Summer migrant birds abruptly dried up by the end of September, as they take on their journey south to their wintering grounds. We now move into the 'finches and thrushes' end of Autumn, as we await the arrival of continental passerines.
The recent highlight though was not a passerine, but a very unexpected local scarcity! Gareth B and I caught up at Grimsbury Res post-work on 02/10, noting very little other than a late-ish Common Sandpiper. Strolling back to the car chatting, a dark shape the other side of the river, flying high-ish S/SE caught my eye. Expecting it to be a Cormorant, that regularly move backwards and forwards here, I was more than a bit surprised to see that classic shape of a Glossy Ibis in my bins! A few seconds view were enjoyed with no time for photos, before it was lost behind the trees. A brilliant patch tick and after Gareth's flyover back in 2024, one I never thought I'd get back. So pretty bloody chuffed really! My 157th species for Grimbo.
As a rule, opportunities to get the moth trap out in my garden at this time of year are few and far between, with cooler temperatures and generally more frequent bad weather. However, we've been lucky to have a decent run of more milder nights, giving me the chance to getting trapping and find a few new species.
Top of my list to get for some time has been the beautiful 'mint choc chip' coloured Merveille du Jour, a classic September / October moth. I was super pleased to get my very first one in the trap on the night of 23/09. What a beauty!
A good run of Clancy's Rustics and a couple of Vestals were other notable finds, in addition to more common fare.
Not from the moth trap, but Hummingbird Hawkmoths continued to visit the garden fairly frequently, right into the first week of October. What an impressive year it's been for them here.
Warm, insect-friendly weather was still to be found into October. Pleasingly, a stroll around Hinton Airfield on 04/10, delivered a number of pretty fresh Clouded Yellows, on a rough bit of ground at the southern end. These could prove to be my last of the year, crowning quite the year for butterflies!
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