Clifden nonpariel in Shadoxhurst

The Clifden nonpariel is possibly the most beautiful moth I've seen in the UK. By luck and by Sian's initative (she put the Moth trap on) we managed to catch one on Saturday night in our garden moth trap. When we checked the trap at midnight, there was little indication of the surprise to come, as there was very little other Moths activity that night.  Once the Moth was found, there was little surprise to my local 'mothing' friends who believe, that despite its extreme rareness, Clifden nonpariel may be breeding in Orlestone Forest.

Seeing a Clifden nonpariel for the first time is as memorable as any other great first wildlife encounter, be it a stunning Peregrine falcon or a Stag Red Deer laden in antlers; they all share a magnificent presence. When you see this moth, you'll be impressed, firstly, by is its great size- nearly as big as the palm of your hand. Its wings are marbled beautifully, camouflaging cryptically against tree bark. Its patterning contrasts strikingly underneath with its silky white satin body and black and white boldly marked wing undersides. Its most memorable feature is still to come as its unique appearance is not fully revealed until the moth stretches its wings to reveal a striped black and azure blue underwing that beguiles every time you see it.

Local moth experts believing it has started to recolonise Victorian breeding site at Orlestone Forest. It could be that this moth may have been a immigrant, as its appearance coincides with easterly winds and many rare birds arriving on the east coast.

It's so rare that I can't guarantee I'll ever see a second one, even with the aid of a moth trap.  Luckily my memory of the first one caught in the garden will never be forgotten. Our Moth was released back to Orlestone Forest at Moat farm.

Clifden nonpariel (Blue Underwing), Shadoxhurst September 25th 2014

Pictures taken with Moth settled on glass

Peregrine high over the garden

Trying to do a little more birdwatching around the garden today, and almost at once this fine Peregrine appeared high overhead. Impossibly high in the sky, it occasionally stooped in pursuit of a pigeon passing below. Peregrine sightings probably average 2 or 3 birds a year now.

Autumn Burnished Brass Moth

In an effort to move on from my last post (ashamedly back in July), this splendid Burnished Brass Moth present in the garden tonight is a worthy new contributor. With the moth trap switched on for the first time in months and still running now, the familiar deep buzz of nomadic post-summer Hornets prevails around the light box. I will soon decide whether just to switch the light out, or risk a closer Moth inspection inevitably risking an unintentional encounter with the said bunch of angry wasps that I've unwittingly attracted to the Moth light.

Monarch butterfly in Ruckinge.

Did the Ruckinge Monarch Butterfly arrive from a local butterfly breeder, or was it delivered from the south on high pressure from the Canary Islands or beyond?

Whatever, Bernard and Andil's beautiful Ruckinge garden with its fantastic drifts of colourful flowers is a fitting place for it to have found itself in. Majestically touring from one flower bed to another and in the present balmy heat, it seems at home. Occasionally using its great size, it hurried away Peacocks and Meadow Browns to take over its favoured food plants. It has found a sanctuary that should support it over the long summer ahead.

Thank you to Bernard and Andil for sharing this incredible butterfly with everyone.

Red Kites over the garden and into the sun

 
Recently barely a week goes by without us seeing Red Kites from the garden. Sometimes they're impossibly high, like one I saw yesterday and then sometimes as today, they're low, noisily cart-wheeling above the house. They're all quite brilliant and make up for many a barren walk of seeing nothing much in the forest.

First local Nightjar for many years

Having spent five fruitless nights listening for Nightjars and not having heard any local birds for many years, I'd just about abandoned any chance of finding one for this year.

So tonight, I decided I'd concentrate on looking for another declining bird, the Woodcock. I went down to the woods, camera in-hand, and positioned myself with a clear view over some scrub with the sun behind me. As I waited, I noted that there was still the odd Nightingale and two Willow warblers singing, but the big singers are still the local Song Thrushes with at least four birds singing loudly.

After 45 minutes, the mosquitos were beginning to get annoying. There were many moths on the move and the local Tawney Owls were beginning to call - yet still no Woodcock. This year I believe there are just one or two are roding and so fairly easy to miss. Oh well, I thought, I'll call it a day.

I packed my camera back into its case and headed back to the car. As I got into my stride, I looked up at the silhouetted pine trees with an impressive moon above, and then, as easy to see as you like, a wonderful Nightjar skimming across the canopy like a giant butterfly. I just had time to recognise its unmistakable slim and angular profile before it was gone out of sight. Frustratingly, there was no time for a picture. The bird reminded me more of Common Nighthawks: those that I had seen in Canada fed earlier than our birds and are not particularly shy, either. And so that was it. No returning flight and no churring calls, but most definitely my first Nightjar for many years.

A single Woodcock was to follow and with a Turtle Dove purring in the garden at 6.00 am and juvenile Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers at Alex's Pastures on Sunday morning, its been a very good couple of days.

Mid - May migrant arrivals garden and forest

Good news, 2 Turtle Doves and one Cuckoo are now present in the Stone Wood area. The last 2 days have seen a nice arrival of Spotted flycatchers in Orlestone forest. Also 2 Hobbys surveying high over the garden. There's many more Swallows around now with birds often sitting on our TV aerial. House Martins too are ever present plus the occasional Swift.  Favoured habitats in Orlestone are 'alive' with the sound of Nightingales, Garden Warbler, Blackcap and Chiffchaff, even Willow Warblers seem to be here in better numbers this year.

In the garden a Broad Bodied Chaser left the pond on Thursday, Grass Snakes are present daily too, and the nesting House Sparrows survived a Great Spotted Woodpecker raid on the nest boxes. Spotted flycatcher here briefly yesterday and one Cuckoo is calling regularly too.