Goldeneye and Godwits

A little after 8am this morning and there were a handful of photographer/birdwatchers at Mistley Walls. The tide was just dropping and the sky was crystal clear.

Given that the high-tide was so low, the Black-tailed Godwits had decided to roost right next to the road, rather than the factory roost on the Suffolk side.

As the tide receded, the odd Knot and Dunlin appeared from the throng, affording a nice comparison and the two separate godwit groups joined together.

Round at the Quay, a few Goldeneye were busy courting and pair-bonding. Males predominated, but one pair were well and truly in love: heads were thrown back, wing-stretching and diving together. They looked like they would be very happy together.

 

Slim pickings on the Stour

The day dawned bright and clear - far better than the predicted strong winds in the 5-day forecast. A drumming Great Spotted Woodpecker greeted me as I left the house for Harwich and a barge trip along the Stour. Before that, a quick check of Alton Water was in order to see if the Black-throated Diver was still present. It was.

I took the camera more in hope than expectation, my priority had to be with the passengers (further insurance for the appalling photographs you are about to suffer).

The Great Northern Diver that had been lingering off Erwarton Ness had done a bunk, but was ably substituted by an (un-Brunnich's) Guillemot. Only the third time I have seen one on the estuary in 11 years. Parking would be chaos if one did turn up off Erwarton. Despite it being a four-hour trip over low water, the estuary never seemed to empty, so exposed mud was at a premium. In addition, numbers of Great Crested Grebe and Goldeneye were disappointingly low. Sixty-odd Red-breasted Merganser were adequate compensation (including one group of 48 off Wrabness). One Common Scoter allowed several views on and off, but this was the only shot I got of it.

The Dark-bellied Brent Geese did us all the favour of flying in off the winter cereals in Bradfield to have a wash and brush up off Stutton Mill.

An adult Shag also stood up on one of the cardinal markers with a Cormorant. A call to my patch-birding neighbour in Holbrook ensued, but by the time he got down to the shore it had flown off.

As we headed back to Harwich there was plenty of wader activity in Erwarton Bay and as hoped, a Peregrine was sat up on the lightship moored mid-channel. Clearly!

Peregrine just to the right of the light on the hand-rail.

Spacing please

For the first time this winter, what must be around 50% of the estuary population (3-4000 birds) of Knot was in view together at Mistley Walls this morning. Miserable light yet again, but the feeding flock got close enough to take some pictures that demonstrate their feeding behaviour.  Those new to waders always struggle to separate Knot and Dunlin and there really is no need when you see Knot feeding in such dense ranks. Something Dunlin never seem to do.

Aside from the Knot, the only birds feeding on the mud close to the road was a small group of well-spaced Redshank.

Muddy marvellous

The light hasn't got any better, but the birds are still there at Mistley Walls. Spent a pleasant hour or two as the tide came in around lunchtime before the weather and tide came in. A selection of photos with tiny images for you. At least they set the scene.

Dark-bellied Brent Geese on winter cereal:

Wader cloud (top left):

Black-tailed Godwits:

Then it rained:

Black-throated Diver

Got my twitching boots on this morning for the epic 1km journey to Alton Water. No sign for the first couple of minutes, but then it popped up about 100 metres off the marina. It then spent the next hour doing a fast feeding circuit up to the dam and back round along the southern edge.

I cranked up the zoom on the bridge to max (30x) and managed some identifiable shots.

A cropped effort:

Snorkelling:

Diving with diagnostic white flank:

If your house was on fire...

...and you were able to grab one thing, aside from family and pets of course, what would it be?

My choice would be my notebooks. In the back room, I have sixteen dating back to 1985 from my birding around the UK. For foreign trips I have pushed the boat out and used one per trip. Optics, despite the short-term pain of being Swarowski-less, are replaceable. You can't replace 27 years of hand-written memories. I really should buy a fire-proof box.

I am green with envy, when I see fabulous illustrations like @stewchat produced of the Ivory Gull in the north-east recently. I am not an artist and without a camera, I often wonder how I would cope making sketches of scarce or rare birds, but so long as I can write, those memories are there to be brought back to life.

Take this one here...

This is page from a ten-day trip to Iceland in April 2004 when I helped out the Operation Godwit team with their ringing mission. I wasn't much help, we only caught 12 Black-tailed Godwits, but we did see plenty of colour-ringed birds, included on the 20th - Lime/Yellow:Yellow/White.

Today I was down at Mistley Walls on the Stour Estuary and guess who I saw?

Four months short of ten years since pencil met paper and he is still going strong. He was ringed as an adult in 1998 on The Wash so he is at least seventeen years old. He has been seen on the Stour almost without out fail, spring and autumn, since 2003. What really hits home, is the clear demonstration of how important the estuary is for him and his fellow godwits. 

I have a smartphone, digital camera, laptop, access to tablet (who doesn't), but it would pain me to stop using a notebook and pencil. As an old friend once said, the bluntest one is better than the sharpest mind.

More than a moth a minute

The feel of migrants seemed to have reduced in the atmosphere this evening as Tony and I did a quick half hour check of the ivy along Alton Hall Lane before 8 o'clock. Just 13 moths of six species and six of those were Angle Shades.

After a meeting of the village community woodland project, we headed down Lower Street. There was the merest hint of a south-westerly, but nothing significant to put the moths off performing. Vestals were absent, but in 45 minutes we recorded 61 moths of 17 species. We start at either end of the 200m-long hedgerow and meet in the middle. By the time we did, Tony was double-filling his pots. Two new species for the season were Rush Veneer (a migrant) and a Copper Underwing agg. (I don't have the knowledge to separate Svensonn's).

In order of abundance, those 61 moths comprised:

Chestnut - 13
Angle Shades - 10
Large Yellow Underwing - 8
Dark Sword-grass - 7
L-album Wainscot - 5
Barred Sallow - 4
Lunar Underwing - 2
Setaceous Hebrew Character - 2
Rush Veneer - 2

...with singles of Copper Underwing agg., White-Point, Green-brindled Crescent, Brick, Common Marbled Carpet, Lesser Yellow Underwing, Yellow-line Quaker and Emmelina monodactyla.

Which is more addictive: moths or morphine?

 As I am 'on' both at the moment, I can speak from experience. After a disappointing check of the ivy around the village last night and hearing that it would be cool again, I thought I wouldn't bother trying again tonight. However, after putting the kids to bed and seeing there was sod all on the box, I thought I may as well give it a go. A great decision.

As I got round to Alton Hall Lane, I could see Tony's torchlight in the road. His first words were "I've got five in pots, and seven more in the fridge." A very positive start. Four were Dark Sword-grass, but the stand out was a Tawny Pinion, a new one for me and a first for the village to the best of my knowledge. Temperature-wise, it was a notch or two higher on the mercury than the previous night and dead calm. A trip to Lower Street was therefore in order.

A Large Yellow Underwing was first up, followed by another Dark Sword-grass. So that was five of these beasts already and that got me thinking we were due something special. Of course, a Crimson Speckled would be nice (there was one at Bawdsey, not a million miles away, last week), but I would settle for a....Vestal!! There it was, fresh as anything, with it's schnozz in an ivy-flower. A full-fat, high-quality migrant moth. Tony was working his way up from the other end of the hedge and was as pleased as punch when he set eyes on it. He described an interesting moth that had eluded him, so we went to have another look. He was a few steps ahead of me and called out that he had another one. As I approached, a flimsy looking geometrid flew past me, I netted it and it was a third! It seemed like they were falling out of the sky.

In a little under two hours we recorded 17 species. Seven off our best effort on the 20 September, but for sheer excitement, it pipped that evening.

Here is the list in full:

Angle Shades - 17
L-album Wainscot - 3
Dark Sword-grass - 11
Green-brindled Crescent - 1
Emmelina monodactyla - 2
Yellow-line Quaker - 5
Large Yellow Underwing - 8
TAWNY PINION - 1
Turnip - 1
VESTAL - 3
Orange Sallow - 1
Setaceous Hebrew Character - 2
Brick 3
Lunar Underwing - 2
Chestnut - 3
Brindled Green 1
White-Point - 1

We also had a Mallow, but this was sat on hawthorn, so in the spirit of the entirely unofficial Ivy League, does not get on the list.

There is no doubt what the answer to the question I posed is.

What the Victorians did for us.

After a few dank and slightly chilly nights, it was back to torchlight searches of ivy last night. Tony and I started out at 8.40pm and in three-quarters of an hour we had found 12 species on the ivy bank in Alton Hall Lane. Among those were two new ones for the village ivy list - Small Dusty Wave and Light-brown Apple Moth, plus a couple of migrants - White-point and a Dark Sword-grass.

Dark Sword-grass (T.Fox)

We moved on to Lower Street which had come up trumps last year. First up was an L-album Wainscot. The first record in Suffolk was at Landguard in 2000, but it is now well established across the county (inverts never seem to take long). Other new moths on ivy for me at this spot were Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, Lunar Underwing and best of all, a Pearly Underwing. This is a moth I have never seen before, but the minute I clapped on that white mohican I knew what it was. Twenty-five minutes in this spot also brought us 12 species.

Pearly Underwing (T.Fox)

As I dropped Tony off, our evening list stood at 19, so I thought it rude not to have another quick check of of favourite spot. This was soon justified with the addition of four species, taking our evening haul to 23 species. The cumulative village ivy list now stands at 40 species.

Interestingly, Tony ran his 21st century trap overnight and recorded 19 species. So some times it pays to do things the old-fashioned way. I can't say that I wasn't a little jealous of this one he caught though....

Orange Sallow (T.Fox)

The Ivy League

The success of the ivy session last night was enhanced this morning when Tony (@tonyandsandy) sent through images of a Flounced Rustic and a Turnip that he had bagged earlier on in the evening and had been resting in the fridge. My thanks also to @mrshentz and @stewchat for confirming that the micro taken off ivy last night was Agonopterix arenella. So in just one hour we had found 16 species of moth on just one 20 metre stretch of ivy.

Last month, my twitter feed was alive posts about ragwort and the plethora of invertebrates associated with this plant. Hear, hear of course. You hear very little about the similar benefits that ivy holds.

If you are reading this and have an interest in wildlife, why not set yourself the challenge of getting out in your locale over the next six weeks to see how many species of moths you can find on ivy. When you have, be sure to submit your findings to your County Recorder.

In terms of wildlife-watching this is a hidden gem and it is something that is available to everyone.

Ivy - season two starts here

It was a splendid autumn afternoon down this way - warm, with mellowing tones. As dusk fell, there was not a breath of wind and the afternoon warmth lingered through. That could only mean one thing - checking ivy for moths.

As I hoped, much of the ivy down Alton Hall Lane which receives a good soaking of afternoon sun was in flower and in no time, beady pairs of orange eyes became apparent. The 'textbook' suggests that when checking ivy, it is best to use coloured light as moths will drop off in an attempt at self-preservation. In my experience, a good white light is absolutely fine. A head torch is very useful as it allows you to work with a net or pot . Moths are so intent on nectaring that you could almost pick them off with your fingers. Please don't though. Position a pot or net below in case the insect does decide to drop and just tap.

In just one hour along a 20 metre stretch, we recorded 14 species. Square-spot Rustic was the most abundant with over 20 individuals. New moths to the Stutton ivy list (standing at 25 from 2012) were Brimstone, Light Emerald, Double-striped Pug, Vine's Rustic, Emmelina monodactyla, Common Wainscot, Snout and a micro that is currently residing in the fridge.

Final scores were:

Large Yellow Underwing - 6

Lesser Yellow Underwing - 4

Square-spot Rustic - 20+

Vine's Rustic - 2

Light Emerald - 1

Brimstone - 1

Snout - 2

Emmelina monodactyla - 3

Angle Shades - 3

Common Wainscot - 1

Setaceous Hebrew Character - 1

White-point - 2

that micro - 2

A promising start to the ivy season then, which should run through to the back end of October. All things permitting, I hope to get somewhere between 30-40 species.  I don't expect to find anything earth-shatteringly rare, but that isn't the point. I am mad on wildlife, so it provides me with a fix, but more importantly it highlights how valuable this much maligned plant is as a nectar source for invertebrates as winters draws near.

What you staring at?

Large Emerald (by Tony Fox)

Apologies for all two and half regular readers for the three month sabbatical, but we have been having a baby. Pleased to report that she is hitting the 12 hour nights already. Well done Mum. x

Last night, the vice-Chairman of S.M.O.G. and I were invited to a private meadow/woodland fringe site across the border in Tattingstone to set their two MV lights. With such great weather recently hopes were high this morning for the trap rounds.

As seems to be the theme this year, the range of species was good, but the volume of common species was poor. For example, there were only single specimens of Dark Arches and Turnip.

After two hours of checking, we came away with 75 species worked out and a bag full of pots for checking. For the rest of the morning it was a case of going through these and the list has topped out at 97 species (26 micros). I still consider myself a novice with micros, but I know that I left behind enough of what I consider the trickier species which would have taken the count over the three-figure mark.

Hawkmoths are thinning out now and were represented by just two Poplar Hawks. Best of the macros were Marbled White Spot, a tired looking Sharp-angled Carpet and a Bordered Beauty. The tiniest micro was the pick of the bunch, a smart little chap called Argyresthia bonnetella. You will have to look on UK Moths for a pic of that I am afraid.

Burnished Brass (by Tony Fox)

Moth roundup

Volume of moths have been low in the garden this week, but there has been a glimmer of quality. On Sunday just 24 moths of nine species bothered to show up, with early Spring species still dominating.

Emmelina monodactyla - 1
Streamer - 1
Clouded Drab - 6
Hebrew Character - 3
Early Grey - 3
Common Quaker - 7
Double-striped Pug - 1
Muslin Moth - 1
Twenty Plume Moth - 1

 

Muslin Moth

 

Streamer - the larva feed on Dog Rose

 

Twenty-plume Moth - a micro that when I first encountered years back had my thinking it was one of the pugs.

This morning, just 15 moths of seven species were on show and the two best ones only made it as far as the garden fence.

Hebrew Character - 5
Common Quaker - 2
Clouded Drab - 4
Early Thorn - 1
Scorched Carpet - 1
Powdered Quaker - 1
Early Grey - 1

Scorched Carpet - the larva feed on spindle

 

Here it is again - can you see it?

Early Thorn

 

The trap location

 

Powdered Quaker (honest)

Recent ramblings

Wild things have been fairly quite of late. Cold nights have meant that the moth trap has not had much of a show and afternoon jaunts around the village patch on the bike have been uneventful.

Under blue skies on Wednesday, I ventured from the dam at Alton Water down to Stutton Mill on the bike. The grassy slope of the dam only supported corvids, a couple of shelduck and an oystercatcher, but at least the view looking east towards Holbrook was pleasant.

 

The wood on the right of the picture supports a rookery and a scan of the more distant woods invariably produces a couple of thermalling Buzzards. I look forward to the day when the slope is littered with wheatears and whinchats jostle for space on the wire fence.

 

Getting from one side of the parish to the other only takes fifteen minutes by bike. The anticipation of a Curlew Sandpiper or Little Stint was soon expunged and I had to make do with scanning through a scraggy flock of 116 immature Common Gulls and taking poor shots of Dark-bellied Brent Geese.

 

 

This is the view from the western most point of Stutton. The railings in the foreground are a favoured Kingfisher perch in the winter.

 

 

 

I got my hopes up last night as the conditions looked ideal for moth-trapping. I set the MV in a local private garden that normally comes up trumps, but the haul was abject. Just 22 moths of eight species as follows:

 

Nut-tree Tussock - 3

Hebrew Character - 2

Common Quaker - 10

Early Thorn - 2

Early Grey - 2

Frosted Green - 1

Double-striped Pug - 1

Belted Beauty - 1

 

 





Frosted Green

 

 

 



 

 

 



Not a bad job really.

A tough day at work today. The marsh was heaving with Lapwing nests. In fact there were so many that many of my usual scanning points were unsuitable as they were too close to some of the nests. Can you see this one sitting just to the right of the dock?

As well as lapwings, I also bumped a couple of female Shoveler off their eggs. I only discovered these as I was marking nests and it made me wonder if they adopt the same strategy as Redshank. In a couple of weeks time, when I will be out checking Lapwing clutch sizes, invariably as I approach a nest, a redshank will burst from cover within ten metres or so. Lapwings make for excellent early-warning systems and missile defence.

 

A handsome male Lapwing.

 

 

A male Shoveler. No doubt a female is on eggs nearby.

 

 

I came off the marsh at lunch and spent an hour down at Mistley Walls. There were 110 winter-plumaged Bar-tailed Godwits coming up on the rising tide. There was a similar number of Knot in amongst them, with one or two of them showing their true 'Red' name. The 30-odd Black-tailed Godwit were all in summer-plumage.

 

As I was stood watching, a passer-by told me that there were three Mandarins at Mistley Quay. I thought this was a little odd, but it turned out he was right!

 



 

Whimbrel

Another afternoon stint on the patch today with more showers pushing through from the south-west. The hirundine flock on Alton Water was still in excess of 500, with Swallows and House Martins to the fore and just the odd Sand Martin. I didn't notice any swifts.

Once the rain had cleared, I biked down to Holbrook Bay in search of Whimbrel.

 



The bay is a reliable spring spot on the estuary for this species. At high tide they can often be found probing the sheepfields just inside the borrowdyke which are overlooked by the Royal Hospital School.

Sure enough, the first scan of the field and one was doing just that. Over the next hour two spent their time commuting between field and estuary, allowing me to expand my album of abject record shots.

Out in the bay a flock of 300+ Dark-bellied Brent Geese were still shuffling around the entrance to Holbrook marina, whilst in the main channel, 50 Great Crested Grebes and seven Red-breasted Mergansers were loafing.