Over the last few weeks we have been moving slowly deeper into autumn with daylight slipping away. The moth trap has held Scalloped Oaks, Old Lady, Frosted Orange, White Point, Red Underwing, Angleshades and Bulrush Wainscot among the Large Yellow Underwings, Square-spot Rustics and increasing numbers of Lunar Underwings, one of my favourite autumn moths with their variety of colour and pattern.
One of the stranger visitors to the moth trap was this green bug.
A call from DW alerted me to a semi-palmated sandpiper which I managed to see from Firth hide and a Pectoral Sandpiper also visited for a few days. There have been up to 4 Blacknecked Grebes and several Barwits and Greenshank probing the mud in front of Firth hide which is looking really good for migrating waders.
The numbers of hirundines has been impressive over the last few days with Swallow, House Martin and Sand Martin feeding up over the pits in the warmer air. Butterflies are getting scarce but we have had a Holly Blue laying eggs on the ivy in the hedge and a Peacock sunbathing in the shed doorway as well as several whites still flitting about.
Down at the observatory we found 33 Autumn Ladies Tresses in 3 different sites, which is a good number for the area. Although there haven't been any this year around the gun in Littlestone, hundreds have emerged along the verge on Madeira Road.
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