A Few New Moths and Blue Tit Update

Sunday night's moth trapping session brought a couple of new species for this year and one possible garden tick. There were a couple of micros - a Light Brown Apple moth and the very pretty Small Magpie Moth which looks more like a macro and what I think is probaby a Middle-barred Minor. One other moth, which I thought initially was a carpet is proving yet another challenge for my "slow to improve" id skills so I am still working on that one!

Small Magpie



Possible Middle-barred Minor? Edit Many thanks to Stewart from The Orthosia Enthusiast and From the Notebook (see links on the right) for confirming my id



"Mystery Moth" Edit - Many thanks to Stewart for suggesting Seraphim which looks possible from the markings. 2nd Edit - Have decided to go with Seraphim following further research. Thanks to Dean from DDD too.



Summary of Moths Trapped Sunday, 15th May

Minimum temperature 11.0 degrees centigrade

9.15 p.m. until dawn

15w Actinic Skinner Trap

1 x Small Magpie (New for Year)
6 x Heart and Dart
1 x Light Brown Apple Moth (New for Year)
1 x Mottled Pug
1 x Middle-barred Minor? (would be New for Year)Edit Can now confirm NFY

plus the unidentified moth above Edit - possible Seraphim thanks Stewart
2nd Edit 1 x Seraphim NFY and New for Garden

Blue Tit Update

There are still just the four young - it doesn't look now as though the remaining 2 eggs will hatch. We managed to put the wire netting around the nestbox on Saturday morning and, whilst the great spotted woodpecker, has returned and tried to approach the box, the netting seems to be preventing him gaining access. The mother is still spending a lot of time brooding the four nestlings.

The wren is still feeding young and the young blackbird is still around sometimes feeding itself now on food that drops from the feeders. There are plenty of young house sparrows being fed by their parents. In fact, the birds are getting through far more bird food than they did in the winter!

I saw a strange looking feral pigeon on the lawn on Sunday and noticed it had two bright pink plastic rings on one of its legs. I guess it is a racing pigeon that has gone AWOL - it certainly seemed to be getting very "friendly" with one of the feral pigeons and the pair were still around yesterday.

Year Tick, Warwickshire Tick and a Lifer for Me!

Bearing in mind that on the last two occasions I've gone in search of rare/unusual birds reported at Shustoke Reservoir I've dipped, I resisted the temptation over the weekend to shoot over to the Reservoir where a 1st summer Black-throated diver has descended.

This morning I decided I could resist no longer and drove over to Shustoke. Although I did make the fatal mistake of yet again taking my daughter who gets bored very easily so my time there was limited!

When I arrived I was told by a birder near the car park that the diver had been seen in the area of the reservoir near the car park earlier this morning but had since moved to the far end of the reservoir (the story of my birding life!). A few "bribes" later and daughter had reluctantly agreed to go over there.

By the time we arrived the diver was moving back in the direction of the car park! However, it was still just about viewable in the far distance (when it wasn't diving!) and, oh joy, I finally got my very first, albeit a very brief, glimpse of this species.

Sorry, I did take the camera but no photos as it was far too distant. Many thanks to the two gentleman who helped me, one by letting me get a glimpse of the diver through his telescope and the other who told me where it had last been seen.

Other highlights of the trip were the great number of great crested grebes on the reservoir, one of which was sitting on a nest. There was at least one common tern around and many coots on nests.

A very productive morning!

Blue Tit Eggs are Hatching!

When I switched on the nestbox camera and tv this morning I was over the moon to see that 3 of the blue tit eggs had hatched. A bit later I was lucky enough to see the fourth egg hatching and the chick emerge. Just 2 eggs remain now.

The female blue tit has spent most of the day incubating the young and its fascinating to watch the male bring the occasional small caterpillar which he passes to the female who then, oh so gently, feeds the young. Sometimes she seems to get fed up of waiting for him to provide food and goes off to find some herself.

A very poor record shot of the proceedings - young are in the bottom right hand corner!




We are at present, however, on "woodie alert" as yesterday the male great spotted woodpecker perched at the entrance to the nestbox. I think he may have young of his own as he is carrying away beakfuls of fat from the feeders. I've asked my husband to replace the wire netting we put around the nest box last year with holes big enough to allow the blue tits through but not the woodpecker. It seemed to keep the woodie at bay. Although the entrance hole has a metal plate around it, last year the woodpecker tried to gain entry at the side and back of the nestbox.

I have seen the female wren taking food into the nest in the ivy so she must be feeding young too.

The nest is somewhere in amongst the ivy as shown on the photo below. I am not sure exactly where the nest is as she takes a very circuitous route - landing in the laurel and then onto the ivy and then she works her way behind the ivy leaves to the nest site.



I saw my first swifts of the year on Tuesday in Solihull Town Centre.

I am keeping the post short in case it disappears like yesterdays! I understand Blogger are restoring yesterday's posts but if mine doesn't re-appear I will repost the photos of Coleshill church and retype some text next week.

Trip to Coleshill

I planned to pay a quick visit to Brandon Marsh yesterday to try and catch up with some of the newly arrived migrants that I haven't yet seen but as I was just about to leave home it started to rain quite heavily. As the weather forecast didn't look that good I decided to abandon the Brandon idea. I remembered that a church I have been meaning to visit at Coleshill was open on Wednesday mornings so I decided to go there instead.

The Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul stands on the highest point of the hill where the market town is located and the church spire is quite a local landmark as it can be seen from some miles around. The church is a Grade 1 listed building and the nave and aisles were constructed in the fourteenth century and the tower, spire and chancel in the fifteenth century.

The Norman font dates back to the mid or late twelfth century and is even older than the present church. It is made of beautifully carved Caen stone.



This compartment of the font shows the Crucifixion.



The font was rediscovered in 1859 having been hidden and covered in plaster to hide precious stones set in some of the scenes during the Civil War (1642-51).



Tapestry



One of the Medieval Table Tombs with an effigy possibly of John I de Clinton who it is believed travelled with the future Edward I on his crusade to recapture Nazareth. He died around 1298 and the shield shows the Clinton heraldry. The dog at his feet represents a crusaders' symbol of fidelity.



Stained glass window in the Lady Chapel



Brass Eagle Lectern



The Chancel



Carving at the end of a choir stall



Effigy of John Digby (died 1557) and his wife Anne



Tomb of Reginald Digby (died 1549) and his wife Anne - the figures around the side of the tomb are of their 12 children





Tomb of Simon Digby (died 1519) and wife Alice



Marble Urn in memory of John Kildare, Lord Digby, who was involved in the Gunpowder Plot

Edit - Have recently been advised that the urn is for Kildare Digby who died in 1661 and who was buried in St Patrick's Cathedral Dublin. The Digby involved in the Gunpowder Plot wa a distant cousin - Sir Everard Digby (died 1666). Please see comment below. Edited 8th March 2012



Stained Glass Windows in the Chancel (the first window represents Agony in the Garden, Crucifixion and Resurrection)







Pulpit



There are stone heads all around the outside of the church - these two were by the Porch





Stump of Medieval Preaching Cross






When I came out of the Church the sun had made an appearance so perhaps I should have risked a trip to Brandon Marsh after all! Oh well, the church was well worth a visit - the font was incredible and I'll try to get to Brandon Marsh before the end of the month.

Sources: Walk around Coleshill Parish Church fact sheet and Coleshill Parish Church Booklet

Mystery Pugs

I usually release the moths I trap within a few hours of capture after I have attempted to id and photograph them. However, I decided last night to keep the 3 pugs in the fridge overnight in the hope that I might be able to take photos today.

Well, they were still very lively this morning but I managed to get a few record shots before they flew off.

Pug 1 - its amazing the extra colours that appear on moths on a photo after cropping unless its a trick of the light/camera. My best guess for this one still remains as a common pug although I am probably hopelessly wrong!



Pug 2 - Although initially (using a magnifying glass) this species looked very similar to Pug 1 - in the photo the resemblance is not so clear! Nevertheless my best guess for this one is another common pug.



Pug 3 - This is the poor moth with most of its second wing missing - it was as lively as the other 2 though! From the markings that are present I suspect this may be a mottled pug.



If anyone can help with id of the above moths it would be much appreciated.

EDIT - Many thanks to Dean and Stewart for coming to the rescue and confirming my identifications that Pugs 1 and 2 are Common and Pug 3 is a mottled.

I rushed into the garden last night to capture what I thought was an unusual looking moth on the kitchen window attracted to the light. Once I got it inside I realised it was a caddis fly although in my defence (!) I believe they are quite closely related to moths. They differ from moths in having wings which are covered in minute hairs rather than scales and have biting mouthparts rather than a proboscis.
Sorry no photo, it flew out of the pot earlier today before I could press the shutter on the camera! It was even livelier than the pugs.

Blue Tit Update

The female is still incubating the eggs. She gets a very occasional visit in the nest box from the male bringing in a titbit. I was going to say that I hoped he proved a better provider when the young hatched but having read up on tit breeding it appears that the male also feeds the female during the times she is off the nest.

There were three young house sparrows being fed in the garden yesterday by the parent birds and I think greenfinches, chaffinches and starlings are breeding close by as all species are visiting the feeders far more regularly than during the winter months.

And here's a photo of "Sid the Snail". I spotted him in the sale when I was doing the supermarket shop this morning and just couldn't resist an impulse buy!!

The Pugs have Arrived

Summary of Moth Catch Sunday, 8th May

9.00 p.m. - Dawn

Minimum temperature 8.4 degrees centigrade

15w Actinic Skinner Moth Trap

6 x Heart and Dart
2 x Shuttle-shaped Dart

plus 3 of the "I am a nightmare to identify" pugs! One is so worn with one wing half missing that it is more or less unidentifiable although the few markings I can make out on the one full wing suggest brindled or mottled. The other 2, although worn, look more or less identical to each other and, after an hour or more looking through books and trawling the internet, my best guess is common pug (although grey pug comes a close second). There is absolutely no chance of taking a photo as even after a couple of hours in the salad drawer of the fridge they are flying round the moth pots in a blur of wings every time I pick the pots up. So it looks as though they will remain another 3 of my mystery moths.

I must admit I am full of admiration for moth bloggers who manage to get superb photos of pugs with markings that look just like the field guides! In fact, I am off to console myself now by scoffing my one remaining Easter egg :D.

One piece of good news I spotted today is that it looks as if (at long last after several postponements) the new RSPB reserve at Middleton Lakes is opening at the end of the month. Its closer to home than Brandon Marsh so I'm hoping to make regular visits once it has opened. The reserve has been closed to the public whilst various habitat improvements have been ongoing although we did go on a guided walk a few years back and it looked very promising. It will be interesting to see how it has changed.

Another Nestbox Update

The female blue tit has laid 6 eggs in total - one less than last year. I believe clutches are usually smaller in gardens compared to woodland because there will be less food available to feed the young. Incubation started last Sunday and lasts between 13 - 15 days so, all being well, the eggs may start to hatch next weekend.

A few rubbishy photos taken from the nestbox camera which will give you an idea of whats going on. I'm not sure what has happened to the colour - it seems to come and go!

6 blue tit eggs



Female blue tit incubating



The one surviving blackbird youngster is still being fed by the male and I saw my first house sparrow fledgling being fed last Wednesday.

Here are a few photos taken of flowers in my garden

Clematis



Yellow Poppy



Azalea



More flowers are appearing in the mini wildflower meadow towards the top of the garden - red campion, ribwort plaintain, buttercups and burnet are starting to flower as the cowslips and bluebells fade.



I went to check out a small Warwickshire Wildlife Trust reserve last week for a future visit and spotted a song thrush - believe it or not the first I have seen this year! The 2011 bird list is slowly creeping up!