Blue Eyed Birder: Lowestoft Life - 24th-27th June 2025

With the warm weather continuing I trapped again on the night of the 23^rd but caught just 23 species which did include a rather green Bee Moth, Dusky Brocade and a nice Nutmeg. The garden was alive with life again the next day but the number of Hoverflies seemed low and there I only saw a couple of Small White before we headed down to the Lighthouse Café to meet up with a couple of Andrea’s friends for brunch. A walk along the front to Ness Point and back was required afterwards and it was warm and sunny and hundreds of Small Whites were coming in off the sea and gravitating to the Denes where the flowering Dittander near the Net Posts was providing a good refueling stop.

Dusky Brocade

male Grey Dagger

Dittander

Field Bindweed

Kittiwakes were busy coming and going but I could not find anything amongst the bigger loafing Gulls although two adult and a 2cy Med Gull were patrolling the beach. A fisherman came down to the point with two buckets containing life bait that he needed to change the seawater for. I can’t remember the specific species names but I think both were types of Lug Worms. He ended up with vivid yellow hands afterwards as they exude iodine when threatened! Fun fact for the day!

Lug Worms

Back at home the Swifts were performing at super low level between the houses and it was not too surprising the following morning when Patrick told me of a dead bird on his daughter’s car our front. It was a Swift that had seemingly got things slightly wrong but it was amazing to be able to study it close up before adding it to my compost heap.

More mothing that night at home netted me 42 species including 43 Uncertain (about which I am sure…), Clancy’s Rustic, The Rustic, Satin and two news one with Rhodophaea formosa and Clepsis consimilana.

Clepsis consimilana

Large Yellow Underwing

Pyrausta despicata

Rhodophaea formosa

Satin

Clay

I have been trying to catch up on sleep and rest this week to be honest and took the final two nights off from mothing at home to save the deliberate 4am arisings but I did join Antony on Friday to go and collect the traps that he set out on the Somerleyton Estate overnight. We only had time to sift through one of them whilst there but it was fantastic with so many species that I do not get at home and quite a few that were new to me.

We did not stay too long and bumped back out past Muntjac, Rabbits and Brown Hares and added my first Ruddy Darter of the year to the site list. That evening the two trap lists were amalgamated and totalled 96 species which was pretty good for a non MV set up. Antony had kept back any that were new for me.