Pale Shoulder

Lade - mild, cloudy, wet, light airs - A steady and welcome 12mm (OL at Littlestone) of rain fell overnight and continued into mid-morning, freshening up the garden plants and veg like no amount of artificial watering ever can. However, the rain did not deter moths coming to light and when I rose at 5am to cover the trap it looked packed with goodies; although our local Robin was already on the case picking off moths that had settled outside the trap on the summerhouse wall. Sifting through the egg boxes and recording 26 species of macros (several new for the year) I was well pleased with the nights catch - and even more so when an unfamiliar moth at the bottom of the trap morphed into a Pale Shoulder, a scarce immigrant and new for the trap site. Following a consultation at the KRC it would appear to be only the third Dungeness area record.

                                                     Pale Shoulder, Acontia lucida

  Our morning circuit of the local patch was carried out in fine drizzle, but at least it was mild and perfect for Barney who skipped along like a puppy. On south lake Pochard numbers had increased to 26, while the bay Curlew flock, high-tide roosting on the Desert shingle ridges, had settled in a convenient place, affording an accurate count of 46 individuals. Several Pied Wagtails were still plundering the insect corpses around the lakeside margin and a pair of Stonechats made an appearance after a two month absence. Also of note was only our second Marbled White of summer that showed when a shard of sunlight broke through the gloom.

                                Pristine Marbled White

                               Pied Wagtail feeding on dead flies

                               Male Stonechat