26th September

Not a very memorable day, with rain spoiling the best part of the morning and seemingly not much in the way of new arrivals in evidence during what dry spells there were. The Wryneck was still about at the Obs Quarry and 2 Firecrests were certainly new arrivals at the Obs, but there was no more than the thinnest scatter of routine migrants anywhere. Lingering waders included the Knot at the Bill and 22 Bar-tailed Godwits and a Grey Plover at Ferrybridge.

The immigrant moth tally wasn't too bad considering the strength of the wind, with 47 Rush Veneer, 9 Rusty-dot Pearl, 5 Diamond-back Moth, 2 Dark Sword Grass and singles of Waste Grass-veneer Pediasia contaminella, Convolvulus Hawk-moth, Delicate, White-speck and Silver Y trapped overnight at the Obs.

The moth-traps have been turning up a few oddball, out of season species just recently, with a Waste Grass-veneer - a far as we can see, the latest island record of this scarce immigrant - an unexpected capture at the Obs:

Kent Black Arches is another mid-summer species that seems to be increasingly often churning out a small second brood at this time of year - this one was also caught overnight at the Obs:

Also on the moth front, our Death's-head Hawk-moth (from the caterpillar found at Culverwell on 16th August) finally emerged over the weekend: