With the mild nights over the past few days I’ve been looking at the weather maps and hoping for a few migrants. I’m ten miles from the coast so whatever I get is about 5% of what a coastal site could expect. Sure enough, I’ve had a few silver y and rusty-dot pearl, a couple of pearly underwings and a gem. Not a particularly good return compared with other years. My ‘resident’ autumn species are showing well – good numbers of merveille du jour, angle shades, November moth, green-brindled crescent, large wainscot, dark chestnut and black rustic. Lunar underwing, the common sallows, Blair’s shoulder-knot and lesser yellow underwing are still with me. A few feathered thorn, large ranunculus and sprawler, and some odd second generation flame, yellow-tail and oak nycteoline.
Things will get even quieter soon, but I know I’ll keep plugging away, hoping for that elusive death’s-head.
Tony H.