Still more than 1000 Manx offshore this mrng + min 10 Balearics (suspicions of more - c45 - later but not completely clinched in the shocking heat haze when viewed from the Obs!); also 18 Common Scoter, 2 Sanderling, a Common Sand and a Bonxie through.
Trickle of Swifts and Sand Martins departing.
— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) June 19, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Slightly getting the feel that cross-Channel moth migration isn't up to much and most of the migrants about are lingering on from the weekend; however, a Silver-spotted Veneer ocellea was a good long-range species at the Obs last night (think only the third summer record at the Obs)...
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— Portland Bird Observatory (@portlandbirdobs.bsky.social) June 19, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Moths have been taking up a lot of our time in recent days, with bumper catches in the moth-traps and some interesting migration and dispersal underway. Amongst the scarcer migrants this Silver-spotted Veneer Euchromius ocellea has been one one of the most unexpected since this pretty pyralid is usually a winter migrant to Britain - last night's specimen was only our third ever from the summer months:
There have been three additions to the Obs and/or Portland moth lists over the last two nights. The little white micro, Sorrel Cap Opostega saliciella, is something we've been on the look out for for a few years; it looks a lot like the commoner Silver Grass-miner Elachista argentella and we wouldn't mind betting we'd overlooked it now and again in the past before reading up on what to look out for and, for example, realising that, at least at Portland, the flight seasons of the two species likely don't overlap very much. Since the foodplant, Sheep's Sorrel, prefers acid soils and evidently isn't at all widespread at Portland it's quite likely the moth isn't an overlooked resident here:
Maple Snout Anarsia innoxiella is something else we've been looking out for since it's been extending its range in south-east England. Its commoner relative, Obscure Snout Anarsia spartiella, is a fairly regular sight in the moth-traps and for a while we've been carefully scrutinising each one for fear of overlooking its rare cousin; in the event, we needn't have strained our ageing eyes since there was nothing remotely subtle about the difference between the two - the newcomer was blindingly obvious at very first glance!:
The third addition came from our garden at the Grove: we're familiar with Purple Clay from excursions to the mainland where it's quite widespread in Dorset woodlands and that familiarity lulled us into forgetting until we checked the facts that there were in fact no previous island records at all © Martin Cade:
