By the standards of this summer today was a good day, it hardly rained and certainly not enough tot prevent working outside all day. The night was also dry and this resulted in a fair catch of moths including a couple of hawk-moths.
elephant hawk-moth
They are both common species but always a treat to see.
eyed hawk-moth
There were also lots of less flashy species, including a bloodvein.
bloodvein
And a few are downright tiny.
Caleophora albitarsella
This is one of the most distinctive of a large group of very small moths that make a leaf case to live in as caterpillars, they then move around rather like a snail. The shape of the leaf case is often the easiest way to identify the species as the adult moths look very similar to one another.
We spent the morning path cutting on the far side of Ellingham Lake, I say “we” as I have the assistance of a school student on placement. The chance to get outdoor work done without getting soaked was too good to miss so in the afternoon we weeded a section of the shore in front of the Tern hide to improve the view and see off some of the perennial weeds and small trees that have seeded in there. It was even warm enough for us to see a few butterflies and other insects including this pair of beetles, sometimes known as blood-suckers.
Rhagonycha fulva
The count of mute swan on Ivy Lake continues to rise and I counted at least 42 this evening. On Iblsey Water from the Tern hide as I locked up I saw 2 common sandpiper, a dunlin in very fine summer plumage and a colour-ringed cormorant, I have yet to establish exactly which scheme it is from, but I think it is one from France, hopefully more to follow on this. The combination seems to be blue above white on the right leg and orange over green on the left.
cormorant with colour rings
Blashford Lakes Nature Reserve 