Strumpshaw

Had the Day at Strumpshaw hoping for Swallowtail, ont the way round to the old vicars garden we had Cuckoo, Bittern Scarce chaser, black tailed Skimmer, Norfolk Hawkers Common Lizard and a few Orchids.

Hobby made a brief appearance but birding was slow. Luckily once round at the old Vicars garden it was great to watch at least 4 Swallowtail Butterflies, Brimstone and a flypast Barn Owl.
A nice warm trip around this fabulous reserve.

Moths May 2017

Its been an Amazing month moth wise. Lists below. ill let you all work out the species  :-)
Garden only VC25 Corton

Moths	Date
Shuttle Shaped Dart	07.05.2017
Hebrew Character
Shuttle Shaped Dart	08.05.2017
Hebrew Character
Light Brown Apple
Chocolate Tip	09.05.2017
Hebrew Character
Least Black Arches
Early Grey	10.05.2017
Shuttle Shaped Drt
Clouded Drab
Hebrew Character
Least Black Arches
Flame shoulder	11.02.2017
Shuttle Shaped Dart
Hebrew Character
Light Brown Apple LBAM
Common Pug
Bright line Brown Eye
Yellow Barred Brindle
Early Grey
seraphim
Clouded Drab
Yellow Barred Brindle	12.05.2017
Brimstone
Light Brown Apple
Early Grey
Shuttle Shaped Dart
Hebrew Character
White Point
Least Black Arches
Frosted Green
Common Plume
	13.05.2017
Heart and Dart
Double Striped Pug
Shuttle Shaped Dart
Brimstone
Light Brown Apple
Bee Moth
White shouldered House Moth
Waved Umber
Eyed Hawkmoth
Least Black Arches
Treble Lines
Bright Line Brown Eye
Yellow Barred Brindle
Common Marble Carpet.
	14.05.2017
Brimstone
Double Striped Pug
Shutte Shaped dart
Least Black Arches
Light Brown Apple
Early Grey
Chocolate Tip
Campion
Hebrew Character
Red Twin Spot Carpet	15.0517
Brimstone
Bee Moth
SSD
Common Pug
Chocolate Tip
White shouldered House Moth
Double Striped Pug
Early Grey
Flame Shoulder
Heart and Dart
Waved Umber.	16.05.17
Marble Minor App NFM
White Ermine NFM
HnD
20 Plume
White Point.
Parsnip Moth
Brimstone
SSD
Garden Pebble. NFM
Common Marble Carpet
Bright Line Brown Eye
Flame shoulder
Lbam
Chocolate Tip
Silver Y
White Pinion spotted
V Pug
Common Pug
Double Striped Pug
WSHM
Notocelia cynosbatella.	17.05.17
Orange Footman
Treble Line.
HnD
SSD
White Ermine
Bright Line Brown Eye
Silver Y
Lbam
Early Grey
SSD	18.05.17
HnD
Brimstone	19.05.17
BLBE
HC
Flame Shoulder
Treble Lines
Peppered Moth
LBAM
HnD
Garden Carpet
Scolloped Hazel
Common Plume
SSD
Dark Sword Grass	20.05.2017
Flame shoulder
Garden Carpet
Marble Minor Agg
Silver Y
Swallow Prominent
Toadflax Brocade
Vine Rustic
White Ermine
SSD
HnD
Turnip
BLBE
Treble Lines
Poplar Hawkmoth	21.05.2017
HnD
Common Wainscot
SSD
Garden Carpet
Treble Lines
White Ermine
Vine Rustic
Knotgrass
Waved Umber
Garden carpet	22.05.17
BLBE
Setaceous Hebrew Character
Flame Shoulder
Least Black arches
Lbam
Treble Lines
Bee Moth
Brimstone
Vine Rustic
Swallow prominent
Popular Hawkmoth
Sycamore	23.05.17
Vine Rustic
White spotted Pug
Common pug
HnD
Willow Beauty
Ruby Tiger
SSD
Chinese Character
Flame Shoulder
Marble Minor Agg
Garden Pebble
Buff Tip
Brimstone
Early Grey
Rustic Shouldered Knot
Garden Carpet
Green Carpet
Treble Lines
Rivulet
Yellow Barred Brindle
Notocelia cynosbatella.
Grey Pine Carpet
Light Emerald	24.05.2017
Common Wainscoat
Green Carpet
Blood Vain
Cabbage
Common Marble Carpet
HnD
White Ermine
Puss Moth
Pepper Moth
Rustic Shouldered Knot
Knotgrass
Garden carpet
Early Grey
Spectacle
Flame Shoulder
BLBE
Vine Rustic
Matilella fusca?
Sycamore	25.05.2017
Treble Lines
Least Arches
HnD
Peppered Moth
Pale Tussock
White Ermine
Early Grey.
SSD
LBAM
Setaceous Hebrew Character
Flame Shoulder
BLBE
Vine Rustic
Brimstone
Notocelia cynosbatella
SSD	26.05.2017
HnD
Common Carpet
Treble Lines
Flame Shoulder
Lbam
Vine Rustic
Setaceous Hebrew Character
Common Marble Carpet
Spectacle
Pale Tussock
Small China Mark.
Nutmeg
Notocelia cynosbatella
Poplar Hawkmoth	27.05.2017
Marble Minor
Green Carpet
Garden Carpet
Bee Moth
Flame Shoulder
Oak Hook-Tip
Yellow Barred Brindle.
Common Pug
Freyers Pug
Green Pug
Seraphim
HnD
SSD
Brimstone
Vine Rustic
V Pug
Flame Waincot
Willow Beauty
Light Emerald
BLBE
Angle Shades
Common Marble Carpet
Rustic Shouldered Knot
Beautiful Hook-Tip	28.05.2017
Buff Ermine
White Ermine
Peppered Moth
Silver Y
SHC
Marble Minor Agg
HnD
Treble Lines
SSD
Common Pug
Vine Rustic
Common Marble Carpet
Lbam
Grey Pine Carpet
Small Dusty Wave
Seraphim	29.05.2017
Turnip
Pine Beauty
Brown Rustic
Vine Rustic
Treble Lines
HnD
Brimstone
SSD
Brown Silver Lines
Flame Shoulder
Pale Tussock
Beautiful Hook-tip
Oak Hook-tip
Peppered Moth
Light Emerald
White Ermine
Common Pug
Cabbage
Lbam
Garden Marble Carpet
Peppered Moth	31.05.2017
Vine Rustic
Cabbage
Turnip
BLBE
HnD
Flame Shoulder
Garden Marble Carpet
Garden Carpet
Pine Carpet
White Spotted Pug
LBAM
Treble Lines
Buff Tip
Yellow Barred Brindle
Freyers Pug

Potter Heigham

The patch has been dire nothing of note so ive been nipping out in the afternoon off patch.
Highlights of a trip to Potter Heigham were 12 Spoonbill, 3 Little Stint, 2 Greenshank, 2 Grey Plover and 89 Tundra Ringed Plover, 2 Little Ringed Plover and a Wood Sandpiper. Lastly 2 Ruff including a cracking summer plumaged birds 

Back on patch a few butterflies best being Speckled Wood, Brimstone and Painted Lady.
Dragonflies 4 Spot, Emperor, Norfolk Hawker and a Hawker sp.

Best bird of the weekend however was a Hobby over COSW. Garden Warbler at CNSW was a patch tick and a Willow Warbler at Furse wood was unusual.
In the Garden i awoke to a nice surprise in the form of a Singing Reed Warbler, it stayed all day.Video of it singing from the hedge

Again a bank holiday weekend gone far too quick.
Almost Moth update blog soon.

Potter Heigham Marshes

Friday night i found a nice Spotted Flycatcher. It was still there early Saturday morning and i could only add a hunting Marsh Harrier to the patch list.

Had a trip over to the new Marshes at Potter Heigham.

Unfortunately it looks like the scrapes wont last due to the Trust making them into a reedbed instead.
Anyway its brilliant at the moment with 6 Spoonbill.

Then this cracking Caspian Tern.

The Caspian Tern i noticed had a metal ring the same as the bird that frequented Breydon Water last year so almost definitely the returning bird.
We walked into Potter Heigham for lunch which made the walk very pleasant, dreaming of owning the old Windmill and house boats along the river.

We returned to the Marshes after lunch and had a second look at the Spoonbills and Caspian Tern.
found a couple of nice Whimbrel too

On the return home via Horsey mill to see the new top that was put back on during the Week.

Today a couple of hours on patch produced just a Painted Lady Butterfly. Rach wanted to visit Sherringham park before the Rhododendrons went over, this gave me the opportunity to see what birds were on site, no less than 3 Firecrest singing.
Nipped to Cley for the singing Iberian Chiffchaff, nice song with a couple of brief views. Nothing of note on the reserve so headed for Kelling Heath for a drink and another singing Firecrest. Nightingale was singing on the way to Salthouse heath crossroads.via Old Woman's Lane just before the Salthouse heath crossroads and we never actually heard any there.
Thats been it really. Its been a really good weekend though and just to finish ill add a special moth that i caught this morning in the trap. Swallow Prominent

April Mothing

So ive just started Mothing, i built a trap last year but it didnt work and everything had escaped by the morning. So i bit the bullet and brought myself a 15w Actinic Skinner Trap

This Skinner Moth trap is approximately 45cm square and 35cm high and is constructed from exterior ply, complete with base and treated with a wildlife friendly preservative for extra durability, very easy to collapse down for storage. Skinner Traps are a popular choice due to price. The moths inside the trap can be accessed while the trap is running very easily by lifting the Perspex panels. 

Anyway first night out Conditions werent great as it was cold, all the regular mothers were catching nothing so it was nice that i did catch some moths, my first moth were 3 Early Grey

Next day it warmed up a little and had some amazing moths including 2 Pine Beauties. 

 I continued to add to my species list. 

Then i was in Majorca for the week so i had to wait a week before going for it again. Mullien was a cracking moth and watching others catch it i was so pleased to catch one so soon.

Ill do a May Mothing at the end of the month but heres Aprils list if anyone is interested.

Moths for VC 25 Corton April 2017

April 2017 Moth List Garden VC25 Corton

No.	MOTHS	DATE	CONDITIONS	OTHER
3	Early Grey	20.04.2017	Started clear woke up over cast.
1	Early Grey	21.04.2017	Clear	Black Sexton Beetle
2	Pine Beauty
7	Clouded Drab
3	Hebrew Character
1	Common Quaker
1	Powdered Quaker
1	Double Striped Pug
2	Shuttle Shaped Dart
2	Muslin Moth	22.04.2017	Some Rain overnight	Black Sexton Beetle
2	Early Grey
1	Shuttle Shaped Dart
1	Powdered Quaker
1	Spruce Carpet
1	Brimstone moth
2	Clouded Drab
4	Common Quaker
		23.04.2017	Clear befor bed, full cloud early morn
2	Muslin Moth
2	Shuttle Shaped Dart
2	Hebrew Character
1	Early Grey
1	Powdered Quacker
2	Clouded Drab
		24.04.2017
1	Hebrew Charater		Windy Clear
1	Powdered Quaker
2	Early Grey	29th April	Cloudy	Black Sexton Beetle
2	Hebrew Character
1	Mullien
1	Clouded Drab
1	Light Brown Apple