Lowestoft Life - 22nd August - 4th September 2024

Mothing in my Lowestoft garden has continued but unlike many I have been lacking too many species to suggest the pronounced continental immigration that has been witnessed elsewhere.  I have had Dark Sword Grass, Angle Shades, White Point and a heap of Large Yellow Underwings but half the fun of trapping is the unknown and I have still had a few new species including Neocochylis molliculana, Monopis laevigella and a lovely Green Carpet along with some smart beasts like Centre-barred Sallow, Cypress Pug, Common Marbled Carpet and a couple of Old Ladies. Flounced and Vine’s Rustics, Straw Underwings and Setaceous Hebrew Characters have been very common in the trap.

Centre-barred Sallow

Common Marbled Carpet 

Crocidosema plebejana - possibly now a local breeder on Tree Mallow

Cypress Pug

the first Feathered Ranunculus of the autumn

Green Carpet

Light Emerald

Old Lady

I will put it on shortly and see what happens tonight – you never know.

The Hop flowered and then fruited as if by magic and the Comma cats are still munching away but other than Light Brown Apple Moths (LBAMS) I have not found the other Hop loving moth species yet this year.

Four Wasp Spiders have territory in the ‘meadow’ and one looks plump enough to have found one of the two males that I rescued from in the moth trap.  My garden population of Field Grasshoppers has lost one or two along the way.  Araneus diadematus are growing by the day and at night Zygiella x-notata and Steatoda nobilis are setting their traps on every fence and the front of the garage where Tegenaria and Pholcus also lurk.  There will always be some mothy causalities.

Wasp Spider

Zygiella x-notata

Tegenaria

There is still flower to be seen and the Yarrow is still going and hosting Lime Speck Pug larva and the mobile cases of Coleophora argentula which backs up their presence in my trap but the adults are unfortunately unidentifiable. There are new Fennel and Evening Primrose flowers and even a few White and Red Campion.  Eristalis nemorum has been seen dancing over females and Myathropa florea, Meliscaeva auricollis, Syritta pipiens, and Episyrphus balteatus have been in attendance and Lucilia numbers are up but I have only seen one Tachina fera and none of the big Volucellas in the garden this summer.

Coleophora argentula case on Yarrow

Migrant Hawkers patrol daily and a Southern Hawker popped in but there have only been a couple of Common Darters around. Butterflies are still low with just a few Red Admirals, Commas, Holly Blues and Whites.

My trees out back are doing well and the Willow is already just visible over the garage and while out there I found a couple of Bee-wolf and quite a few Harlequins and Seven Spots.  The young lads next door had also found another big female Wasp Spider out there!

I took myself for a walk around my Pakefield Beach circuit on the 28^th but there was not one passerine migrant.  I did find two Muntjac back up near the main road one of which barked energetically at me and poked his tongue out and three Whimbrel headed south as I got back to the church.  Back at home five Grey Herons lumbered slowly over my house having undoubtedly just arrived like several others seen along our coast that morning.

Muntjac

Muntjac

Whimbrel

I popped out on my newly refurbished bike t the rather wondrous little Frondere plant centre down off Victoria Road.  A lovely lady runs the place and I can even get better views over Lake Lothing from there for the upcoming winter - oh and have a cup of coffee! Do go and visit!

In the afternoon I ambled around the block taking in Tom Crisp Way.  There were a few Wasp Spiders here too but it was the Small Copper that took the prize.

Field Grasshopper

Small Copper 

Small Copper 

Myathropa florea

Etainia louisella moth mine in a Field Maple samara

My first garden Grey Squirrel -  it soon moved on after a hard stare from Peanut

Necrophorus interruptus - my second Carrion Beetle species in the moth trap

I spent some time at Pakefield Beach in the morning of the 31^st where I managed to miss two Cory’s Shearwaters, Sooty Shearwaters and multiple Long-tailed, Arctic and Great Skuas that al got past me undetected!  I was having a bird blindness morning and all I got for my trouble was six Gannet, 12 Scoter and three Kittiwakes.  Never mind.

I have to admit to not even bothering the next morning and missed more Shearwater and Skuas action and by late afternoon it was becoming apparent that a fall of passerines was underway despite the clear blue skies and no wind whatsoever.  Wheatears were all over Ness Point and other coastal sites right up and along the Suffolk and Norfolk coast and with them were Redstarts and Pied Flycatchers and a few other goodies.  My own goals were slightly more prosaic with Wheatear being a missing bird from my Pakefield Beach list so despite they potential throngs of people I headed down there and much to my delight there were two moving steadily south amongst the ever present dog walkers and runners.  A Willow Warbler popped up in the Lupins and was my second addition but try as I might I could not find and Flycatcher or Shimmertail.

Antony and I took the trap down to The Hollies that evening and set it up on the cliff top.  He collected it the next morning and amongst the Chinese Characters, Square Spot Rustics and Setaceaous Hebrew Characters were a host of micros and some other good species including Anania crocealis, Citron Plumes, Mullein Waves and a glorious Beautiful Marbled decked out in cream, buff and raspberry pink.  I was amazed how small it was.

Fleabane Pearl - Anania crocealis

Beautiful Marbled 

Citron Plume

Mullein Wave

I was determined the next morning to try and find a local Pied Fly and thankfully did just that in Kirkley Cemetery although it kept hidden in the Limes but was very vocal.  Three Coal Tits and a Willow Warbler were the only other birds of note.  There were hundreds of Gracillaria syringella mines on the Privet and a few other familiar species but I will wait till later in the month to have a proper look.

I followed this up with a walk around the Pakefield patch once again but it was very quiet despite another fall of birds around Ness Point.  A Wheatear on a rooftop was my sole small migrant and three juvenile Common Terns circled off shore and three Teal, two Knot and an Oystercatcher headed south.

Wheatear

Starling

Starlings

The weather yesterday (3^rd) was warm but persistently drizzly and occasionally very wet indeed but we had agreed to meet M&D at the Old Reading Rooms in Kelling for lunch.  There was a big heap of Spoonbills once again at the Lumps at Breydon on the way through.  A quick look at Gramborough Hill gave me a Woodpigeon and a Dunnock in the bushes and trees and two Stonechat on the fence line and the Quags were almost fully dry but did have Redshank and Greenshank disturbed by a flighty Little Egret.

A weird call drew me to a juvenile Spoonbill following its flying parent and making begging calls; not something I had heard before and behind me three obviously tired Grey Herons arrived in off and tried to land but the Rooks and Herring Gulls did not like the incoming foreigners and soon sent them on their way and westwards.

The sea was calm and quiet with just some circling Gannets and a few Sandwich Terns along the beach. The scaly youngsters were making that squeaky bicycle sound as they too followed around their parents.  Lunch was splendid but the rain returned and we headed for home straight afterwards.

This morning  I dragged myself down to the Net Posts at Ness Point and walked down to Links Road and back.  Gulliver was in the process of very slowly having his huge blades removed and lowered to the ground.  New ones are needed apparently.  The mega crane appeared to be holding the whole head with what looked like a giant bulldog clip!

It was warm and still and unsurprisingly quiet once again but it was pleasant enough and I did dig out a couple of Willow Warblers, a Chiffchaff and a Wheatear while offshore three Spoonbills headed north about half a mile out with a Fulmar lazily following shortly afterwards.

Wheezing, whining young Herring Gulls

Red Admirals and Large Whites were arriving throughout the morning; powerfully heading across the seawall after an epic voyage and across the North Denes there were flickering Whites of all three species although I suspect that some may have been local butterflies.

Green-veined White

Green-veined White

I checked the Groyne Gulls but could not find any Caspians and just one adult Med Gull patrolling the beach before I started to walk back.

Testing his hose!

I popped into Chez Wren on the way home to have a look at the Pale Shoulder that Peter Follett had caught the previous night.  I have seen the species this year in Lesvos and Hungary but it is still a very rare migrant to the UK.  The first Ivy Bees were with the countless Honey Bees and a couple of Red Admirals on the already flowering and pungent Ivy.

Pale Shoulder - Antony Wren

Back at home I spent the afternoon tinkering around the garden seeing Frogs and Toads and some huge Slugs before spending an engrossing couple hours sorting through the huge tin of old and useless screws that I have had for 25 years…  A Golden Plover calling overhead was a welcome garden addition.