A Purple-bordered Gold at Reap Lane - a new moth for the island - was the highlight of the night's moth-trapping; the immigrant tally at the Obs consisted of 46 Diamond-back Moth, 19 Silver Y, 2 each of Dark Sword Grass and Cream-bordered Green Pea, and singles of Bird-cherry Ermine, Cock's-head Bell, Bulrush Cosmet, Hummingbird Hawkmoth, Delicate and Green Silver-lines.
In as much as heathland insects are pretty well-represented amongst the ever-growing list of strays making it out to Portland, Purple-bordered Gold might well have made it on to a list of possible future additions even though it does appear to be only a thinly distributed inhabitant of the south-east Dorset heaths - the recent spell of hot weather and freshening northeasterly winds certainly offered up what looked to be ideal conditions for dispersal away from that area © Martin Cade:
And with rain setting in whilst we're compiling this update we've got an opportunity for a bit of catching up so it's back to Sunday 1st for some nice photographs of the Little Ringed Plover at Ferrybridge and one of the Southwell Peregrines © Pete Saunders:
