Moths and rain

The cloudy conditions and warm overnight temperatures were both conducive for producing a rather busy night in the moth trap with 140+ moths trapped involving 55 species. A few migrants were noted including four Diamond-back Moths (Kålmøl, Plutella xylostella) and two Silver Y (Gammaugle, Autographa gamma). Other highlights included the first Dingy Shell (Lille Kratmåler, Euchoeca nebulata) of the year and a rather stunning example of Pempelia palumbella.

Pempelia palumbella

Once the moth trap had been checked, I headed down to the beach for a seawatch. The conditions were less than ideal with a light northerly wind discouraging any substancial offshore passage. Highlights included 3 Red-throated Divers (Rødstrubet lom, Gavia stellata) and 13 Shelduck (Gravand, Tadorna tadorna). As a result, I decided to focus on reading some colour rings on gulls. During the process I came across two smart adult breeding plumage Mediterranean Gulls (Sorthovedet måge, Ichthyaetus melanocephalus) and a Greenshank (Hvidklire, Tringa nebularia) dropped in when the heavy rain set in.

Two adult breeding plumage Mediterranean Gulls (Sorthovedet måge, Ichthyaetus melanocephalus)

People: Samuel.