Sunday 13 July 2014

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland & Lincolnshire - July 12, 2014

I had put the moth trap out last night and there were 135 moth caught and identified with one new micro and another seven new for the year.  The new moth was a tiny micro, Caloptilia stigmatella and there were fifty species in total.


The following were recorded: Caloptilia stigmatella [1]; Bird-cherry Ermine [1]; Diamond-beck Moth [2]; Brown House-moth [1]; Mompha ochraceella [1]; Dark Druit-tree Tortrix [2]; Red-barred Tortrix [3]; Cnephasia sp. [2]; Celypha striana [2]; Celypha lacunana [1]; Bud Moth [1]; Chrysoteuchia culmella [36]; Crambus pascuella [3]; Catoptria falsella [1]; Eudonia lacustrata [1]; Garden Pebble [1]; Mother of Pearl [1]; Golden Triangle [1]; Bee Moth [2]; Buff Arches [3]; Riband Wave [6]; Lime-speck Pug [1]; Wormwood Pug [1]; Brimstone Moth [1]; Early Thorn [2]; Swallow-tailed Moth [1]; Willow Beauty [1]; Elephant Hawkmoth [1]; White Satin Moth [1]; Scarce Footman [1]; Common Footman [6]; Heart and Dart [4]; Shuttle-shaped Dart [1]; Flame [3]; Large Yellow Underwing [1]; Lesser Yellow Underwing [1]; Cabbage Moth [1]; Dot Moth [2]; Bright-line Brown-eye [6]; Smoky Wainscot [1]; Sycamore [1]; The Miller [1]; Dagger species [1]; Marbled Beauty [8]; Dark Arches [6]; Light Arches [1]; Marbled Minor species [1]; Uncertain [3]; Burnished Brass [1] and Snout [1].


Caloptilia stigmatella


Smoky Wainscot


The Miller

There had been a Lesser Yellowlegs at Frampton Marsh yesterday and when news came through of it still being there Dave and I decided to go and set off at about 10:45.

We arrived in the car park at Frampton just after 12:30 having seen a Buzzard and a Cuckoo as we approached the reserve.  We could see a group of birders on the sea bank to the south of the road and assumed they were watching the bird.  We walked down the road towards the sea wall and on reaching the far car park saw Malcolm and Richard.  Malcolm had seen the Lesser Yellowlegs and Wood Sandpiper early but they had been spooked and had flown off.  As we continued along the sea wall it was obvious that it had not returned and when we reached the viewing point the only wader we could find was a Redshank.  We had seen a Glossy Ibis and several Little Egrets as we walked along the wall and there were also several Avocets, Black-tailed Godwits, and several Redshanks and a Common Sandpiper.  As we walked back we scanned the area but saw nothing different and went just beyond the road and sat down on one of the benches to scan where it had been yesterday.

We spent quite some time scanning the area and did find a couple of Ruff and a Spotted Redshank plus more Avocets and Black-tailed Godwits.  We were joined by Graham, a birder I had met many years ago in Israel, and his friend.  A Hobby then flew over causing some disturbance and eventually it took prey from the ground, which we assumed might have been a small chick of some kind.  A Little Ringed Plover and Ringed Plover then flew into the pool to the south of the road and seventy-five Bar-tailed Godwits dropped onto the marsh.  Eventually we decided to walk further along the sea wall and complete the circuit back to the centre.  As we walked around we stopped on a number of occasions and scanned the area finding two summer Spotted Redshanks, circa twenty-five Dunlin, another Little Ringed Plover and several more Ringed Plovers.  Two Curlew flew over and there was a distant Marsh Harrier and we heard a Whimbrel and a Greenshank but were unable to locate either of them.  Just before we reached the turn back to the centre Dave located a singing Corn Bunting but there was very little else, except for a Ruff flying over the path.

When we reached the centre Ken called to say that there were two Wood Sandpipers as Eyebrook Reservoir and so Dave and I decided to take a look on route home.  There had been no further reports of the Lesser Yellowlegs whilst we were on site but needless to say it reappeared during the early evening.

The Wood Sandpipers had been seen from the corral at Eyebrook Reservoir and when we arrived, Mick and Phil informed us that they were not on view and one at least had flown towards the bridge.  We went back round to the bridge and found two waders just off the edge of the sedge island.  I took a look through my scope and identified that they were both Green Sandpipers.  Dave who had stayed on the bridge then joined Phil and I and questioned my identification.  I had been using my travel scope but had my larger one was in the car and so I swapped then over.  One of the birds had moved into the sedge but was still visible and was clearly a Green Sandpiper whilst the other was still feeding.  It appeared rather dark but did at times appear to have a supercilium and there was also some spotting on the back and its legs appeared to be yellowish.  As I continued to look at the bird the breast streaking also did not finish sharply as in Green Sandpiper and we gradually realised it was indeed one of the two Wood Sandpipers.  We couldn’t find the other bird, which apparently was brighter than the individual we had been watching and I learnt later that two others had questioned its identity.  I suspect that both birds would be adults and therefore likely to be quite worn, although this couldn’t be confirmed at the distance we were looking.  We also a Little Ringed Plover and Dunlin and both Little Owl and Raven were heard.

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