Moths and First Nest of the Year

Friday night turned out to be the mildest of the nights I have put out the moth trap so far this year and I managed to trap just a few more moths. The species trapped were common quakers, Hebrew character (a pretty moth named after the black mark on its wings shaped like the letter Nun from the Hebrew alphabet) and Emmelina monodactyla (one of the plume moths).

Hebrew character



Emmelina mondactyla - a very lively micro moth and I was lucky to get a photo



Summary of Moths Trapped Friday, 25th March

Minimum temperature 4.8 degrees centigrade

6.45 p.m. until dawn

2 x Common Quaker
2 x Hebrew Character (new for year)
2 x Emmelina monodactyla (new for year)

Total species in garden 2011 - 7

(As always if my id is wrong I would welcome any corrections)

Garden Bird Update

Today we saw a female blackbird sitting on a nest located in a thicket of bamboo. I hadn't seen any signs of nest building but the nest is towards the top of the garden and not visible from the house.

A pair of chaffinches is still feeding daily so still hopeful they may stop around to nest. I saw the female great spotted woodpecker on the feeders this morning - I haven't seen her for weeks although the male visits most days. I may not be so pleased to see them when and if the blue tits start nesting after last year's experiences! We have put a stronger metal plate around the nest box entrance this year.

Plenty of nest box investigations still ongoing by the blue tits and just like last year one of the pair shuffles round in circles on the base of the nest box pecking away and removing small pieces of wood. The nestbox with camera is one of the best things we have bought - the pictures provided endless entertainment last spring.