Sightings (May)

Sightings

May 2009

Friday 1st

Waved Umber

Streamer

Twenty-plume Moth

A warm night, with a minimum temperature of eleven degrees, produced a new moth for the year - two Waved Umbers were in the trap, but both escaped after being photographed in their egg boxes. By contrast, a Streamer which you can usually count on to fly away before you get any photos sat nicely until we had finished. Also in the trap were Flame Carpet, Common Quaker, Hebrew Character, Clouded Drab, Twenty-plume and Common Pug.

The night also gave us our first Bat sighting. There was no sign of it before darkness fell, but while checking the moth trap later on I saw one feeding directly overhead.

During the day, our first Holly Blue butterflies were flying around the garden. There were at least two of them, along with a Speckled Wood and a few Whites.

Monday 4th

Nothing much to report over the last few days, but two Siskins were back feeding in the garden this afternoon. Other birds seen included a baby Blackbird (being fed by a male adult) on the lawn, three Goldfinch, a couple of Yellowhammers, the Sparrowhawk and a pair of Pheasants. The only moth in the trap this morning was a single Hebrew Character.

Wednesday 6th

A trip to castle hill in mixed weather (sunny intervals, light rain and gusty wind) only produced sightings of White butterflies. One was a Large White, while five others flew past without me getting positive identifications.

Friday 8th

Garden Carpet

Another quiet night in the moth trap, but it was quite windy and the moon was bright. In spite of this, we saw our first White-shouldered House-moth of the year (which settled on a window), and the trap contained our first Garden Carpet of the year (a single Hebrew Character was the only other moth in there).

Saturday 9th

Shuttle-shaped Dart

Pale Pinion

In the moth trap this morning, we found our first Shuttle-shaped Dart of the year and a couple of Hebrew Characters. Jax found a Pale Pinion that had settled on the nearby shed, and checking the trap during the night we had seen a Garden Carpet and a Brown House-moth.

Tuesday 12th

Muslin Moth

Cockchafer

Large White

Only one moth in the trap this morning, a Muslin Moth, but it was our first one this year. It was joined by the first Cockchafer (aka May Bug) that I have seen this year, although Jax got one out of the trap yesterday too.

Castle Hill butterflies are nearly all Whites at the moment, with all the ones I managed to get a good look at turning out to be Large Whites. I didn't see anything but Whites yesterday, but there were a couple of Small Tortoiseshells and a Speckled Wood with them today. Also yesterday, I saw my first Swallow and first Swift over the hill - just singles of each, and I didn't see either today.

In the garden, we are still being visited by a single male Siskin.

Wednesday 13th

Wall

Small White

View from castle hill

The moth trap only contained a single moth (Scalloped Hazel this time) and a Cockchafer again this morning.

Another sunny day on castle hill, but still with a cold breeze, and still plenty of Large White butterflies on the loose. Luckily, there was a bit more interest today as they were joined by a single Wall (my first this year) and a Holly Blue (first I've seen on the hill this year). There were also a few Speckled Woods, a Small Tortoiseshell and a Small White.

Thursday 14th

Trefoil

Beetle

Shrew (dead)

The moth trap contained Garden Carpet, Scalloped Hazel and Clouded Drab this morning, along with five Cockchafers. On going to put the trap on again tonight, I found well over a hundred White-shouldered House-moths covering the windows, walls and roof (inside) - presumably we've had a hatching of eggs in there.

No sun on castle hill today, and only a single Large White butterfly seen. Apart from butterflies though, Trefoil was in full flower and the same species of beetle that I see there every year has re-appeared (it looks like Pyrochroa serraticornis from my Chinery book, but I haven't had it confirmed by anybody). There was also a dead Shrew near the tree line at the top of a bank.

Friday 15th

Clouded-bordered Brindle

Freyer's Pug

Two of the moths in the trap this morning were new for the year, Clouded-bordered Brindle and Freyer's Pug. They were joined by Scalloped Hazel, Shuttle-shaped Dart, Clouded Drab and Cockchafers.

Saturday 16th

Red Twin-spot Carpet

Spruce Carpet

Two new species for the year in the trap this morning, Red Twin-spot Carpet and Spruce Carpet. Hebrew Characters were back too and there was another Scalloped Hazel. Also noticed Herb Robert in flower in our garden for the first time this year and the male Siskin and Great Spotted Woodpecker both visited the feeders today.

Monday 18th

Small Square-spot	Green Carpet	Flame Carpet
Scalloped Hazel	7-spot Ladybird	Scarborough Harbour

In the moth trap this morning, Small Square-spot was new for the year as was a rather battered Green Carpet (one wing badly damaged). A Flame Carpet and a Spruce Carpet were sat on the outside of the trap, and a Scalloped Hazel was inside, as was a single Cockchafer.

Castle Hill was very windy today, with no butterflies seen at all, but I did see my first 7-spot Ladybird of the year (he wasn't keen on sitting still for photos though).

Tuesday 19th

Diamond-back (photo by Jax)

Clouded-bordered Brindle

Scorpion Fly

In the moth trap this morning, we got our first Diamond-back moth of the year. Clouded-bordered Brindle, Scalloped Hazel, Flame Carpet and Garden Carpet were in there too, as were a few more Cockchafers.

On castle hill, there were a couple of Small Tortoiseshell and a couple of Small Whites, as well as the first Scorpion Fly I have noticed this year.

Wednesday 20th

Nettle-tap moth

Green-veined White

Shield bugs

A warm day on castle hill, with the sun shining most of the time that I was there, but still only saw a single Green-veined White butterfly. Luckily, I saw my first Nettle-tap moths of the year and six pairs of mating Shield bugs (plus one on his own) as well, so it was still an interesting visit. There were no moths in the trap this morning, but that might have something to do with the thunderstorms yesterday.

Thursday 21st

Lunar Marbled Brown (Jax photo)

Peppered Moth (Jax photo)

Jax emptied the moth trap this morning, and it turned out to be a good catch. Lunar Marbled Brown is new for the garden and the Peppered Moth is our first this year.

Friday 22nd

Heart and Dart

In the moth trap this morning, we found our first Heart and Dart of the year along with another Diamond-back, Clouded-bordered Brindle and Scalloped Hazel. The Siskins are still visiting the garden (a male and a female seen today) and we saw our first baby House Sparrow of the year demanding feeding.

Saturday 23rd

Common White Wave	Rustic Shoulder-knot	Common Marbled Carpet
Brimstone Moth	Spectacle	Spectacle

Lots of moths which were new for the year turned up last night, including Spectacle, Brimstone, Rustic Shoulder-knot, Common White Wave and Dark Marbled Carpet. Green Carpet, Red Twin-spot Carpet, Hebrew Character and Cockchafers were in the trap too.

In the garden, I saw my first baby Starlings (five of them) and the pair of Siskins were back again. Cutting the grass disturbed the first Common Carpet I've seen this year.

Sunday 24th

Duke of Burgundy	Duke of Burgundy	Duke of Burgundy
Angle Shades	Silver-ground Carpet	Bright-line Brown-eye
Muslin	Brimstone	Light Brown Apple Moth
Brown Silver-line	Orange-tip	Beetle

Another good night for the moths, with Angle Shades, Silver-ground Carpet and Bright-line Brown-eye all new for this year. Also in the trap were Muslin, Brimstone, Scalloped Hazel, Hebrew Character, Light Brown Apple Moth and more Cockchafers.

A trip to the Pickering area to see if we could find any Duke of Burgundy butterflies started well when we saw a Hare crossing the road in Forge Valley. Next, we saw our first Orange-tip of the year as we drove through Wilton. At the Pickering site, there were plenty of Brimstone and Orange-tip butterflies, our first Small Copper of the year and we did find a few Duke of Burgundy too (none seen on the main site, but four were on the nearby banks). Moths included our first Brown Silver-lines of the year and Common Carpet. A few micro-moths and a couple of unidentified beetles were also photographed there.

Monday 25th

Painted Lady	Common Blue	Holly Blue
Lesser Swallow Prominent	Brown Silver-line	Broad-bodied Chaser

New for the moth trap this morning were Lesser Swallow Prominent and Brown Silver-line. It was a quieter night for moths, but Flame Carpet, Scalloped Hazel, Heart and Dart and Cockchafers all still managed to put in an appearance.

A walk round the old, derelict Mr Marvels site gave us our first sightings of Painted Lady butterfly and Silver Y moth, though we only saw one of each. Not too many butterflies around, but we did see Small Copper, Speckled Wood and even a Holly Blue on the way back to the car park. We also saw a single female Broad-bodied Chaser at Mr Marvels, which we weren't expecting after they filled in the pool.

After Mr Marvels, a walk round castle hill produced a few brief views of Painted Lady butterflies but they were quick to fly away. Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock were also out in small numbers, but the surprise find was a single Common Blue - our first this year.

Tuesday 26th

Painted Lady

Lots of rain overnight and poor weather all morning meant that I wasn't too hopeful of finding butterflies on castle hill today. Luckily, the sun came out a bit as I made my way up there and it started warming up a bit despite the fairly strong wind. I came away having counted ten Painted Ladies, a Large White and a Small White.

Wednesday 27th

Buff Ermine

A quieter night in the moth trap, but Buff Ermine was new for this year. Scalloped Hazel and Hebrew Character were in there too, and we got another couple of Cockchafers.

Thursday 28th

Figure of Eighty	Figure of Eighty	Figure of Eighty
Micro 1	Micro 2	View from castle hill

A really nice night for the moths, with some cloud cover and a minimum temperature of twelve degrees. It gave us one of our better catches to date and the Figure of Eighty was new for this year. Brimstone Moth, Green Carpet, Common Marbled Carpet, Buff Ermine and Cockchafers were also caught.

On castle hill today, it wasn't overly cold but it was very grey and there was no sign of the sun. The only butterfly I saw was a Large White (so no Painted Ladies today), but I did find the two micro-moths shown in the photos above and a couple of Nettle-tap moths as well.

Saturday 30th

Green Carpet	Badger (photo by Jax)	Broad-bodied Chaser
Common Blue	Small Copper	Common Spotted Orchid

Nothing new in the moth trap last night, but there were a few very fresh looking Green Carpets. Buff Ermine, Brimstone Moth and Silver-ground Carpet were in there too and Cockchafers are still around. Jax also managed to get a few photos of the Badger while I carried on throwing it peanuts.

Another trip to the derelict Mr Marvels site in Scarborough produced very similar results to our last visit - a single Painted Lady and Small Copper (butterflies) and a Broad-bodied Chaser (dragonfly). The main difference this time was that the Common Blue butterflies had emerged, although we only saw a few. Common Spotted Orchid was just about in flower all over the site.

Sunday 31st

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Dingy Skipper (photo by Jax)

Flame Shoulder

Not too many moths in the trap overnight, but a single Flame Shoulder was our first this year. He was joined by Buff Ermine, Scalloped Hazel, Lesser Swallow Prominent and Silver-ground Carpet. Only one Cockchafer in the trap last night, so they might be coming to the end of their run for the year.

Later, a trip to Deepdale in Dalby Forest was looking very disappointing for a long while. The weather was wonderful, but there were almost no butterflies to be seen at all. Luckily, just as we were about to leave the meadow area and set off back for the car, Jax spotted a Dingy Skipper and managed to get a photo of it. While we were trying to get more photos of it, a very orange butterfly flew past our field of view - our first Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary of the year. We only saw one Dingy Skipper and one Fritillary, but they made our day. Also, while trying to photograph the Fritillary, we found a Broad-bodied Chaser dragonfly near the pond.

About these sightings

This is a list of the wildlife I've seen recently, along with any photos I managed to take at the time. Click on the small photos on this page to open a larger version in a new window.

Any references to 'home' or 'my garden' refer to the Newby area of Scarborough, North Yorkshire.

Click on the links to see the sightings for previous months, or 'latest' to see the most recent ones -

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