. In the morning there were four (two pairs) of Garganey on the Broad Water, giving great views. A Greenshank went shooting past calling on the Broad Water at lunch time. There were also two Ring Ouzel reported in Holme Dunes viewed from the coastal footpath.

With the heat yesterday and the very mild overnight temperatures it was the busiest day of the year in the moth traps this morning by far! Being a relative newbie to moths (this is my first year properly doing them regularly), it took me a long time to go through everything, mainly because of all the new micro moths which often have many confusion species. We had 154 moths of 44 species… We had 3 Small Elephant Hawk Moth, 2 Reed Dagger, 4 V-Pug, 4 Least Black Arches, 1 Bordered White, 3 Light Brown Apple, 3 Brindled Pug, 2 Green Carpet, 1 Puss Moth, 1 Ruby Tiger, 12 Muslin, 1 Red Twin Spot Carpet, 2 Chinese Character, 1 Purple Bar, 1 Common Pug, 1 White Ermine, 1 Brimstone, 1 Brown Moss-moth, 1 Common Groundling, 1 Willow Beauty, 1 Large Pale Masoner, 1 Brimstone, 1 Gorse Case Bearer, 1 Colephora sp., 1 Pine Nut Moth, 2 Northern Drab, 1 Bramble Blotch Miner, 2 Treble Lines, 5 Large Umber, 2 Black Headed Conch, 4 Fern, 2 Sharp Angled Peacock, 3 Flame Wainscot, 1 Water Mint Straw, 1 Buff Tip, 1 Coronet, 1 Nut Tree Tussock, 2 Narrow-winged Grey, 1 Common Quaker, 3 Knot Grass, 1 Oak Tree Pug, 1 Yellow Barred Brindle, 1 Birch Tortrix, 3 Beet Moth, 1 Garden Mompha, and an insane 66 Cinnabar!!! The most time consuming thing was probably getting all the Cinnabar out the traps!

Buff Tip are one of our more common moths but always a favourite amongst people who come to see the moths. They do a pretty great job at pretending to be a piece of birch stem at rest to avoid being eaten by a predator..

Buff Tip (top) – Small Elephant Hawk (bottom)

The Reed Dagger and Flame Wainscot are both nationally scarce and localised moths in Norfolk and both use Common Reed as the caterpillar foodplant…

Reed Dagger (left) – Flame Wainscot (right)

My absolute FAVOURITE moth of the bunch was this fantastic Puss Moth – it has been high up in my list of moths to see for a long time now. The caterpillars use Poplars and Willows, and are Widespread in Norfolk but local, only recorded in small numbers each year, but increasing in recent years. They have beautiful gold detailing on the wings.

Puss Moth

They’re much bigger than I thought! Puss Moth face

Less butterflies with the drop in temperature with Small Heath, Speckled Wood, Small Copper and Wall Brown.

Shannon Clifford – Assistant Warden

NORFOLK BIRD NEWS FROM RARE BIRD ALERT

Norfolk Bewick’s Swan reported Welney WWT still from Main Observatory 52.5279,0.2776

Norfolk 4.Garganey (2.drks) Holme NOA at east end of Broad Water at 11.35am c52.9737,0.5528

Norfolk possible Booted Eagle pale morph flew east over Norwich at 10.35am c52.6292,1.2976

Norfolk Spotted Redshank Snettisham Coastal Park at Ken Hill Marshes on pool at 9.57am 52.8876,0.4625

Norfolk White Stork Hickling Broad NWT flew east past tower at 12.22pm 52.7324,1.5936

Norfolk Wood Sand Welney WWT at Lady Fen at 10.50am c52.5278,0.2775

Norfolk Little Stint Cley NWT on Simmonds’s Scrape mid morning c52.9591,1.0553. Park at 52.9544,1.0566

Norfolk Temminck’s Stint Cley NWT still 10.38am at Pat’s Pool c52.9578,1.0558

Norfolk BLACK KITE reported Boughton Fen c52.5885,0.5104

Norfolk no sign of redhead.Smew Wells at North Point Pools mid morning. Park in small car park north off A149 c52.9516,0.8785

Norfolk Spotted Redshank Wells still at North Point Pools. Park in small car park north off A149 52.9513,0.8746

Norfolk Garganey drk Hockwold Washes still c52.4504,0.5245. Park at 52.4481,0.5287

Norfolk Smew redhead Wells at North Point Pools on east pool at 7.21am. Park in small car park north off A149 c52.9516,0.8785

Norfolk Temminck’s Stint Cley NWT still from Teal Hide (+Wood Sand still) c52.9577,1.0545. Park at c52.9544,1.0567